Ken wrote
>
> GPS is no substitute for common sense. When you want to go west and the
> unit is telling you to go east, you need to verify what it is you are
> doing. Sometimes, things just don't smell right.
This reminds me of the story of a cousin of mine in the 2nd WW. Tom, his
name was.
I'm working from memory, so please forgive if I get some details wrong. The
main thrust of my argument is not wrong however ...
He was with a unit in Greece, I think it was, and they were up against pretty
stiff opposition from Germans coming down from the north. I don't know the
size of the unit, and having never been in the military, military sizes and
ranks mean very little to me anyway.
And to comprehend this story, you need to put yourself into the boots of New
Zealanders for whom the sun over the equator is always in the NORTH, and
the polar region is in the SOUTH. Ie, opposite to what prevails in the
northern hemisphere. And the northern hemisphere is where they were ...
The unit were told to retreat, and to find their own way to the south. Using
old thinking, they headed for the nearest pole... straight into the arms of
the
Germans who may not have been taking prisoners at that time ... don't
know. If not dead, then into POW camps for the duration.
For Tom, however, the direction they started out heading didn't make sense,
so he persuaded a group that they ought to be going to where the sun was
hot, not where it was not. And that's what they did.
I think they made it to the south of Greece, then to Cyprus, then to Egypt
and on to the desert war in North Africa, but I'm not sure about details of
that
part.
> Back in 1992-ish, an acquaintance bought a massive sailboat for competing
> on the Great Lakes. It was actually a Witbread world-race boat. Anyway,
> first big race was the Port Huron to Mackinaw. It was heavy fog and even
> heavier wind. They had a huge tailwind so they had every inch of sail up
> and the boat was hauling the mail. For some reason the owner just had a
> bad feeling about something, so he started double-checking the waypoints
> in the GPS. I think it was Thunder Bay Island that was one of the
> waypoints. However, instead of using a coordinate out in the lake, the guy
> who had programmed the waypoints used the coordinates of the lighthouse!
> He caught it JUST in time. Had they not turned, at the speed they were
> running, it would have sheered off the keel and it wouldn't have stopped
> until it was halfway up the beach to the trees. (They did win the race,
> but the boat was uncatagorized at that point). That boat was scary fast
> and scary big. Things didn't move quickly, but they had a massive amount
> of power and would kill you if you weren't paying attention.
>
> I use a rather dumb GPS, but the deal for me is that I'm a map geek. So,
> I'm pretty good about squaring up what the GPS is telling me with a map.
> Through the years, when flying roach-class, I'd look out the window and
> figure out where we were at based on shape of cities, rivers and
> interstate highways. The only two places I couldn't figure out were in
> western Kentucky and eastern Wyoming.
>
> Take a hint, people. When you are in the western mountains and have the
> brilliant idea to take a shortcut in the wintertime--if the little
> unmarked road is going uphill, you will die.
>
> AG
Brian Swale.
--
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