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Transatlantic by dead reckoning alone sounds impossibly difficult. Captain Bligh navigating 3500 nautical miles from Tahiti to Kupang in an open boat after being mutinied against was a celebrated feat of navigation, and he had the aid of a compass and a pocket watch.

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So long as one can see the sun and stars reasonably frequently, I imagine a competent navigator could estimate his latitude and know which way is West accurately enough to stay in the trade winds and make landfall along Brazil's coast, which I suppose was McVicar's only hope, given the extreme shortage of water and rations.

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