Parallel rules (or their equivalent), dividers, pencil, notebook, and an up-to-date paper chart are the essential tools of piloting.

by Nick Nicholson

It's not unusual for a Practical Sailor article to generate a fair amount of reader response. This is particularly true when we either get on our soapbox or venture far out on a fragile limb, both of which we do on a regular basis.

"Back to School," the Offshore Log in the October 1 issue, generated an unusual number of responses from professional navigators: those who are involved in teaching navigation and seamanship, those who have had careers as navigators in the military, and those who are regular navigators of racing yachts. Some of our correspondents asked to reprint the article to hand out to their classes, commending…