What remains?
The paper chart is the working surface. It shows coastlines, depths, dangers, navigation marks and prominent features. A magnetic compass can provide a heading without relying on the vessel’s electrical network. Speed and elapsed time give an estimated distance to plot.
Near the coast, lighthouses, headlands, church towers and other recognisable features can be used for bearings. Two or more bearings create a fix. Depth soundings may also help: the shape of the seabed, read alongside the chart, provides another clue to position.
The limitations
Poor visibility may remove visual bearings. A compass has its own errors. Wind and current can move the vessel away from the course steered. If timekeeping, radio, radar or depth sounder are also lost, uncertainty grows quickly.
Offshore, celestial navigation becomes valuable if a sextant, reliable timepiece, tables and the necessary knowledge are available. Even then, cloud cover and human error remain important factors.
Why it belongs in Black Voltage
In Dead Reckoning, technology is more than convenience: it supports nearly every modern decision. When that layer disappears, the crew must return to methods that still exist but are rarely used as a complete system. Experience, discipline and leadership are tested together.
When technology falls silent
Meet the crew of Black Voltage as they search for a course without reliable electronics.
Discover the story