Scott: The QE2 is equipped with transponders and its schedule is very tightly controlled. Airliners continually communicate with the ship on a regular basis depending on their flight patterns and other ships do as well. All communications are well logged and when the Deck Officer showed them to me I was amazed at the number of contacts. Now to our type of boats. Who really knows where you are at any particular time? Unless you are participating in a rally with a set time to call in you really are alone. I understand that obtaining a transponder is possible but that cost and the cost to monitor would be beyond most sailors. SO! Learn and use the sextant along with the tables, almanacs, etc. The more you use it the less work it is and it becomes 2nd nature like checking your instruments. Like I said before it is like playing golf on how close can you get to the GPS reading. Have fun. Leonard Stern, Indifference

At 12:32 PM 12/20/04 -0500, you wrote: >Now to our type of boats. Who really knows where you are at any particular >time? Unless you are participating in a rally with a set time to call in >you really are alone. I understand that obtaining a transponder is >possible but that cost and the cost to monitor would be beyond most >sailors. SO! Learn and use the sextant along with the If the issue is having someone ashore know where you are, then that can be solved by sending an email using WinLink or SailMail or for that matter via a Satphone. Assuming that you have anyone one of these. If you do, the incremental cost to send your position report is almost nil. In any event, the Government isn't going to just turn GPS off. Almost everyone in the military uses GPS and is using the same receivers the rest of us use. Go ask a National Guardsman, which Garmin he is using. Degrade the signal, very possibly. Turn even the civilian signal clear off, rubbish. Mike Capt. Mike Maurice Tualatin(Portland), Oregon