GPS is no substitute for common sense. When you want to go west and the unit
is telling you to go east, you need to verify what it is you are doing.
Sometimes, things just don't smell right.
Back in 1992-ish, an acquaintance bought a massive sailboat for competing on
the Great Lakes. It was actually a Witbread world-race boat. Anyway, first
big race was the Port Huron to Mackinaw. It was heavy fog and even heavier
wind. They had a huge tailwind so they had every inch of sail up and the
boat was hauling the mail. For some reason the owner just had a bad feeling
about something, so he started double-checking the waypoints in the GPS. I
think it was Thunder Bay Island that was one of the waypoints. However,
instead of using a coordinate out in the lake, the guy who had programmed
the waypoints used the coordinates of the lighthouse! He caught it JUST in
time. Had they not turned, at the speed they were running, it would have
sheered off the keel and it wouldn't have stopped until it was halfway up
the beach to the trees. (They did win the race, but the boat was
uncatagorized at that point). That boat was scary fast and scary big. Things
didn't move quickly, but they had a massive amount of power and would kill
you if you weren't paying attention.
I use a rather dumb GPS, but the deal for me is that I'm a map geek. So, I'm
pretty good about squaring up what the GPS is telling me with a map. Through
the years, when flying roach-class, I'd look out the window and figure out
where we were at based on shape of cities, rivers and interstate highways.
The only two places I couldn't figure out were in western Kentucky and
eastern Wyoming.
Take a hint, people. When you are in the western mountains and have the
brilliant idea to take a shortcut in the wintertime--if the little unmarked
road is going uphill, you will die.
AG
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