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on 10/15/04 6:09 AM, Trevor J. Kenchington at Gadus@ISTAR.CA wrote:

> Carl Herzog wrote:
>
>> As the editor of Reed's Nautical Almanacs for North America and the
>> Caribbean, I was forced this year to make the decision to stop publishing
>> celestial data. In 2000, we eliminated the tables from our books, but
>> continued to offer them as a free separate volume to any Reed's reader who
>> asked for one. Of the tens of thousands of books we sell from Alaska to
>> Trinidad to Nova Scotia, our request for ephemerides slipped to about 150
>> this year. How many of those folks were actually using them is a figure I
>> could only guess at.
>
>
> That is very sad news. If only 150 of us were asking for the supplement,
> it cannot be economic to produce it and the end of the publication is
> inevitable. Still, it was the only option I know of that provided a
> complete and self-contained set of ephemeris and sight-reduction tables
> that could be slipped into a reasonably-sized pocket. I could (and have)
> taken plastic sextant and Reeds ephemeris in airline checked baggage
> when flying to a sailing vacation and then entertained myself with a
> celestial fix. That is going to be much more awkward to do after this year.
>
>
> My comments:
It is important to note that the Reed's format of celestial data
presentation is different from that of the Nautical Almanac, which is
referred to in every celestial navigation text extant.  Reed's was ok when
many people knew celestial, and appreciated a compact form of data to be
used when needed.  Today, most sextant and almanac buyers are involved in
LEARNING celestial, and Reed's format does not fulfill this need.  I only
mention this so that listmembers may not be misled into thinking the demise
of the Reed's format is indicative of a lack of interest in CN.

Ken Gebhart

   

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