BOOK WILL HELP AVOID MISFORTUNE.Byline: Jeremy Bagott Daily News Staff Writer The airline pilot is fortunate. Before allowed into the cockpit of a 747, he or she will log many hours at the controls of a flight simulator flight simulator, device providing a controlled environment in which a flight trainee can experience conditions approximating those of actual flight. A simulator generally consists of an enclosure housing a working replica of the interior of the cockpit of an , being tested on a baffling baf·fle tr.v. baf·fled, baf·fling, baf·fles 1. To frustrate or check (a person) as by confusing or perplexing; stymie. 2. To impede the force or movement of. n. 1. array of unlikely systems failures in all possible weather conditions. This is not the case with the skipper of a pleasure craft, whose first encounters with trouble will be of the real variety. And no matter how many man-overboard drills have been performed, they will not help to resolve a mainsail that can't be hoisted after the engine goes poof, as the authors of ``What Now Skipper? Forty Fiendish Challenges to Your Seamanship sea·man·ship n. Skill in navigating or managing a boat or ship. seamanship Noun skill in navigating and operating a ship Noun 1. Skills'' (Sheridan House; $16.50) point out. The title poses 40 dastardly das·tard·ly adj. Cowardly and malicious; base. das  tard·li·ness n. scenarios cooked up by one of four experts, provides a response by a different expert and takes a stab at a ``correct'' action by the scenario's original author. An example of a problem, followed by the book's solution: The pillar was visible off the starboard bow and perfectly matched the description of the lighthouse in the piloting guide. They had successfully crossed the channel for the first time. ``Keep her heading south,'' the skipper's wife called out, her face buried in a chart. The piloting guidebook advised giving the point and its off-lying rocks a wide berth. Another promontory promontory /prom·on·to·ry/ (prom´on-tor?e) a projecting process or eminence. prom·on·to·ry n. A projecting part. promontory a projecting process or eminence. had become visible. The feature matched those on the chart as well, but one problem: Neither the features of the harbor, where they would tie up for the night, nor of the town were visible; the low afternoon sun made it impossible to identify any detail on the coast. It would be high tide in half an hour and the guide noted that the harbor entrance is unnavigable two hours after high. ``Surely we could motor slowly in, keeping a close eye on the echo sounder echo sounder, an older instrumentation system for indirectly determining ocean floor depth. Echo sounding is based on the principle that water is an excellent medium for the transmission of sound waves and that a sound pulse will bounce off a reflecting layer, ,'' urged the wife, who had her heart set on a nice dinner at a harborside har·bor·side n. The area adjacent to a harbor. cafe. The husband did not want to close the coast under these circumstances but rather wanted to beat to windward wind·ward adj. 1. Of or moving toward the quarter from which the wind blows. 2. Of or on the side exposed to the wind or to prevailing winds. adv. In a direction from which the wind blows; against the wind. to a larger, better-marked harbor to the west. However, they would not get there until first light the next day. Which is the best move? The book's two experts who commented on the scenario agree with the wife. The skipper is being overly cautious, they say. Harbor markings are tough to pick out from five miles out, even more so when looking into the sun. The skipper should listen to his wife and edge in on his course, correcting for compass and tide. Says one author: ``Close the land, navigating carefully and watching the echo sounder, and all will be revealed.'' CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (Color) no caption (Cover of ``What Now Skipper?'') |
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