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Cancel Culture's latest: Compass Heading Errors:

Discussion in 'Technical Discussion' started by JWY, Aug 26, 2020.

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  1. JWY, Aug 26, 2020
    #1
    JWY

    JWY Senior Member

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    This is not meant to be a political post, so please don't make it one. It is the concept, regardless of the specific messengers:

    From "MarineLog": Today, Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) and Chair of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.Congr) sent a letter to the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Karl L. Schultz, calling for a formal review of USCG certified training materials after they learned of an offensive mnemonic device circulating in such material.

    DeFazio and Maloney wrote: “Within the USCG accredited captain’s license course offered by ‘Mariners Learning System,’ students are encouraged to use the mnemonic device ‘true virgins make dull company—just add whiskey’ to remember how to calculate compass error. We are sure you will agree that the use of this crude phrase in certification materials approved by the Coast Guard is unacceptable.”
  2. olderboater, Aug 26, 2020
    #2
    olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    You made it political with your title and by posting it. I 100% agree with them that is not acceptable to be posted in an educational document nor in one certified by the CG. Surely someone can come up with a better way to remember. The idea of getting a virgin drunk to take advantage is indefensible and words structure our thought processes and influence our societal views. I would have seemed the simple solution would have been for Mariners Learning System to remove that.

    Now should congress be spending time on it, no, but then the CG which won't allow any suggestive boat name should certainly not have approved those materials.
  3. JWY, Aug 26, 2020
    #3
    JWY

    JWY Senior Member

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    I certainly don't label myself as a feminist, but for sure I look disdainfully at a minimum of women being treated as less than equals (excluding physical strength). Any boater who could take the memory aide literally or seriously, doesn't belong at the helm. It's because it's so laughable that makes it memorable.

    There might be a few YF members that don't like me personally, but in my 15+ years here, I have never had one poster make a disparaging remark because of my gender. And I bet every single one has used the mnemonic device, myself included.

    Judy
  4. NYCAP123, Aug 26, 2020
    #4
    NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    I learned that in 1959 (too young to understand) and don't think I've thought about it since. Can't believe they still say it in 2020 much less put it in government materials. If our government assigns this problem to about 20 committees they might get it out by 2059 (fast by government standards).
  5. olderboater, Aug 26, 2020
    #5
    olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    Judy....just because people have used it doesn't make it right and certainly not for documents to train captains. That just means it's use is being further encouraged and perpetuated.

    As to the device, I've never used it and never heard it until today. It wasn't in my training materials. As my wife is a captain and I employee 4 female captains, I don't think it would be appropriate for them to be presented as part of their training and they're among the most open minded I know. Just including it in a formal training document is inappropriate.

    Simple solution, remove it and move on, but labeling it Cancel Culture isn't appropriate either. It's just good taste.
  6. Pascal, Aug 26, 2020
    #6
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    I am so glad some Members of Congress have nothing better to do than worrying about a handful of offended snowflakes. I know a few women who did the course incl my GF years ago and none were offended.

    It s actually True Virgins Make Dull Companions At Weddings... I had to look it up in an old sea school manual...

    But hey... this is really far more important than being attacked by China or having a crime wave sweeping thru the country.
  7. NYCAP123, Aug 26, 2020
    #7
    NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    What simple solution has the government ever chosen?
  8. NYCAP123, Aug 26, 2020
    #8
    NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    And there it goes political.
    Point of thread made. Time to lock it.
  9. mapism, Aug 26, 2020
    #9
    mapism

    mapism Senior Member

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    An even simpler solution pops to my mind - why not get rid of the compass error calculation altogether?
    I'd be curious to hear if anyone has ever used the concept in practice, in real world.
    I mean, aside from purely academic purposes.
  10. Pascal, Aug 26, 2020
    #10
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    not political. I refrain from mentioning the party affiliation of the gentlemen :)
  11. Pascal, Aug 26, 2020
    #11
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    Very rarely... but in a bind it’s worth knowing. That said, nowadays with having at least half a dozen GPS receiver onboard... odds of losing GPS are pretty low

    unless China hacks into the system of course :)
  12. mapism, Aug 26, 2020
    #12
    mapism

    mapism Senior Member

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    I wouldn't worry about China.
    More than likely, they already hacked the system long ago, and are enjoying it more than anyone else... :D
  13. NYCAP123, Aug 26, 2020
    #13
    NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    OK I'll bite. What "attack" by China, and What "crime wave"? Enough of this MAGAHEAD crap. And there's no phony smile on my post
  14. Ken Bracewell, Aug 26, 2020
    #14
    Ken Bracewell

    Ken Bracewell Senior Member

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    I guess I'm not clear how this is gender specific in any way?
    Kevin likes this.
  15. olderboater, Aug 26, 2020
    #15
    olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    You're technically correct, but you do know it was referring to one gender. Regardless, it's not appropriate for training materials.
  16. Ken Bracewell, Aug 26, 2020
    #16
    Ken Bracewell

    Ken Bracewell Senior Member

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    OB- you know I respect you, but I'll keep reciting it in my head every time I make the conversion.
  17. Pascal, Aug 26, 2020
    #17
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    :) and I mean it. Not phony. You re so far out there that it is really funny.
  18. JWY, Aug 26, 2020
    #18
    JWY

    JWY Senior Member

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    Good for you, Ken. Now that's true gender equality. The assumption it was referring to females is my bad. And speaking of my bad, ok, I have been enlightened. Just because it wasn't offensive to me doesn't mean that it wasn't offensive.
  19. dewald, Aug 26, 2020
    #19
    dewald

    dewald Member

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    If my thread got locked for saying " Proud to be an American" this one is way beyond that.
  20. Ward, Aug 26, 2020
    #20
    Ward

    Ward Senior Member

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    I'm nowhere near as experienced a captain as most of you, and most of my cruising took place as a kid long before GPS and before Loran was affordable, so we always had paper charts around. So I can't figure out why you'd need any sort of memory aid because you'd just glance at the compass rose in any case.
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