NavList:

   

Reply

Yep, and on a slow moving sailing vessel you will see
the same stars at twilight for weeks on end and so
should get to reconize them. This is especially true
for morning twilight sights since you have all night
to get to know them before the horizon comes up at
twilight, no suprises here. And if you are using H.O.
249, vol. 1 the computations are much simplified.

gl
--- "Greg R."  wrote:

>
> --- 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
> > >
> >
>
>
>
>
>


--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
To post to this group, send email to NavList@fer3.com
To , send email to NavList-@fer3.com
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---

   

Reply