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--- glapook@pacbell.net wrote:

> In "Atlantic High" on page 179 he admits that he had never mastered
> the stars so had to use a star finder each time to identify the
> stars. So, I got it slightly wrong in that he did do star sights
> but only with the help of a star finder.

Which might explain why he glossed over star sights in the magazine
article ("Stars are nice, and by all means go on and develop the
technique for bringing them down. But they are harder to handle, harder
to spot, and you need to work faster" (?)) and instead encouraged the
reader to concentrate on using just the sun for navigation.

From my own experience, I'd have to say that stars and planets are as
easy as sun shots (if not easier, because you're dealing with a point
of light vs. a disc), but to each his/her own. And the identification
"problem" can be solved easily by putting a little effort into learning
the constellations over the period of a year - once you know what to
look for in the sky the stars are as easy to use as the sun is.

--
GregR



> Gary LaPook writes
>
> I got the chance to book at Buckley's books, "Airborne" and "Atlantic
> High" in which he discusses celestial navigation, at great length in
> "Airborne." I had misremembered what he had said about his using
> stars. In "Atlantic High" on page 179 he admits that he had never
> mastered the stars so had to use a star finder each time to identify
> the stars. So, I got it slightly wrong in that he did do star sights
> but only with the help of a star finder.
>
>
> gl
>
> On Mar 2, 4:23 pm, glap...@pacbell.net wrote:
> > Gary LaPook writes:
> >
> > It has been a long time since I read Buckley's sailing books ( so
> my
> > recolections may be wrong) but I remember that he confessed that he
> > could never learn the stars so didn't use star sights. This sticks
> in
> > my memory since I was suprised, at the time, that such a brilliant
> man
> > was unable to learn the stars. When I get back to California next
> week
> > I will review those books.
> >
> > gl
> >
> > On Mar 1, 1:32 am, frankr...@HistoricalAtlas.net wrote:
> >
> > > An excerpt from an obituary of William F. Buckley:
> > > "In the 1980s, at midlife, Buckley began to escape the tedium of
> politics by
> > > reinventing himself as a novelist and memoir writer. His two
> sailing books,
> > > "Atlantic High" and "Racing Through Paradise," are graceful,
> humorous
> > > accounts of his crossings of the Atlantic and Pacific in a
> 71-foot ketch,
> > > "Sealestial."
> >
> > > Norfolk photographer and writer Christopher Little first met
> Buckley while
> > > on assignment for The New York Times in the early 1970s, and
> eventually
> > > became one of Buckley's closest friends. In the 1980s, Little
> sailed as a
> > > crew member and photographer aboard the Sealestial when Buckley
> made his
> > > long ocean crossings, sharing the same bunk area with him.
> >
> > > "Our first Atlantic trip, from St. Thomas to Spain, was just
> before GPS came
> > > in and Buckley was a superb navigator, using the traditional
> sextant and
> > > star sightings to get us across the ocean," Little said Wednesday
> during a
> > > phone interview. "In my line of work, you meet a lot of famous
> and charming
> > > people, but Bill took that to an even higher level. You couldn't
> possibly
> > > have more fun with someone. He told hilarious stories and shared
> great
> > > gossip about all the famous people he knew." "
> >
> > >  -FERwww.HistoricalAtlas.com
> >
>


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