Now that my sailing season is over for another year, I decided this winter would be a good time to work on learning celestial navigation. In the world of GPS, chart plotters, and electronic navigation on our notebooks and desktops, I still think there's a place for tradition. If the GPS were to go out or a lightning strike takes out my electronics, I'd still like to be able to figure out where I am. Plus, it's fun!
I've purchased a book entitled "Celestial Navigation" from Starpath and David Burch and so far it's been pretty easy to follow. I'm up to Chapter 5 and have the Local Area Noon (LAN) sun sights down and can figure out where I am as far as latitude. Supposedly I've learned 75% of what I need to know for celestial navigation. I also got a really good deal on a used plastic sextant on eBay. I think a plastic sextant will be fine as a backup for my GPS navigation. I'll let you know when I figure out how to calculate longitude and work the sextant.
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to you all!
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