Is GPS Obsoleting the Sextant?

[Allanbc]

I hope they are not obsolete because I just bought one on Craigslist for $100. It is an Astra IIIB and it came with books, a VHS tape, and a calculator.

[Hartley18]

Originally Posted by Allanbc

I hope they are not obsolete because I just bought one on Craigslist for $100. It is an Astra IIIB and it came with books, a VHS tape, and a calculator.

Allan, if the sextant is not obsolete - the VHS tape sure is!!! Haven't used one of them in years!

At least a sextant doesn't have Y2K issues..

[artbyjody]

we should have a poll of how many people have them, if they have one if they know how to use them, or if they are onboard for nautical showcase only....

[sailingdog]

AllanBC-

You should get "The Sextant Handbook", by Bruce Bauer.... it is an invaluable resource for anyone who owns and uses a sextant.

[Valiente]

The last three years of nautical almanacs on my shelf say otherwise. We own two, an Astra IIIB and a nice Freiberger from the '70s.

I know enough about solar physics to know that our projected cruise falls near a flare maximum (it's cyclic) and that not only do these "sun storms" have the potential to screw up GPS, they can cause the atmosphere itself to heat up, expand and create drag on LEO satellites...like the GPS constellation.

Solar flares cause GPS disruptions
Solar flares will disrupt GPS in 2011 - tech - 29 September 2006 - New Scientist Tech

I recall well 1989 when a burst of solar radiation took out the electricity in Eastern Canada. It pooched GPS for a few days, but in '89, few people were using it "recreationally".

So the sextant (and the maintenance of the skills to use it) are simply representative of good seamanship. One should always have multiple (or at least more than one) methods of ascertaining one's position. GPS is ONE such nav aid. Sextants are another. Depth contours are a third. Coastal pilotage is yet another. Hell, I can find my latitude with a stick, a protractor and a calendar, even on a boat. If my GPS is showing me I'm sailing atop Mount Terror, I know nothing of use to me as a navigator.

EDIT: Here's some recent examples of outages due to flares:

Solar flares ate my GPS | Register Hardware

GeoCarta: GPS Outage Due to Solar Flare; Are More to Come?

[Plumper]

My experience with GPS and sextants indicate that a cloudy day (or month) screwing up your sextant sight is far more likely than a solar flare screwing up your GPS. Don't forget that DR!

PS, finding latitude is easy, it is longitude that requires some effort.

[tjaldur]

I am now wondering if I am the only one that from time to time have lost the current? It has happened to me that the alternator quit charging. Or that I have spent more electricity than I have been able to produce.

I once had a wife that in some harbour had bought the cutest little 12 volts hairdryer, that drew a ferocious 60 amps. While she was proudly drying her hair, satisfied with her ability to adapt to boating life (by trying to adapt the ship to a modern house), all my systems went down.

My reason for having a sextant and buying the nautical almanac each year is the assumption that I may have current failure.

[artbyjody]

Originally Posted by tjaldur

I once had a wife that in some harbour had bought the cutest little 12 volts hairdryer, that drew a ferocious 60 amps. While she was proudly drying her hair, satisfied with her ability to adapt to boating life (by trying to adapt the ship to a modern house), all my systems went down.

Or you could have her (or next female visitor) adapt to having her hair "air dry"... probably not - I see your dilemma

[camaraderie]

tjaldur...a hand held $100 gps and a box of batteries solves that issue.

Val...we've been through this before. The OUTSIDE limit on loss of GPS signal due to solar flares is 30 minutes with 10-20 minutes far more likely. Global Positioning System outage could occur again
You can't even take and reduce a sight in that time.

[JiffyLube]

I should have guessed that my question had been asked before, and I wasn't trying to revisit old battles on this subject.

I've taken classes around the use of the sextant through my local Power Squadron (a good place to learn), so I agree that's it good to know other ways to navigate...just in case.

I was just interested in what the opinions of others were.