The New and Improved Celestial Navigation Poll

[daddle]

Originally Posted by AllezCat

....how many books - almanacs and sight reduction tables do you need?

I only have the sextant and the almanac. Sometimes a year-old almanac at that. The almanac has good-enough-for-a-sailboat correction and reduction procedures in the back.

[deckofficer]

Originally Posted by AllezCat

I bought a new sextant, and a few books. Intend to teach myself (like everything else) when I really need to.
Used one in the past for coastal (horizontal) - reckon its worth it just for that use.
But, horizontal is probably about 2% of its potential/knowledge required for celestial.
I am also planning to get captain's license, and become proficient with SSB - lot of dust on these books..(cpy&pasted from other cn thread).
Is a calculator, or software program worth it - or anathema to the whole idea? And how many books - almanacs and sight reduction tables do you need?
thx

Go through the posts on this thread and you will find apps for your iphone, ipad, etc, that does all the number crunching from the books and tables. You shoot, then plug what you shot and local time to the second and it will tell you what you shot and give you a LOP. Shoot e few more while the horizon is still detectable to add more LOP's, and bingo, where your LOPs intersect on the chart is where you are at. Some of the apps will even give you a lat and long so you can keep your pencil marks off your chart.

[stevensuf]

I think the whole point of a sextant is for when the electronics don't work, needing an i whatever to do a reduction kinda defeats the purpose. In modern society it is an archaic device, a toy for some, a mental exercise and a back up of the back ups should some sort of disaster strike.

[deckofficer]

You still use the sextant, just don't need the books and sight reduction tables.

[AllezCat]

The other issue is the time.
I read Sobels work on Harrisons clock - and Cook's use of it.
I have an 8 day wind up guy but hardly accurate.
Maybe a cheap sport watch - with backup little batteries?

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by AllezCat

The other issue is the time.
I read Sobels work on Harrisons clock - and Cook's use of it.
I have an 8 day wind up guy but hardly accurate.
Maybe a cheap sport watch - with backup little batteries?

Kinetic watch

ciao!
Nick.

[foolishsailor]

Originally Posted by stevensuf

I think the whole point of a sextant is for when the electronics don't work, needing an i whatever to do a reduction kinda defeats the purpose. In modern society it is an archaic device, a toy for some, a mental exercise and a back up of the back ups should some sort of disaster strike.

You say that but when you and I and a dozen other people are in a life raft after another costa concordia boat sinks, and everyone is looking at each other, hungry, thinking, "who should I eat first?", I will pull out my plastic sextant and say "I can get us to shore", and the next thing I know I will be picking your shirt buttons out of my teeth as I rub my nice and full tummy...

[IslandHopper]

One of the most common WRONG answers to a question at maritime collage was......"When abandoning ship to a life raft, what other equipment could you take with you??" all those that answered "a Sextant" got it wrong.....

Think about it....

[AllezCat]

Originally Posted by IslandHopper

One of the most common WRONG answers to a question at maritime collage was......"When abandoning ship to a life raft, what other equipment could you take with you??" all those that answered "a Sextant" got it wrong.....

Think about it....

A: those that use sextants don't hit reefs?
B: no propulsion so no point?

Actually I have sails/oars for life raft etc...

[daddle]

Originally Posted by IslandHopper

One of the most common WRONG answers to a question at maritime collage was......"When abandoning ship to a life raft, what other equipment could you take with you??" all those that answered "a Sextant" got it wrong.....

Think about it....

One could not take a sextant? How odd.

[deckofficer]

maybe because your hoping for rescue, not navigate, so epirb and flare gun.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by IslandHopper

One of the most common WRONG answers to a question at maritime collage was......"When abandoning ship to a life raft, what other equipment could you take with you??" all those that answered "a Sextant" got it wrong.....

Think about it....

The maritime academy no longer equires sight reductions as a mandatory course...

Likely no one on the raft would know how to establish a fix.

I'll take the guy with the handheld gps, portable water maker and portable gps solar charger.

[deckofficer]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

The maritime academy no longer equires sight reductions as a mandatory course...

Really? When did they drop it? Still required as late as 1996.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by deckofficer

Really? When did they drop it? Still required as late as 1996.

http://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/21/us...on.html?src=pm

I think the article states they dropped celestial navigation as a course but later they recant and say that taking sightings is taught but the reductions are done by computer.

[deckofficer]

I wonder if and when they drop flashing light? That was the number one cause of missed graduation when I was at CMA. I'm a HAM, which only helped a bit because I learned by sound. Taking the test, my mind was converting the light to sound.