When flying or sailing one does not use a compass to point to the true north pole. Instead they know that when a compass points north it is actually pointing to magnetic north. About thirty years ago the coast guard presented a theory to explain why pilots and skippers went missing. As one moves along Earth they must compensate for the degree difference between true and magnetic north. If one forgets to make this adjustment they could find themselves miles from their targeted destination. The coast guard went on to blame this factor for the mysterious disappearances, but what they didn't account for is that if your inside the imaginary triangle the two north's are aligned for the most part with maybe a two degree difference in some locations.
This is the drawing used by the coast gaurd to justify their theory. When we look at the picture you can see that the lines match and are aligned. Every two months a plane is sent to check where the magnetic north is and if it has changed. The real line is now in a different location enabling the triangle to be somewhat directly in line.
Mark Lubeskie
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