NavList:

Another reminder:
It's TOMORROW, July 14, 9:00am-11:00am by the lighthouse at Beavertail State Park in Jamestown, Rhode Island.

As a bonus, tomorrow is also the annual "Windmill Day" on the island when they rig the sails and let the island's historic windmill turn in the breeze. Activities at the windmill run from 11am to 3pm.

Beavertail State Park has a wide open ocean horizon covering 120 degrees from azimuth 92 to 212 --a great place for sextant sights. This spot is about 55 minutes from Mystic, CT and about an hour and 45 minutes from Boston, MA. It's beautiful, too, with a historic lighthouse, amazing rocks, and nice ocean surf. It's worth a visit even without the sextant fun. There's good parking, too. The location is at lat,lon = 41.4493,-71.3994. You can drop those numbers directly into the search box at Google Maps.

Both the Sun and Moon will be in the sky tomorrow morning which means we can do sights for a standard two-body fix, or traditional 19th century sights, and even LUNARS. I will be there with a couple of sextants, lots of advice, and as much celestial navigation enthusiasm as I can muster on a Saturday morning! :) Bring your sextant if you have one! There is NO CHARGE, but attendance is limited to 15 people (this should not be a problem --so far on the previous two dates, four and six were shooting sights, counting me), and please email me back if you plan to be there.

Directions:
From Connecticut and points southwest, take US-1 from the Mystic area (or possibly I-95 to RI route 93 to bypass Westerly and pick up US-1 on the other side). Follow US-1 all the way to the exit for Jamestown and Newport, route 138 EAST (about three miles past the intersection with route 138 west). By the way, mapping software and GPS nav systems may suggest that you take route 138 nearly all the way. That's a bad idea; route 1 is faster. Another alternative is route 102 further north off of I-95. Cross the Jamestown Bridge. Get off at either exit in Jamestown and follow the signs towards the south to the Beavertail. Pay attention to posted speed limits. Park your car in the second parking lot and walk towards the lighthouse. It's just about one hour from Mystic, CT to Beavertail Point.

From Boston or points north, follow I-95 south from Providence and pick up RI route 4 South (left exit). Follow route 4 through the merge with US-1 and then immediately take route 138 east to Jamestown and Newport. Get off at either exit in Jamestown and follow the signs towards the south to the Beavertail. Pay attention to posted speed limits. Park your car in the second parking lot and walk towards the lighthouse. It's about one hour and 45 minutes from Boston, MA to Beavertail Point.

From points east, cross the Newport Bridge to Jamestown ($4 toll normally) or go through Providence (see above). Get off at either exit in Jamestown and follow the signs towards the south to the Beavertail. Pay attention to posted speed limits. Park your car in the second parking lot and walk towards the lighthouse. It's about 15 minutes from central Newport to Beavertail Point.

I have five people who say they are very probably coming: two from NavList and three students. Here's hoping the clouds clear away!

-FER

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