This hand-held Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver was used in 1994 by Robin Knox-Johnson and Peter Blake on their round the world voyage in Enza, a catamaran, which won the Jules Verne Trophy for the fastest circumnavigation in a time of 74 days, 22 hours, 18 minutes and 22 seconds. It was their second attempt to win the trophy in Enza (the first attempt in 1992 had to be aborted when they hit an object and damaged the catamaran).

The receiver is supplied with a universal mount that can be fixed to a dashboard or a level surface, and which allows the unit to be tilted and rotated, as well as with a carrying case and cables.

GPS is a satellite-based navigation system. A group of satellites circles the earth twice a day in a precise orbit. GPS receivers take the satellite signals and use triangulation to calculate the user's exact location. To do this, the receiver compares the time a signal was transmitted by a satellite with the time it was received. The time difference tells the receiver how far away the satellite is. By comparing the measurements from at least three satellites, the receiver can determine the user's position. Once the user's position has been determined, the GPS unit can calculate other information, such as speed and heading.

The GPS satellite network was put into orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense in the 1970s and was originally intended for military applications only. But the U.S. government made it available for civilian use in the 1980s. Since then it has become the main system of navigation for almost all vessel, due not only to its accuracy, but also to the fact that it works in all weather conditions, throughout the world, 24 hours a day.