With GPS systems and other geographical technology being as sophisticated as it now is, do lighthouses still serve an integral purpose? Are they more now just in case the captain/crew lapses on the monitoring of navigation systems? Obviously lighthouses are more immediate and I guess tangible, but do they still fulfil a purpose beyond mitigating basic human error?
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Light houses are some of the most useful aids to navigation. They blink a certain pattern so you can tell what light house you are looking at. The major advantage is range. They are built high and bright so you can see them from miles. While something like a bouy you can’t see it, and especially read it until you are darn near hitting the thing.
As for why? To verify your location. GPS is great until it’s not there, or it’s wrong. It does go down sometimes too. I was co-pilot in a private plane once and the GPS system just disappeared. We were flying IFR so had to switch to VFR and other instruments for navigation. Later we find out it was a military drill.
You can’t just follow a GPS you always need to be tracking your position with as many tools as you have available. Things go wrong and you need to be prepared to deal with it.
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