I have no idea why he even asked for permission, I certainly would not have and I did that aeradio work myself for a few years.
I think the penultimate paragraph explains the navigation problem!
Much later we heard the full story from the skipper, they all had a rough night in the Mocambo Bar at Nadi. Climbed clear to operating altitude, set auto pilot, feet up on the dash and slept for, almost 4 hours. Precession did the rest!