NavList:

There are some interesting points in the comments on this blog, both positive and negative:
http://www.oldsaltblog.com/2013/10/lost-robert-redford-solo-sailor-review/

Note: there are many 'spoilers' in the comments at that site and I've got a few small spoilers that follow here...

Dave's message earlier about a sextant as a gift for the wealthy got me looking for other recent references to the film and the sextant in it. I found several reviews that describe a sextant as 'expensive'. Really?? Compared to what? One subtlety in the film that I didn't mention last time which someone highlighted in a review: the sextant is apparently presented as a gift from someone close to "our man". There's a card in the case which he looks at briefly but sets aside poignantly without opening.

A comment on the blog above says that "our man" has a Nautical Almanac but then asks, 'where are the sight reduction tables'? So I guess that commenter hasn't actually looked at a Nautical Almanac since the 1980s. :) Of course, it's more likely that "our man" limited himself to latitude by Noon Sun or possibly lat/lon by near-noon Sun. In 'reality', the celestial navigation he's doing is really only helping his morale in any case. He's adrift in a lifeboat in the period when we see him using the sextant.

-FER

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