As the new watch captain emerges on deck, his counterpart begins his hand-off with a report on the competition, “We’ve dropped them back 5 degrees in the last hour, plus the range has doubled, so ...

A fair number of boats we test today don’t have compasses, a shortcoming that many boaters consider a nautical no-no. A compass ensures safe navigation, even when a boat is equipped with a GPS.

Since its first documented use by the Chinese centuries ago, the magnetic compass has guided countless sailors safely across the seas. Though the compass allowed for the advent of modern navigation, ...