Checking the shipping forecast? Whip out the phone. Remind yourself how to tie a single-handed bowline after a winter in hibernation – YouTube has the answer. And tide times? There are dozens of apps for that. There’s little information that you can’t access online these days – much of it free of charge. It’s got some visionaries heralding the end of the printed almanac or pilot guide.
But hold on a second! If print is dead, what are you reading this on? Why has Adlard Coles sold out of its weighty Reeds Nautical Almanac a month early, despite printing more copies this year? And how does the Royal Cruising Club’s Pilotage Foundation sell more than 7,000 of its famed hard- and soft-back pilot guides, covering more than 42 titles? Evidently ‘going online’ is not the whole story.
“It’s very easy to appear a Luddite and say that all this new technology is dangerous,” says Paul Heiney, former RCC Commodore, broadcaster and ST columnist. “I’m not one of those people. I’m hugely keen on electronic nav, but you have to be aware of its limitations. Yachtsmen have to put so much effort into being prepared for any eventuality.”
Like most things in life, there is no ‘right answer’ when it comes to finding the information you need to navigate safely and enjoy
