Compass

[Ike]

So it's 1230 and no one has invented the compass? Is that normal? I saw the compass come up in a screen, but I went back (after a bad battle) and loaded an older game year. That was fifty years or so past and no compass. I am England, sitting there with the dockyards built, ready to rule the seas . . . . ?

[Brutal DLX]

Normally the compass event should pop up. What version are you playing on? Try installing v1.1 patch for MTW or v2.01 for VI, although that could screw up your savegame, but not necessarily. I recall there were some issues with that in MTW 1.0.
The compass event takes effect at the start of the high era in 1205, so you should be able to build ships better than barques with a level 2 shipyard.