# Magnetic Pole shifting unpredicably



## GW3OQK

https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/magnetic-north-pole-shifting-rapidly-and-unpredicatably

Interesting article here, but a long time since I was at sea, especially with only a magnetic compass. Do you all instantly recall what to do with deviation & variation and steer by the reflection of the compass above?

Andrew, a mere ex sparks.


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## Barrie Youde

Error East, Compass Least.
Error West, Compass Best.
Tired Virgins Make Dull Companions.
CadeT - Compass to True - Add East.


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## tunatownshipwreck

Looks like it's almost where the North Pole is.


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## gypcoll

I always used the phrase, variation East, compass least, variation West compass best, and then of course you have the deviation, gypcoll


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## Geoff Gower

CDMVT Cambridge Don's Make Virgins Tremble easy formula to apply to compass


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## seaman38

GW3OQK said:


> https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/magnetic-north-pole-shifting-rapidly-and-unpredicatably
> 
> Interesting article here, but a long time since I was at sea, especially with only a magnetic compass. Do you all instantly recall what to do with deviation & variation and steer by the reflection of the compass above?
> 
> Andrew, a mere ex sparks.


Yes sailed with only a magnetic compass with rod and chain steering, compass on the monkey island reflected to wheelhouse, but only one point showing either side of the lubber line and vessel yawing two points either side in bad weather on way to Bear Island, made more difficult by wheel being about 5' in diameter and you had to stand to one side as wheel was against aft bulkhead in wheelhouse.

Also sailed (late 1950's)on one of Ropner's with only a magnetic compass, part time D/F and part time echo sounder, no radar, but we still managed to get around, albeit very slowly!


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## GW3OQK

seaman38 said:


> difficult by wheel being about 5' in diameter and you had to stand to one side as wheel was against aft bulkhead in wheelhouse.


Somebody told me in such a ship he had to steer facing aft! In the dark in a river being told "port 10" you can guess what happened.


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## seaman38

GW3OQK said:


> Somebody told me in such a ship he had to steer facing aft! In the dark in a river being told "port 10" you can guess what happened.


Nice story GW, but alas it would never work, you needed your two hands on the spokes to move the goddam wheel at all with R and C, in bad weather the kick back could lift you off the deck if small of stature, in some weather it took two men just to hold it, happy days. Standing at the side turning it hand over hand was practically the only to handle the beast


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## OilJiver

seaman38 said:


> vessel yawing two points either side in bad weather *on way to Bear Island*, …….


No one going to get fired for “female accompaniment” up there Seaman and that’s a fact!


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## seaman38

OilJiver said:


> No one going to get fired for “female accompaniment” up there Seaman and that’s a fact!


Sorry OJ you've lost me there, perhaps you were thinking of laying in the lee of Bum Island [=P]


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## OilJiver

Not exactly Seaman. Have never set foot on Bear Island myself. But pretty sure even US submarine commander (mentioned elsewhere) unlikely to get into trouble if he found himself in that place.


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## seaman38

OilJiver said:


> Not exactly Seaman. Have never set foot on Bear Island myself. But pretty sure even US submarine commander (mentioned elsewhere) unlikely to get into trouble if he found himself in that place.


Don't think many would have spent any time on Bear Island. If you couldn't get your Cod off the East and North coast of Iceland then you headed over to Bear Island, fantastic cod area, but weather always crap and cold, very cold, heavy seas running. Some Skippers headed straight there if information from same company trawlers declared Iceland crap at the time. 

Doubt if Eskimo Nell would have liked it there!


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## Petenz

*Magnetic Pole movement*

Apparently due to an core anomaly under Central Africa the North Magnetic pole is moving faster than it ever has and a total reversal is definitely on the cards. Gyro compasses would probably fall over and North would be South . Could be a mite confusing for the Nav . There is no knowing how satellites would cope so AIS and ADS-B may be out of action. Coastal nav would be all you had and maps may look a little funny upside down. Of course it will only happen when you are in port.......(Cloud)


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## Varley

Why would gyro's fall over?


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## duncs

Varley said:


> Why would gyro's fall over?


When they stop!


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## Petenz

Varley said:


> Why would gyro's fall over?


Possibly not, but they may become temporarily unreliable .Magnetic reversal hasn't happened in Human existence as far as we know, so the results are all theoretical . Even Steven Hawking wasn't sure. I understand the Earths magnetic effect is becoming weaker as the poles move more rapidly. Lets hope we never have to adjust to a pole reversal. Life at sea is complicated enough without THAT.


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## Bruce Copland

*What to do with Variation and Deviation*

The CADET Rule Compass to True Add East

C ADE T


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## Varley

I think I know enough about gyros to be unworried about fallings over of them under the influence of a weak magnetic field. I know that I do not know enough about the ionospheric radiation shield that geomagnetism presently provides us. I would like to be unworried about that to but am not.

(A cagey answer Duncan, not many of them still do that 'though).


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## duncs

Varley said:


> (A cagey answer Duncan, not many of them still do that 'though).


Love that one, I'm still chuckling!


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## Samsette

Probably all due to the melting Arctic ice cap. The downward pressure, from the ice cap, is reduced - thus enabling the magnetic pole to shift itself a little quicker.(Smoke)


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## Ken Wood

Why not blame the ageing population, we get blamed for everything else!


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## Varley

I am not sure if I am a hydrogen or a methane producer. As to volume, however, then I can compete with any ozone destroying cow you like to name. I decline to put that down to age, vegetables perhaps.


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## searover

Checking this out, there have been several reversals in the life of earth. The last reversal happened 780,000 years ago during the Stone Age and may have been what killed off the Neanderthals. The "flip" could either be gradual or quite quick, so hold on tight.


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## tunatownshipwreck

searover said:


> Checking this out, there have been several reversals in the life of earth. The last reversal happened 780,000 years ago during the Stone Age and may have been what killed off the Neanderthals. The "flip" could either be gradual or quite quick, so hold on tight.


Neanderthals were supposedly still in Europe 30,000 years ago, but many may still exist here in the USA.


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## skilly57

Just a thought - if we do get the flip, does that mean us Australasian colonials won't be living 'downunder' any more!!


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## Ken Wood

Don't get ideas above your station. (Whaaa)


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## tunatownshipwreck

Down under? All we can be sure of is that the positive end will be negative, and vise-versa, and I have no idea which is which right now.


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## Davie M

An abridged piece of an article in the Royal Yachting Association magazine this month on compasses and true north.
During The first two weeks in September compasses at Greenwich pointed to true north for the first time in about 360yrs, before turning eastwards.
The line of zero declination called the agonic is moving westward at around 12miles per year. It will continue to pass across the U.K. over the next 15-20years.
By 2040 all compasses will probably point eastwards of true north.
It is impossible to predict how the magnetic field will change over time so the compass may point east of true north for another 360yrs


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## duncs

Will all this 'magnetic shift' make Polaris redundant?


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## barry john macauley

Hope it doesn't make the Southern Cross.


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## Davie M

duncs said:


> Will all this 'magnetic shift' make Polaris redundant?


Which one?


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## duncs

Davie M said:


> Which one?


The one in the sky. The other 'Polaris', is long gone. He was quite a character in Davie Mac's navy!


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## Davie M

duncs said:


> The one in the sky. The other 'Polaris', is long gone. He was quite a character in Davie Mac's navy!


Being flippant, are the submarines in the Clyde not still called that or am I out of date?
Davie


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## duncs

David MacBrayne, now CalMac. 'Polaris' was a skipper, quite a character. I thought that was what you meant when you asked which polaris.


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## Davie M

duncs said:


> David MacBrayne, now CalMac. 'Polaris' was a skipper, quite a character. I thought that was what you meant when you asked which polaris.


Thanks duncs I did think we might be on different tacks.
Davie


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## duncs

When 'Polaris' went into a rather basic pub on the Paisley road, accompanied with a female, he was told, "sorry Captain, but you can't bring a female in here, there's no ladies toilet". "I brought her in here for a drink, not a piss", was his response.
I don't think anyone would dare argue with him.


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## Pilot mac

Varley said:


> Why would gyro's fall over?


My first trip as Second Mate was with a Sperry Mark XIV I think, that was always trying to fall over! 

She was an old ship and blackouts were frequent, my first instinct was always get to the gyro and lock it upright.

Happy days?!


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## Davie M

duncs said:


> When 'Polaris' went into a rather basic pub on the Paisley road, accompanied with a female, he was told, "sorry Captain, but you can't bring a female in here, there's no ladies toilet". "I brought her in here for a drink, not a piss", was his response.
> I don't think anyone would dare argue with him.


Yes, it doesn’t leave room for a discussion does it.
Davie


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## duncs

The gyro on the Dwarka, never fell over, did it Dave?

Best regards, Duncan


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## slick

All,
"All things wise and wonderful.
all creatures great and small, 
all things wise and wonderful,
Polaris kills them all........"
As I dimly recall from the 70's.....

yours aye,
slick


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## Engine Serang

duncs said:


> When 'Polaris' went into a rather basic pub on the Paisley road, accompanied with a female, he was told, "sorry Captain, but you can't bring a female in here, there's no ladies toilet". "I brought her in here for a drink, not a piss", was his response.
> I don't think anyone would dare argue with him.


Lounge Bar or Public Bar?


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## Pilot mac

duncs said:


> The gyro on the Dwarka, never fell over, did it Dave?
> 
> Best regards, Duncan


That was from a different age Duncan, like some kind of time warp. No gyro and no auto pilot. Can remember the old man telling me to watch the compass as it did a pirouette coming down river somewhere between Basra and Khorramshar, apparently we were moving over a wreck and it happened every trip.
Hope you are well, kind regards, Dave


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## IDH

New magnetic model just released 

https://www.hydro-international.com...agnetic-model-2020-will-be-released-next-week


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## duncs

Pilot mac said:


> That was from a different age Duncan, like some kind of time warp. No gyro and no auto pilot. Can remember the old man telling me to watch the compass as it did a pirouette coming down river somewhere between Basra and Khorramshar, apparently we were moving over a wreck and it happened every trip.
> Hope you are well, kind regards, Dave


I'm still surviving, Dave. I always think of the Shat and Basra as a previous existence.
I hope you are also keeping well.
Duncan


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## duncs

Engine Serang said:


> Lounge Bar or Public Bar?


I think the pub was either the 'Iona' or the 'Moy', but it was probably a lounge bar. Patrons could lounge at the bar, but no sitting provided. A gents toilet, was provided.


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## Pilot mac

duncs said:


> I'm still surviving, Dave. I always think of the Shat and Basra as a previous existence.
> I hope you are also keeping well.
> Duncan


Do you remember going ashore in Basra? First time I ate 'elephants leg'
(aka kebab).

The whole experience makes me feel a bit like a 'Time Lord', well it was 46 years ago!

Dave


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## Davie M

Basra, went swimming in the airport pool(1959). Remember the beer was something like 7/6d a bottle.
Often wondered if it still existed after all the trouble.
Davie


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## duncs

Pilot mac said:


> Do you remember going ashore in Basra? First time I ate 'elephants leg'
> (aka kebab).
> 
> The whole experience makes me feel a bit like a 'Time Lord', well it was 46 years ago!
> 
> Dave


We're a bit off the thread here, but, what the hell. Yes, Basra was OK then, nice cinema, with latest films. Not to mention the BBQ/p1ss up on the bridge wing, when no pax aboard.
Don't know about a swimming pool at the airport, never got that far.

However, it was good to get back home to Bombay.

Duncan


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## Ron Stringer

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-...magnetic-field-satellites-space-a9528571.html

Report of increase in South Atlantic Anomaly


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## cleansweeploch

*Magnetic pole shifting considerably*



duncs said:


> David MacBrayne, now CalMac. 'Polaris' was a skipper, quite a character. I thought that was what you meant when you asked which polaris.


Sometime ago I watched a BBC ALBA do***entary on CalMac. In one scene there was a skipper on the bridge wing of a CalMac vessel. I think it was berthed at Mull, the weather was wet and the camera took a long shot of him wearing a mackintosh, cap with the the chin strap engaged and just peeping out below his uniform trousers were his pyjamas. the commentary referred to him as Polaris. I would love to know how he got that nickname.


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## trotterdotpom

duncs said:


> We're a bit off the thread here, but, what the hell. Yes, Basra was OK then, nice cinema, with latest films. Not to mention the BBQ/p1ss up on the bridge wing, when no pax aboard.
> Don't know about a swimming pool at the airport, never got that far.
> 
> However, it was good to get back home to Bombay.
> 
> Duncan


I was told there was a brothel in Basra called "The Chinese Garden". Went looking for it for a friend but never found it. Does anyone know of it and did my friend miss much?

John T


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## sparks69

Come off it JT, don't get too excited or your battery won't last long !


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## trotterdotpom

sparks69 said:


> Come off it JT, don't get too excited or your battery won't last long !


Haha. Surprisingly wise words from someone with a 69 in his title!

John T


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## sparks69

Believe it or not when I coined my nom de plume I used my house number at the time.


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## trotterdotpom

sparks69 said:


> Believe it or not when I coined my nom de plume I used my house number at the time.


Of course I believe it, you signed a copy of Section 1 1 of the Post Office (Protection) Act, 1884.

John T


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