Have you ever noticed your autopilot suddenly losing the plot and sending the boat off in completely the wrong direction? East Coast sailor David Evans believes he may have found the explanation.
About 18 months ago he was taking his Hustler 32 Hullabaloo XV back from Dabchicks Regatta at West Mersea to her base at Walton Backwaters in very light weather.
“We were motoring as we needed to get home, and as no one likes helming under power we were using the
autopilot. Suddenly, without warning, the boat altered 90 degrees to starboard. It did this another couple of times, so I fitted the spare. (As I do a lot of single-handed passages between races, I am largely dependent upon the autopilot, so if you need one, by the law of diminishing returns, you need at least two) and all seemed OK,” he explains.
“So I went out and bought a new one, all very neat with a remote control etc. Last summer we were motoring across Lyme Bay (no wind again) and suddenly the boat altered course 90 degrees to starboard again. Right - so two different systems, same problem! On thinking about what could cause it, I suddenly thought: mobile phone! So took it out of my pocket, put it near the autopilot - and, well I
never - 90 degrees top starboard again!”
David tested the theory by putting the phone near the steering compass, and again saw sudden huge movements on the compass.
“So when sailing, leave your mobile down below - and if you have a fluxgate
compass, well away from that as well!” he warns.
This, presumably, is why airlines insist on mobile phones being switched off in flight!
Thank you, David, for the warning.
