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As a certified old fart, I've heard these arguments applied to VHF, Loran, Radar, GPS, and AIS.? Going back to the Sailnet Sabre list, there was broad consensus that radar was very dangerous because it was impractical to carry a full set of spare modules and if you got dependent on it you could find yourself in danger in the fog.? And there was the fellow who argued that he didn't radar because you could broadcast his latitude and longitude on VHF 16 and the Penobscot ferries could steer around him.

Non-sense.? Anything that makes sailing safer and more enjoyable is a good thing (I will concede that in the pre-radar bad-old-days the complete idiots stayed in port in a fog, which was a big plus).

Electronics keep getting cheaper, better, more reliable, and easier to use.? Hurray!? Hurray!? This is nothing but good.? And a chart/plotter doesn't need a nautical almanac, sight reduction forms, paper charts, drafting instruments, and logarithm tables to find out where you are (and the chart/plotter works in the fog!).

The difference is one of attitude.? It seems a lot of new sailors cannot tell the difference between an inconvenience and a true emergency.? Your boat is sinking or on fire = emergency.? You lose electrical power, the engine won't start, there are big waves and strong winds, and you have some water ingress = inconvenience. Old school sailors believe in self-reliance; new sailors cry for help at the drop of a hat.? Old school sailor rescued themselves in the event of a dismasting?or took to a liferaft if the boat was really sinking; new school sailors are a bunch of babies who call for help when the freezer and a/c don't work, then think the USCG will take them back out to their boats to retrieve it.? New school sailors need internet access and satellite phones.

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James H. Wilson, Jr.
Attorney & Counsellor at Law

By appt. only:
4860 Cox Road, Suite 200
Glen Allen, VA 23060
804-740-6464
jameswilson29@...

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On Tue, Feb 25, 2025 at 10:17?AM PIOTR SERWIK via <cuivier1=[email protected]> wrote:

EPIBR and PLB simply send an SOS/Mayday, and VHF is very limited distance-wise. So not compatible at all. Regardless, I'm not about to extoll virtues of Starlink, but I was in situations without ability to communicate in a State-wide emergencies, and would have paid any price to be able to communicate.?