Good book or PDF on celestial navigation

[12 sail away]

Dear CF,

Can anyone advise on a good book or PDF on celestial navigation?
I know there are many new books, many very old books, a lot of different methods and tables...dont know where to start...just want to know/learn out of interest and curiosity and eventually give it a try...

[TomSR]

I used this one. It was all I needed to learn how to shoot and plot sun, moon, planet and star sights.
https://www.amazon.com/product-revie...pe=all_reviews

[Meandercp]

I learned using Celestial Navigation by H.O. 249 by John Milligan.

[skipperpete]

Mary Blewitt’s book “Celestial navigation for yachtsmen” is one of the entry level books that many sailing people used back when we were still actually using celestial observations to determine our position. The theory is just one part of celestial nav, the physical practice and equipment is a fairly large second part, made a bit less daunting by the availability of electronic sight reduction apps for laptops, tablets and cellphones…. But ya still need a sextant and chronometer.

[Bowdrie]

Long before we had the internet, I simply got "Bowditch", and with a notepad to draw diagrams on, kept reading the relevant chapters time-after-time-after-time until I had it beaten it into my brain.
Tried Ho 208, 211, 214, 229, and 249. Eventually went with 211, as the tables /book is small in size and you work from a DR position instead of an AP.

[5BTM]

"Primer of Navigation" by George Mixter.
I worked as a navigator in the late seventies, and mine is the fifth edition.


'Nichol's Concise Guide to the Navigation Examinations, All Grades" Volumes 1 and 2.

A lot of theory: dry reading.
Standard textbook at marine schools in Canada in the seventies.

"Celestial Navigation Step by Step" by Warren Norville
Solved examples of sights using the H.O. 214, H.O. 249, H.O 229, Nautical and Air Almanacs.

https://seatracker.ru/viewtopic.php?t=39642

.ru means it is a Russian based site. Click at your own risk.

All of the above can be found on:

https://www.abebooks.com/

[El Pinguino]

Try this
https://pdfhost.io/v/D6EcDT4Jmj_Offshore_Navigation
Written by a simple sailorman for simple sailormen.


I did have this on Docdroid but without notice they have hit me with the big enshittification club and it and my patagonian notes have now gone the full 404.
I'll sort the patagonian notes on the morrow.

[requiem]

I found Tom Cunliffe's Celestial Navigation was simple enough to help things click, but the Penguin's PDF above is a good source otherwise.

[grantmc]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Try this
https://pdfhost.io/v/D6EcDT4Jmj_Offshore_Navigation
Written by a simple sailorman for simple sailormen.


I did have this on Docdroid but without notice they have hit me with the big enshittification club and it and my patagonian notes have now gone the full 404.
I'll sort the patagonian notes on the morrow.

That's a brilliant piece of work Frank, and awesome that you've put it up for free. Thanks heaps.

OP as others have said there are a variety of techniques. But there are two basic modern main methods. Either use tables or do the maths.

When I undertook my Ocean Yachtmaster we had to use the maths method. It's basic trigonometry and a scifi calculator helps. Good luck.

[12 sail away]

All,

Thank you for the valuable advices!!

[John Bowers]

Celestial Navigation in a Nutshell by Hewitt Schlereth, Sheridan House, fourth reprint 2010. It’s concise, well illustrated, very understandable, and uses the sight reduction tables for given latitudes and declination and selected stars, HO 249.

[12 sail away]

Thanks!!

[Mike Burch]

Originally Posted by skipperpete

Mary Blewitt’s book “Celestial navigation for yachtsmen” is one of the entry level books that many sailing people used back when we were still actually using celestial observations to determine our position. The theory is just one part of celestial nav, the physical practice and equipment is a fairly large second part, made a bit less daunting by the availability of electronic sight reduction apps for laptops, tablets and cellphones…. But ya still need a sextant and chronometer.

+1. Tells you all you need to know. I strongly recommend that you learn the basics before letting a computer do the thinking for you, and Mary Blewitt's book is the ideal way to do just that.

[girdasso]

Hi . I have a Tamaya sextant in original case which I no longer need if anyone is looking for one.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Try this
https://pdfhost.io/v/D6EcDT4Jmj_Offshore_Navigation
Written by a simple sailorman for simple sailormen.


I did have this on Docdroid but without notice they have hit me with the big enshittification* club and it and my patagonian notes have now gone the full 404.
I'll sort the patagonian notes on the morrow.

Thanks, El Pinguino, for your fabulous [feee] contribution!
“Offshore Navigation” ~ by Frank Holden <‘ El Pinguino’]
A course in nine chapters for the Cruising Helmsman / Lowrance Australia Offshore Navigation Certificate
➥ https://pdfhost.io/v/D6EcDT4Jmj_Offshore_Navigation

* Thanks also, for your contribution, to our lexicon of technical terms.