Omega really is the end

Under the heading "We're taking all the fun out of getting lost at sea", an advertisement by the makers of receivers for the Omega navigational equipment says sea captains spend a lot of their time trying to figure out where they are, Especially when it's been cloudy for days—no sun to shoot at noon, no stars at dusk.

Even the most experienced captains sometimes feel the thrill of being lost.

The spoilsport US Navy is about to take most of the excitement out of navigation with a system called Omega.

There will soon be eight Omega stations spaced around the globe that will cover the earth with low-frequency radio waves. Ships will have receivers on the bridge that will compare the signals from three or four stations and tell the captain where he is, within a mile or two. Simple as that.

Omega won't just belong to the Navy. It will be used by everybody, everywhere. Passengers liners, tankers, fishing boats, yachts . . .

Before long there'll be Omega street signs all over the earth. That may sound like the end of romantic adventure, but to a navigator it's simply the end.

That's why it's called Omega.