There have been a few articles in the sailing press of late warning of the danger to sensitive equipment of the use of mobile phones. I cannot say I gave it too much thought – perhaps that was my mistake.

Dropping off our mooring on Friday the 20^th July, with the intention of sailing to Yarmouth as the launch-off point for the Summer Cruise to the Channel Island, I powered up the Chart Plotter (internal GPS) and radar and all worked fine.

I then switched on the mobile phone to call up ‘Many Moons’ a 31, by prior arrangement. I then plugged the phone into the cigar lighter socket, which is on the port side panel on a Parker 275, and placed the phone on the top of the seat back (some inches from the Chart Plotter).

On reaching the end of Beaulieu River I went to unplug the phone, as we would soon be sailing, and saw the message ‘No Position – Check Status page’ On switching over it was apparent that there were no satellite signals.

My suspicion is that the GPS was damaged when the phone hunted, as they frequently do. The interference caused by the power they give out can often be heard if one is on the normal phone with a mobile nearby, or seen on a nearby computer terminal.

Anyway, the Chart Plotter/GPS had stopped working and never worked again (its now away for repair).

The corollary of this story is that I was faced with the problem that the GPS was my only means of getting a fix. This would be vital when an hour or so out from Alderney, in order to set a final course. With Spring tides and unpredictable weather we decided to abort the cruise and spend a little time cruising/walking on the South coast. Our walking boots came in handy for inland trekking.

All being well, we will complete the Channel Islands cruise next year.