Tirec, that collection looks like what I find when I open the navigation desk of my boat.

The skills are not lost; they are being taught and learned every day. If you want to learn them, it is easier than ever to find a teacher - on the internet or "in real life."

New tools for navigation are great. And the old, old skills of reading nature: the wind, tide, stars, sun, clouds, shadows, land shapes, temperature changes, animal and plant movement, echo and sound changes, lining up reference points, etcetera, without instruments are still part of practical navigation.

People lose situational awareness using the old tools as well as the new. The experience of realizing you have "lost it" and overcoming that feeling to regain a solid sense of where you are remains a powerful teacher. Everybody goes through it, and just when they figure they are past it, they get another dose!