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TOM LEE writes:
 > Well, here goes. In about 2 weeks, I will have the opportunity to crew on a
 > boat from SF to Hawaii (not the navigator). I am just beginning to
 > understand the celestial process, but don't quite know how to go from the
 > sight to the plot, and don't understand the "plot yet - like how does that
 > angled line a piece of paper relate to my chart (I can see the smiles).
 > Anyway, knowing that I cannot become proficient enough in all that is
 > probably required, can anyone suggest a course of action to me that will
 > profitably use this opportunity to further my grasp of celstial. My goal to
 > be able to navigate offshore with GPS as my back-up. HF is availble on this
 > boat - anyone want to be availble for questions and help during the passage?
 > I have my own sextant and an Almanac and HO229; I am very dangerous with
 > them all. Ideas and thoughts anyone?
 >
 > Tom Lee
 > trelee@hotmail.com
 > S/V Sea Salter
 > Alberg 37
 > OPPORTUNITY: "You'll always miss 100% of the shots you don't take".

I sincerely hope I'm not mis-reading your message and that there is a
navigator with a little more experience on board, too.  The question
you're asking is central to offshore navigation and not something
picked up hurredly two weeks before stepping off on a major passage.
If nothing else, you need a copy of Bowditch and ocean plotting sheets
appropriate for the trip or at least a few pads of Universal Plotting
Sheets.

There are actually precious few texts that pull together LOP's and the
overall business of keeping a plot going.  If you're lucky enough to
find a copy of John Budlong's "Sky and Sextant" (grab "Shore and
Sextant", too, if you find it) from a used book dealer, grab it.
Budlong's out of print but the books are seen occasionally in used
bookstores that handle marine titles.  While you're hunting, a
two-volume edition of Bowditch from the 80's (the stuff you care about
is handled a little better in the larger edition - electronic nav is a
little dated but that's about it; Bowditch was shrunken to one volume
as a cost cutting move).

For openers, rely on the GPS data and back it up with Sun lines.  If
the data from the GPS and your shots agree within 5-10 miles, you can
start to have more faith in your celestial work.

Blue water sailing, however, involves far more than doing something
with a GPS or sextant, announcing "we are here", and marching on.
There are issues such as currents, weather systems, and so on that
take some skill, too.

If you're not the primary navigator, my apologies for the
misunderstanding.

   

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