Navigation, Watches, and the Starpath School, with David Burch.

If we were all actually on a dogwatch today, on a boat in the middle of the ocean, our guest for this episode is literally the first person I would choose to bring along. His name is David Burch, and he is not only the founder of the Starpath School of Navigation in Seattle, but he has over 70,000 miles of oceangoing navigation experience, has navigated across the Pacific over 10 times, and even has developed a “doomsday” kit, the size of a shoebox, that allows him to navigate anywhere in the world without power or any electronic devices for the next twenty years. Clearly, David is the one who could help us get to where we want to go.

In our conversation, David describes the development of the Starpath school, his background in navigation and the new developments in navigational charts, and using the stars and technology as a GPS-independent mode of navigation. He also helps us understand why the Casio F-91W wristwatch–priced at about $14–may be the best watch for navigation, why using an analog watch to get a compass bearing, the “Boy Scout” method, is almost always ineffective, and why you should never make a smart aleck remark about the ocean.