T&T: Radar

[gcode fi (hanermo)]

My take - it depends totally on where you are and cruise.

I live in the med.
When sailing (various boats, I charter about 5 / year) I often have radar.
I mostly dont use it, and never need it.

I can navigate from Barcelona to valencia, or France, or Palma, or 
Tunisia, or ... with no electronics whatsoever.
Over here, there are very few narrow lanes, and no congestion outside 
the ports.
Almost 0 rocks.
Almost no one has/uses radar. It4s simply not needed. I have never had 
fog at sea in 10 years, ie it4s quite rare.

If I was in the Finnish archipelago, I would find it extremely useful.

Only very very narrow lanes, large rocks everywhere, too many islands to 
locate yourself.
IF you are 100 m off-side, You can easily hit a rock and sink.
IF your gps fails, a radar will definitely save you.

I like to sail by night. I find we are comfortable without radar.
Also, over here, non-one navigates at night without lights. The very few 
who do are either
a. commercial, and 100% have lights all the time
b. people who know what they are doing, and they have/use lights

Coming to Malta, radar would be very good (not necessary but nice).
Off the cost of Tunisia, at night, radar would be good because of the 
illegal fishermen (no lights). Malta (Italia) sometimes as well, ime.

So, for me, it depends.