Getting Ready to Sail

[snowyegret222]

Ok we have done it. We've bought the boat (not the most ideal boat for blue water cruising but its what we can afford, it's strong, it's paid for and we can make the upgrades it needs before we go).

We have one year to refit this boat and get it ready to sail from Seattle to New Zealand.


We need a SAT NAV system and a recommendation on a good sextant class. I don't want to rely totally on the SAT NAV. Is this something we have to buy new? Where is a good place to get a good sextant? Who provides a good class on learning to read charts?

Thanks

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by snowyegret222

... Who provides a good class on learning to read charts?
Thanks

Congratulationms on your new boat.

See: Seattle Sail & Power - Boating classes for fun & safety + vessel exams

[Rogerco103]

Hi,
I understand your anticipating sailing with Marty and Marie?. My wife and I spent a week sailing with them through the keys, it was a delightful time as both are good company. I also wanted to use this as a learning opportunity as I expect to be a boat owner soon, Marty used every opportunity to help me further my knowledge of all things nautical. If you choose to sail with these two you will not regret it.
Email me if you have any questions on rogerco103@earthlink.net

[stevec195]

Congrats Egret! As far as the sextant goes..My thought would be that You need to use the sextant frequently enough to stay in the ritual of things that you probably want a basic metal frame compass like the Celestaire Astra IIIB instead of a plastic Davis 25. Don't get me wrong, I know there are many that have had very good luck with the Davis, but if your using this crossing the Pacific, I don't think the cost difference is all that significant. I am the lowest common denominator on celestial Nav. If I can teach myself using all the magic of the internet anyone can. The used book that I picked up as a tutorial was "Celestial Navigation by Star Sights" by Hewitt Schlereth. There are plenty others. One thing that cost me a little time in my learning curve was bouncing around from internet site to site and being confused by the small differences in worksheets and even terms. This was especially apparent when I was seeing how electronic "Apps" for almanac and sight reduction compared to paper info. Try and get through one authors whole course before being distracted. Make a bunch of shots and get your confidence up. My thought would be to stick with paper worksheets and almanac till you master the principles. If you are not concerned with the zombie apocalypse, the software you can run on your phone is truly amazing.
Best wishes!