Skipper’s View
THINGS THAT GO BEEP IN THE NIGHT AND OTHER STORIES
THEY SAY THAT YOU know you're geting old when policemen start looking young. That might be true but to me a still more accurate gauge is when technology starts to completely ba e you. This has already happened to me sadly and I am regularly left scratching my head as I'm guided through the latest piece of navigation software by some enthusiastic marketing representative. My general tactic is to emit a series of enthusiastic yet noncommittal 'hmmm's', and do all I can to stifle any yawns. It is perhaps for this reason that my own boat remains stubbornly technology free, boasting nothing more than a depth sounder. In general this is sucient but I am well aware that others might find this Luddite approach both annoying and perhaps even a touch risky, given the amount of technological help there is out there to ensure we sail from A to B in comfort and safety.
Yes, whatever your feelings are on tech and yachts, there is one thing that I know I am right about. All of these navigational aids beep WAY too much. From the moment you switch on any of these bits of kit, they emit a reassuring beep to let you know they are working. Fair enough I suppose but from here on they develop a mind of their own. Many is the time that I have been lining up to moor a boat on test when two or three alarms decide to start beeping simultaneously. Often it's to tell you that the depth is low (because you are coming in to moor) or the bow thrusters are activated or have stopped working, or are thinking about restarting. Whatever the reason, it's precisely the sort of distraction you do not need as you are backing in to moor your boat. Similarly, I recently helped deliver a very smart brand-new yacht across the Med. Night watches were balmy and magical; the boat forging ahead across silvery waves gilded by the sea of stars overhead. In the magical silence you became entranced by the stars, the infinite beauty... then...BEEEP! You were regularly jolted from your reverie by some pointless alarm . I asked the skipper what it was for and he just shrugged and showed me how to mute it. I am therefore ocially launching a campaign to silence the beeps.