Don’t let your electronic love affair diminish your real affection for charts, log-keeping, and piloting. There lies the way.

By Nick Nicholson

You're tearing along at seven knots, trying desperately to reach harbor before total darkness. Suddenly you're aware that visibility is deteriorating—your running lights are reflecting back at you, and it seems darker than it should be for this time of day. It's not just getting dark—it's getting foggy. Visibility must be a lot worse than you thought, and your palms feel cold and wet, much more so than justified by the weather.

You're not worried, though. The autopilot is driving the boat, leaving you plenty of time to look around. Waypoints in the GPS are controlling the autopilot. …