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?
In: 5120
Safe navigation requires more than one way to fix your position.
It is pretty unlikely (yet possible) that all your electronics including handheld GPS or smartphone fail at the same time, but even if they don’t, GPS can lead to faulty navigation. Several possible reasons come to mind:
– Programming the wrong waypoint, easily done by making a typo.
– Using the wrong chart datum. Sea charts use different reference systems (datums) that have to coincide with the datum used on your GPS.
– GPS position accuracy varies, so in some narrow channels, it might not be sufficient.
When you are at the wheel steering, landmarks give instant and precise feedback while GPS always has some delay and uncertainty.
This makes steering easier and more accurate especially because boats and ships need some time to react to movements of the wheel.
Latest Answers