NavList:

Hi Frank

Very interesting read - though I will have to go back to it and read in depth.

I get a lot of people look at me a bit oddly when I mention the word sextant - I took my marine sextant to work and left it sitting downstairs and a young female staff member asked waht it was - I was careful not to just say "sextant" as I knew they would just think I was joking "sex" "tant"  - so I invited them to google a word - and I spelt it out  s e x t a n t  ......... oh they said - wow - but why do you need that we have GPS!!!!!!

As though I, at my age, had never heard the word GPS - and they were being scientific and knowledgeable telling me about this wonderful invention - and how they ALL KNEW HOW TO NAVIGATE as they use the GPS - "GOD protect me from nincompoops".

I lead into the corollary of this - having lunch with an ex - RNZ/RAA  (Royal NZ Army, Royal Australian Army) - Engineer who is also an ex-vietnam vet - he specialises in communications/satellite etc - however, he had mentioned to me (when I mentioned I was getting back into celestial navigation) that he too was interested ..... just that. I didn't know the connection.

We had lunch last Wednesday at an open air cafe in canberra - the 1st for months since COVID restrictions had eased - and he asked me about the sextant - still not mentioning the reason he was interested.

We then talked about the books we were reading and I asked him if he was familiar with the Amelia Earhart story - he was to a reasonable degree - I told him I was reading the best book I could find on the subject (that was devoid of conspiracy crap) ....

Then he said he was studying "Shackleton" voyage and last position of the Endurance and was interested in celestial for that reason!!!!! - coincidentally this forum was posting exactly at that time information regarding just that subject...... interestingly - so at our next lunch I will take my now working A-8A bubble sextant and show him......

However, the story is not ended - we are talking about ever needing celestial again ......... to continue - he related a strange occurrence whilst he had visited Sydney from Canberra towing his boat for the annual survey to be done.

And he stayed in Baulkham Hills - a suburb of Sydney (this is important) .... he went out in the morning and started is Rover Defender 4WD and all the instruments rotated wildly - and the radio needed its install code reset - weird - he is an electrical/communications engineer and he assured me his car was performing fine and had no electrical problems. He then went inside to get his gear and his wife said her mobile phone had reset itself - and they were not connected to the local network in the accommod ....... and his military brain started to put 2 and 2 together ..... as I did when he told me - EMP pulse or equivalent.

But were - he got a map out - and he was in direct line with the local Royal Australian AF base - where P3 Orions, AWACS and other aircraft are based or visit. Put 2 and 2 together and it = 4

And people say why do you still use celestial? ........ I just smile.

Regards - ex military P3B Orion Navigator who still uses celestial......  Howard G