Up until now in this column we have only considered the potential loss of GPS satellites during a voyage.
However, our GPS satellites are in no way uniquely vulnerable, nor are we uniquely dependent on them for navigation. We also use satellites for communications and weather prediction; hence, we need to be self-sufficient and able to carry on without these capabilties as well. So far we have discussed the largescale loss of satellites in fairly abstract terms, but for this article we are going to create a very specific hypothetical scenario.
PRELUDE
The following scenario is based as closely as possible on the 1859 Carrington Event, a powerful solar storm. We will focus only on the immediate effects such an event would have on a small cruising boat at sea, including how it would affect the satellite and radio resources commonly used by cruisers. For those unfamiliar with the history of this event, here is a summary: In early September 1859, a solar coronal mass ejection hit the earth, causing spectacular auroras worldwide and also causing telegraph systems (the only large electrical systems that existed at the time) to fail catastrophically. The Carrington Event remains the largest solar storm to affect the earth since humans have used electricity in a widespread fashion. A storm of similar magnitude also occurred in 2012, but it narrowly missed Earth. NASA predicts that the probability of Earth being hit square on by a coronal mass ejection of this size over the next decade is about 12%.
For our scenario, we’re going to suppose we are a cruising trawler making a rhumb-line passage of 240° True from San Francisco to Kahului Harbor on Maui, a trip of more than 2,000 miles. For argument’s sake we’ll assume that the main engine is a simple diesel that operates in the absence of electricity; otherwise we’d be without propulsion and adrift.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 2018-Ausgabe von Passage Maker.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 2018-Ausgabe von Passage Maker.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
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Nord2AK: Nordhavn's 2016 Rendezvous
The seeds were planted in 2012. We had been cruising for several weeks in the remote waters of northern British Columbia, where it isn’t unusual to go for several days without seeing another boat. Then surprisingly, two other Nordhavns sailed into Sea Otter Cove where we were anchored on the west side of Vancouver Island.
Cuban Sojourn
The second part of a journey along Cuba’s northern coast.
Shop Talk
Daniel Harper Q&A Founder & CEO of Siren Marine talks with us about how marine products are beginning to take advantage of onboard data.
Bye, Bye, Birdie #5
The Need for Speed
On The Water Duffield 58
It’s not every day that a brand-new 58-foot performance trawler appears on the marketplace radar, but that seems to have happened with the debut of the Duffield 58 Motoryacht.
Castro's Mystery Motoryacht
Gianma and the voyage that changed the world.
Bye, Bye, Birdie #6
A Star to Steer Her By.
Glass Living
Testing the Modern and Versatile Okean 50.
Navionics Spearheads Post-Irma Re-Mapping Effort
Boaters Can Contribute Cartography And Debris/Wreck Locations.
Coping With Fog
Dealing With One of the Most Dangerous Elements of Seamanship.