Home
Back to Nauticos
WebStore

Sea Stories

12 April

Joe Litchfield told a story about navigating in the "old days" in coastal Maine (before he learned to say "arrrgh"). And before LORAN navigation was commonly used by fishermen. There was a great fog and storm, and he was at sea and didn’t want to venture into the harbor until the conditions cleared up. But his captain (who probably said "arrrgh"), told him to "head north by north east for two cigarettes, then turn a point and a half to starboard". Sure enough, this method brought him right to the dock! Tom D said that would be the equivalent of a "two 6-pack trip" by car. I thought it was his version of GPS navigation … "Geezer Positioning System".

Joe Litchfield

Another old-time method of navigation Down East: If it’s really foggy, take a sack of potatoes to the bridge. Take one to the starboard rail and throw it overboard. If you hear a "plop", go that way; if you don't, turn the other way. Keep it up until the fog clears or you run out of potatoes.