Effects if more languages had cardinal direction?

Besides giving English the word "kangaroo", the Australian Aboriginal language Guugu Yimithirr is famous for using cardinal direction instead of relative direction. This means that Guugu Yimithirr speakers have to give directions in terms of "north, south, east, and west" instead of "left and right". This is sometimes used to support a version of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.

What would happen if this were the way most languages worked? Would it lead to more accurate or earlier oceanic navigation?

Please correct me if I came to the wrong interpretation of this language. I have no formal training in linguistics, and I may have misunderstood.

See Haviland, John B. (1998) "Guugu Yimithirr Cardinal Directions" Ethos 26 (1) 25-47. (i.e. the Wikipedia article's source on the topic)
 
Seems like it would be pretty useless if you didn't know what direction you're facing. Do you just make up a direction if you're lost? Like everything to the left of you is arbitrary "west"?
 
Seems like it would be pretty useless if you didn't know what direction you're facing. Do you just make up a direction if you're lost? Like everything to the left of you is arbitrary "west"?

Most people, including the speakers of Guugu Yimithirr, do not live in a featureless plain. They just use landmarks (and presumably other natural features such as the sky).
 
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