>> 3. I had no backup power source other than the Honda generator. If the generator got swamped with salt water during a knockdown or malfunctioned for mechanical reasons, I would have been condemned to endless hours at the tiller.

This worried me reading it, wouldnt redundancy be sensible, or at least solar panels as redundancy via alternate means?

It also makes me think about fiction and how the same problems are even worse. For example, I always wondered on Star Wars -- how many redundant parts do they keep onboard a ship, just in case?

There isn't a date but clues indicate that the crossing was decade or more ago. The Garmin 12XL was released in 1996. It is possible that was using GPS and none of the equipment available now, but more likely that didn't exist.

Solar panels weren't as available back then. Satellite messengers weren't available. Both are popular with sailors now.

Edit: It mentions other GPS units so could be more recent.