“Has technology taken over?” You tell me!
Written By: GAZ, Alan, sherwos, CW, Tillerman, matto, Carol Anne, Pat, Curzon – Special mention to MILF Hunter (but he didn’t make the cut).Â
Compiled from comments from the article “When technology takes over“.
We’ve been navigating the oceans a hell of a lot longer than we’ve been driving motorcars and there is a hell of a lot to learn about when travelling the oceans. It takes a great deal of time to learn it. The problem is that most people today don’t wish to spend a lot of time learning, they want to do it now. Talk about trying to run before you can crawl!
Technology has improved our lives greatly in almost every respect, and sailing is no exception. First there was loadstone, then backstaffs, then Sextants, Depth sounders, GPS, Satellite communications….
You can go swimming without technology I suppose (if you do it naked) but you can’t sail without that technological marvel – your boat. Now you can choose to use 19th century technology or 21st century technology I suppose but you can’t do without it. Technology is good, up to a point. For example:
- buying sailing gear on the internet
- blogging
- watching training DVDs
- using an internal combustion engine vehicle to travel to sailing
- using an internal combustion engine to drive a rescue boat
- using a digital watch to time starts
- using a boat made of glass fibre
- using a carbon fibre tiller
- using sheets and lines made with artificial fibres
- wearing sailing clothing made with technical materials sch as neoprene and Gore-Tex
- using sails made with artificial fibres
- using a digital camera to take photos of sailing
- using the internet to find announcements of regattas
- using email to communicate with fellow sailors
- flying on a jet aeroplane to travel to regattas
As for technology and navigation, the art or skill of being able to navigate using a chart and terrestial or celestial landmarks is what differentiates the true mariner from just being a simple bus driver. There have been too many technology assisted collisions and accidents in the maritime world of late because many people have forgotten (or never learnt) how to use and apply the basic principles (common sense included) and when the technology falls over they simply don’t know what to do.
As a case in point, the 3rd Mate on a ship was so dependent on technology that he nearly collided with a trawler because he had forgotten how to use the Mk1 eyeball and look out the bridge windows, even though it was a clear day with perfect visibility. This is a perfect example of the need to use technology with common sense and experience. In another circumstance recently, a helmsman was steering a direct line GPS radar track despite the fact it was an upriver destination. The direct track involved crossing a couple of miles of mudflats, roads and backyards!
Another way to look at this … a sailing boat is a piece of technology and always has been. Technology is just something designed and built by humans to extend their potential. If it is technology v sailing then we would have to think that canting keels and computer controlled moveable ballast have taken the simple joy out of sailing for many, especially the owners of vessels which don’t have the technology and therefore can no longer compete.
However, technology that distances us from the sailing experience is not so good. Pushing a button and having an electric motor adjust the trim on a boat is not the same thing as pulling on a sheet. Navigation strictly by numbers on a GPS is not the same as really knowing what direction one is headed. From the time some caveman hoisted a sail on his dugout canoe, to Magellan, to Cook, to Cayard their ships or boats have always been the technology of their day. Doesn’t really matter if its hemp ropes or carbon masts, it’s all technology.
Now, it might be argued that Gore-Tex and neoprene clothing also distance one from the sailing experience, because they mean that one can be isolated from the cold and wet conditions of sailing. Each sailor has to draw his or her own line in deciding where technology creates too much distance from the sailing experience. It’s going to be different for each individual.
So getting back to sailing, maybe even “pushbutton sailing†is acceptable in the case of some people with disabilities. Sailing seems to encompass a huge range of experiences anyway; probably the average club sailor couldn’t cope very well with Stars or Aussie skiffs, but, some people absolutely love to hang over the edge to get their thrills; others get enough challenge from rigging a 12-volt blender on their cruising tubs. Some people like the challenge of honing traditional navigation skills; others find it a nuisance.
But it depends if you enjoy old-school navigation or not! Some don’t, preferring the use of a GPS (sensibly of course), and have more fun sailing the boat without having to worry if tidal + leeway predictions are correct…
In a way technology has taken over but you still have to sail the boat and that’s a skill on its own. But having a GPS has taken a lot of the guess work out of it. And then, of course, there’s the question of what happens when the technology breaks down. Suppose the GPS quits working for some reason. Will the sailor who’s been using it know how to use the compass and either coastal or celestial navigation to get where he or she is going?
Technology is wonderful; however we all have to have the correct and sufficient training to know how to use it.
I enjoy my sailing a lot more when I know I’m in deep water, I know the forecast, my beer is cold, and should disaster strike, help is a mere mayday or EPIRB away.
