What to do on a yacht if GPS fails?

Non-trivial task

Modern technologies have become firmly established not only in our land life, but also in yachting. Electronics is our reliable friend and comrade, which simplifies life, makes cruising easier and more enjoyable, and navigation easier. However, every yachtsman can remember at least a couple of examples of how he was let down by the newfangled “electronics”.

GPS failure or failure is not uncommon. Although the GPS system itself is reliable, a whole list of external factors can be the cause of the failure. Among the most popular reasons for GPS failure: problems with the signal receiver (separate antenna, chartplotter, smartphone), problems with the position of satellites in orbit, too high a speed of movement, which causes problems with displaying the location (usually true for cars). 

Sometimes it also happens that the unlucky yachtsman somehow managed to get into the protected waters controlled by the military. In these waters, the GPS signal is usually jammed and on the chartplotter screen you can see that the yacht is either somewhere on land, or far from the navigation area, or the course will not correspond to the real one. 

What should I do if my GPS is not working?

It all depends on the reason why the GPS receiver does not want to work correctly. If at this particular moment the satellites are not transmitting a signal normally, and your receiver is fully functional, then there are several options. The first, and easiest, is to reboot the device. Next, you can try resetting the receiver and recalibrating it. Usually, all these operations are described in the instructions for the device.

If you are absolutely confident in the health of your GPS and sin on problems with satellites, then you can just wait. Sometimes a two or three hour wait solves the problem. And this is the best option available - anchor in a safe place and wait until the GPS is working properly. 

But what if your signal is jammed from land? You can find out about this using a simple way - check all available GPS receivers for correct operation. If all devices behave strangely, then it is probably worth changing the route (think about protected waters).

In fact, the answer to the question in the section heading is outrageously simple. If the GPS is out of order, then a paper map and other analogue navigation aids should be used. 

In an ideal scenario, in addition to plotting a course with a chartplotter and navigating with GPS, you would periodically record your current location. This location needs to be confirmed not only with the help of GPS.

Electronic navigation devices are very useful. But remember that there should always be a backup plan, and preferably several. Knowledge and skills to work with a paper map, a measuring instrument, a navigation ruler, a compass, a direction finder and an ordinary pencil will not be superfluous. 

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23.06.2023