NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Modern celestial navigation: when and why?
From: Stan K
Date: 2015 Feb 11, 17:28 -0500
From: Stan K
Date: 2015 Feb 11, 17:28 -0500
I can't speak for the use of celestial navigation at sea, but I thought the results of a mini-survey I did among Power Squadron members might be of interest. The membership was asked why they are taking/took the Junior Navigation and Navigation courses, the ones that include celestial navigation. They were asked to select any of the following choices they felt applied:
a) I expect/expected to use the material I learn/learned on an offshore voyage.
b) I am/was interested in learning about celestial navigation.
c) I need/needed the courses to achieve the grade of Senior Navigator (an educational grade that is considered prestigious).
The one that was selected the most, and, in fact, by all the respondents, was b. Surprisingly (at least to me) choice c was a far second, and hardly anyone selected choice a. When several of those who selected choice b were asked why they were interested, they said things like they wanted to understand what they were doing in the historical novel they just read, or they were just interested in how it was done before modern electronics.
Stan
-----Original Message-----
From: Frank Reed <NoReply_FrankReed@fer3.com>
To: slk1000 <slk1000@aol.com>
Sent: Wed, Feb 11, 2015 2:27 pm
Subject: [NavList] Modern celestial navigation: when and why?
From: Frank Reed <NoReply_FrankReed@fer3.com>
To: slk1000 <slk1000@aol.com>
Sent: Wed, Feb 11, 2015 2:27 pm
Subject: [NavList] Modern celestial navigation: when and why?
This is a topic that's worth considering every couple of years. Who is using traditional, or partially traditional, celestial navigation at sea today? How often do they use it and why? Of course, there is a diverse variety of vessels crossing the world's oceans from small "sail-training" education schooners and private yachts to aircraft carriers and container ships. Many vessels carry sextants and many navigators learn celestial for licensing requirements and regulations. How many go beyond the letter of the regulations? How many practice regularly? And why? What is the practical relevance of celestial navigation today, and how should that impact its practice?
Frank Reed
ReedNavigation.com
Conanicut Island USA
ReedNavigation.com
Conanicut Island USA
