Sail World News

Sail World News

What happens to the GPS when the satellites turn off?

'Breakdowns' are forecast by US government agency  .
The news that disturbed me most this week was the possibility that the world GPS system is likely to suffer breakdowns in the coming years.

The gradual removal of lighthouses and the growing tendency of sailors to set off without a second line of safety in the form of paper charts and sextants puts too much faith in the ongoing integrity of the global GPS system. Apart from the possibility of all your GPS's not surviving a lightning strike, there are other nightmares.

You wouldn't want to be, my nightmare runs, sailing in a country suddenly at war with the USA, who decides to turn off the satellites affecting that country; or somewhere in an ocean where the all the satellites suffered a sudden failure, caused by... who knows what? Nightmares don't have to be likely or logical.

Now the future possible failure of the system is a reality, forecast by the USA's Government Accountability Office. So fellow sailors, read the article and see whether you decide to continue to carry paper charts 'just in case'.

The rest of this issue includes an amazing rescue by some brave Scotsmen, a missing one-armed sailor, a 'crazy German sailor' who is back in Somaliland claiming his boat from the pirates, the comical story of the boat that couldn't make way in 25 knots and all the sails filled, and the touching story of a tough little boat that sailed for 14 months across an ocean after being abandoned by its mutinying crew.

Some good practical advice - what to tell your new crew and guests before leaving port, how to look after your outboard so it will look after you, and a story about trying to find the 'greenest' marine company around to do business with.

Finally, while the two teen solo sailing adventurers are still on the way - British Mike Perham in New Zealand, and Californian Zac Sunderland on the home run up the west coast of America - young Australian sailor Jessica Watson has just launched her own small yacht and will take off solo in September.

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