Hi,
I‘ve only been sailing for 21 years so I don’t know much about how it done in the good old days. However I am a gadget guy and I love all of the toys. I have a modern B&G touch screen plotter with Wi-Fi and bluetooth. I have a wind sensor w speed and direction, with the plotter calculation and displaying true and apparent wind speed and direction. I also have a below deck autopilot that is linked to the plotter and i can and do use the track route function all of the time. Of course I have an ais transponder (send and receive) and a dsc vhf radio. If you haven’t completely freaked out by now, I also have a bow thruster, anchor windlass, am/fm/ Bluetooth stereo (controlled by plotter, phone, or head unit). Lastly I have a garmin in reach satellite communication device, and I frequently run the Navionics boating app on my Samsung tablet (which can share information with my B&G plotter).
And don’t forget modern sail handling gear like roller furling headsails, roller furling main sails, big powerful winches (some powered), bow, stern thrusters, etc. There are also creature comfort inside the cabin like pressure hot and cold water, refrigeration, propane stove and oven, and lastly heat and air conditioning.
Could I enjoy sailing without all of those conveniences? Of course. But why would I?
I think sailing is safer with modern gear. That includes more accurate weather forecasting, more accurate charts that can be updated easily as shoals form, collision avoidance with AIS, comfortable auto inflating pfd, personal locating beacons, radar, et all.
Barry
The world is complicated, sailing shouldn’t be... With all the new tech available today is sailing getting better or just more complicated?
Was boating better in the nostalgic "good ol' days"?