Just talking to a friend that will join a Nautor Swan 51 on the last leg - to Maine, of it's circumnavigation(ARC?) next month.

My friend has been on the boat and knows the crew. The boat is equipped with state of the art electronic navigation tools. But what the owner relayed to my friend that stuck out to me, was this.

Every one onboard(5 to 6 at all times) has their own iPad with world charts for all areas they're sailing, downloaded. There was a mention of a 10 dollar download(?) most were using. "Everybody, even off watch, is always navigating. They want to know what's going on above decks, boat speed, direction. Why? Because everyone can.

That seems like the way it would be on any boat circumnavigating today. That technology is sitting in many home kitchens today. Why wouldn't others onboard be keeping tabs on VETAS? How about everybody here? As crew, would you be on a boat crossing oceans without a simple gps device with the necessary charts? I wouldn't.

Makes me think they were all exhausted on the boat. Asleep at the wheel, the same old mistake most of us make, once or twice.