Celestial Navigation
Noon sight longitude
Dec 06, 2011 12:00 amAlways looking to save time, I have become a great proponent of the noon sight longitude fix. I say fix in this case because with a few sextant observations you can, on a good day, get both a latitude and longitude from the sighting of the sun at local apparent noon (LAN). The process is not difficult and can be reviewed in Bowditch, but I have been using it for years. I probably picked it up from Eben Whitcomb of the schooner Harvey Gamage in the early 1980s.
Docking strategies
Sep 28, 2011 12:00 am“You’re only as good as your last docking.” Dianne Harris-Glennon skipper; of the schooner Pioneer; New York City; 1980s.
Calculating great circle course and distance using HO 249
Jul 27, 2011 12:00 amCalculating a great circle route can either be done graphically using charts specifically designed for the task, by use of a calculator, or the sight reduction tables. The use of the sight reduction tables, to my mind, is the most interesting method. By using either HO 249 or HO 229 we can calculate the great circle distance and true course from a departure point to our destination. Since this method requires that we use the destination latitude as our declination we are better off using HO 229 where the declinations go beyond the 30° in HO 249.
Heaving-to
Mar 21, 2011 12:00 amFor the celestial navigator there can be nothing more frustrating than attempting to secure a place in which to take a sextant sight when beating to windward in a sloppy sea. Unless you are with a crew of sympathetic sailors, most will scoff at your efforts to navigate using celestial, and will do nothing to offer assistance or empathy. For those so-called sailors, spending time navigating with anything but a GPS is a total waste of time. If one of them is the skipper, or owner of the boat, don’t expect to be viewed as anything but a relic.
Introduction to Celestial Navigation
Feb 08, 2011 12:00 amIntroduction to Celestial Navigation
Marion Bermuda Race & Ocean Navigator School of Seamanship
This seminar is a hands-on course covering basic celestial theory, sight reduction of sun, moon, planets, stars, and specialty sights of certain bodies, like the noon sun sight and latitude by Polaris.
Altitude corrections for sextant sights
Jan 27, 2011 12:00 amThe corrections made to the Hs (sextant altitude) are necessary because the mathematical premise of celestial navigation has the observer taking a sight to the center of the celestial object from the center of the earth. Since we cannot physically replicate that assumption we have to factor in some additional corrections.
Some tricks of the trade
Oct 19, 2010 12:00 amOne of the most vexing problems facing the neophyte celestial navigator is estimating the height of a celestial body. There are many catch-as-catch-can methods for pre-setting the sextant, so that especially at twilights, when there is little time, the celestial object can be captured and brought to ground.
Celestial Navigation secrets revealed
Mar 09, 2010 12:00 am
Soon another group of sailors will learn the secret truth of celestial navigation. In only four weeks, in Marion, Mass. on April 10 and 11, an eager group of initiates will learn the astounding truth. They will be required to swear oaths of silence, of course. We can't have them divulging the mystic secrets that all celestial navigators have known and practiced forever.
Celestial navigation reference in NY Times
Dec 29, 2009 12:00 am
On Dec. 24th the NY Times ran an obituary on Yitzhak Ahronovitch, who was captain of the ship Exodus that attempted to bring thousands of Jewish survivors of World War II to Palestine.
Aboard Virginia, Bermuda to St. Thomas VI
Dec 09, 2009 12:00 am
Below is a blog post written by Keith Barkwood, a Schooner Virginia crewmember, on Nov. 30, 2009, while en route to St. Thomas from Bermuda. David Berson was aboard as Ocean Navigator celestial navigation instructor.Aboard Virginia, Bermuda to St. Thomas III
Dec 09, 2009 12:00 amBelow is a blog post written by Keith Barkwood, a Schooner Virginia crewmember, on Nov. 27, 2009, while en route to St. Thomas from Bermuda. David Berson was aboard as Ocean Navigator celestial navigation instructor.
Aboard Virginia, Bermuda to St. Thomas IV
Dec 09, 2009 12:00 amBelow is a blog post written by Keith Barkwood, a Schooner Virginia crewmember, on Nov. 28, 2009, while en route to St. Thomas from Bermuda. David Berson was aboard as Ocean Navigator celestial navigation instructor.
