Seafaring in Minecraft.

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Day 2 of my experience with the ulitmate sandbox game. I've made finally made an impenetrable fortress, have started two mining projects and have grown confident in my ability to handle threats.

Then I get on a boat.

So 3 hours after crashing into some algae I'm lost. I was an idiot and took some valuables with me so I don't want to just commit suicide and die. After spending one night in an emergency house (which was ruined by a creeper in the morning) I'm now on a different island after crashing my second boat and locked in a box made of wood with three spiders crawling around.

My question is: How can one safely navigate the waters of Minecraft and return home at sunset? I made some huge ass dirt towers around my castle but I can't see them anywhere now.

Also if you have any advice on how to get back home without dying, I'd love to hear it.

*Returns to Minecraft to probably die fighting*

 

[default]

Ahhhh, the old noob mistake of getting lost :3 I know it well.

I'm guessing you have no compass as of yet? They're basically ESSENTIAL for doing any exploring...

Basically mate you're lost!!! Your only hope really is to figure out which direction you came from using the sun, and just set out in that direction. Try to remember where the sun was as you were sailing...

Who knows? Maybe one day you'll find your way home

 

[twilight214]

The best way i travel in the water is to go short distances at a time, island to island, and always set a large tower that is visible from each point(either with torches or if you have netherrack, set it ablaze), making a sort of trail in case you get lost. As for your current predicament, if you have any iron and redstone on you, make a compass and follow it back to your base, using the same method of hiding in an emergency house/hole when night falls and picking up the trail to your base in the morning. I always have a compass on me for this very reason, as i love exploring and always end up lost.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

You can make a compass huh?

Well, colour me a noob.

*Is hiding on top of a tower made of sand*

 

[Rayne870]

I never travel with anything I can't afford to lose. I guess you will have to set up camp and get yourself some supplies to make a compass and hope you don't die in the process. I think there are map mods out there that you could use to find your way around though.

 

[brunothepig]

Well it's too late now, but if you press F3 it will give you your current co-ordinates. I make a point of noting down where my house is and caves and such. Also, if you build your house near your spawn, a compass is helpful.
But F3 is the most useful thing. I've spent ages trying to remember which direction from the spawn my house was in... It was over a hill. I went in the opposite direction first, had to dig down into the ground and wait out the night.

 

[Belated]

Dig for a while until you find some iron and redstone. Make a compass, and sail home with it. You'll have to survive in this new territory for a while, but eventually you'll strike iron. And deeper in, you'll strike redstone. You only need four bars of iron and one piece of redstone. The compass always points to your spawn point.

That's why I always always always bring a compass with me when I go on a journey, or when I go mining. (On the off-chance that I'll get lost in my mine, have to dig straight up, and end up in foreign lands.)

 

[default]

Dig for a while until you find some iron and redstone. Make a compass, and sail home with it. You'll have to survive in this new territory for a while, but eventually you'll strike iron. And deeper in, you'll strike redstone. You only need four bars of iron and one piece of redstone. The compass always points to your spawn point.

That's why I always always always bring a compass with me when I go on a journey, or when I go mining. (On the off-chance that I'll get lost in my mine, have to dig straight up, and end up in foreign lands.)

That's actually a much better idea, listen to this guy

It's gonna be tough! You'll basically be starting from scratch again!! :\

 

[TehCookie]

At least you were smart and built a base on your spawn, the first time I played it I had fun wandering a bit build a huge base died and took forever to find my way back. The only advice I can give (and most has been given already):
Remember that cool mountain/lake/whatever you saw? Look for it.
Leave a trail, plop a useless block down every so often that stands out (wool is handy for this, and if in a snowy region dye it with flowers, and torches also work really well. Or burn a forest down.)
The sun rises in the east and the clouds always float north, use these to align youself and try to remember which direction you came from.
Or if you have the tools get some iron and redstone and make a compass, (make a + with 4 pieces of iron and redstone in the middle)

I wish you luck!

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Dig for a while until you find some iron and redstone. Make a compass, and sail home with it. You'll have to survive in this new territory for a while, but eventually you'll strike iron. And deeper in, you'll strike redstone. You only need four bars of iron and one piece of redstone. The compass always points to your spawn point.

That's why I always always always bring a compass with me when I go on a journey, or when I go mining. (On the off-chance that I'll get lost in my mine, have to dig straight up, and end up in foreign lands.)

I'll try. Last two nights of building shelter have drained my stocks of wood. But I have enough torches to go mining.

 

[Fr]anc[is]

A compass is indeed the best way to get home at the moment. Next time you head out plop a torch every once in a while or something. Signs are good too. I make "Go this way derpy ->" signs for my mines. Doing the same for above ground works too.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Trapped in my third lost-house. I've got iron but have yet to find redstone...

Zombies everywhere! Come on sun, come on!

anc[is]A compass is indeed the best way to get home at the moment. Next time you head out plop a torch every once in a while or something. Signs are good too. I make "Go this way derpy ->" signs for my mines. Doing the same for above ground works too.

I should probably starting marking my mines. As of right now I've just been going by torches but I might stumble upon a dungeon again and get lost in my own maze.

 

[Belated]

Also, if you're running low on wood, find a tree, cut it down, collect the saplings, plant them.

Oh, and when you finally depart for home with your new compass, bring a couple signposts and blocks with you. Mark points in the ocean along the way with a few signposts, so you'll be able to return to this new area in case you want to exploit its resources for your old area.

For redstone dig deeper. WAY deeper. Never dig straight down though. But redstone is often near lava. You'll need an iron pickaxe to get it though. So really, when I said you only need four blocks of iron, that wasn't true. You'll need seven. Three for the pick to get the redstone, and four for the compass.

 

[Irriduccibilli]

You have to go deeper (Inception)
Dig a hole in the ground and find 4 pieces of iron and 1 piece of redstone. Return to your emergency room and make a workbench and an oven. From there on you can create a compass.
All you need now is to follow the compass home.
Good luck

 

[Avaloner]

To get a nice light tower you should get yourself some buckets of lava, build a tower up to several levels high and just empty the bucket of lava into the air, it should stay there and you got a neverending lightsource : D

 

[Trivun]

See, every time I come into a Minecraft thread I find more reasons for me to play, and yet I simply don't have the time to do so. I really should get around to it just to see what all the fuss is about, especially now I know you can even sail around the world in the quest to craft...

 

[TRR]

I once got lost, then I killed myself and spawned where I originally started the game and all was well.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Oh snap, well so much for that.

I had just found redstone when a creeper blew me up. I would have been fine but it knocked me into lava and I died. Oh well, it was an adventure. Maybe someday I'll find the houses I built all over the wilderness again but for now I'll avoid sailing as a rule

[sub][sub]Too bad I lost most of my arrows though...[/sub][/sub]

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

See, every time I come into a Minecraft thread I find more reasons for me to play, and yet I simply don't have the time to do so. I really should get around to it just to see what all the fuss is about, especially now I know you can even sail around the world in the quest to craft...

I bought it to see if it would be as awesome as reported... And it is my friend, it is!

I once got lost, then I killed myself and spawned where I originally started the game and all was well.

That only works if you don't have anything on you that you don't want to lose.