Sailing Gadgets: ‘True’ vs Technology

Frequent Scuttlebutt commentator Adrian Morgan, in his monthly column for Classic Boat, muses on sailing with a dependence on technology, versus the old and ‘true’ way… looking up out of the cockpit.:

Oh the silence in the cockpit, when the bleeping ceased, as the battery died, and the instrument that once showed where I was, and how far I had to go and in what direction cut to black. I still had a compass, analogue speed, depth, or rather height, and a 150,000 chart. All now was quiet save for the rushing of the wind and a gentle creaking sound.

The distracting dials and warning tone gone, a peace came over me. I realized that much of what we call essential was in fact dispensable. Could I not still find where I was, feel the strength of the wind and judge my drift or leeway with reference to land marks? Bring her safely home?

Crucially, I was still in touch with the forces that dictated my progress. I could feel the rise and fall in the seat of my pants, and compensate with a slight correction of hand on stick, not tiller, for this was a glider, 9,000ft above the Moray countryside. And yet the same would be true for any yacht deprived of chartplotter and autopilot, her skipper forced to stream the Walker log and keep track of where they were by reference to an Admiralty chart, for altimeter read leadline and compass. – Full report