When the GPS ceases to work, be guided by the sun. This is the first of a two-course program of Offshore Navigation for the recreational boater. Learn to use a marine sextant to derive lines of position and a running fix from sights on the sun. When you are boating offshore, remember that GPS is not infallible, nor always available. Be confident when no aids to navigation or land objects are in sight. This course was formerly called Junior Navigator.
This is the second of a two-course program of Offshore Navigation program for the recreational boater. It introduces the navigator to route planning for going offshore, may the voyage be long or short. While overshadowed by the new electronic systems, the art and science of celestial navigation is still a valuable asset to the offshore boaters. This course provides the student with the fundamental knowledge and practical skills of celestial navigation. It involves the use of a sextant for taking sights on the sun, planets, moon, and stars. This course was formerly called Global Navigation.
This online seminar can be started as soon as you receive the link or by going to the course calendar drop down on the main web page and selecting Moodle Login. The Seminar is designed to be done in one sitting of about 90 minuets.
Before electronic navigation aids like GPS and electronic chartplotters came along, coastal sailors plotted fixes by using natural and man-made references, such as lighthouses, buoys, church steeples, radio/TV towers, and so on, that were plotted in their exact locations on paper navigation charts. They did this by taking quick-succession bearings on two or more of these objects, thus producing lines of position (LOPs) that crossed each other at some point. When these LOPs were plotted on the paper chart, the sailor could see the fix, indicating the boat’s position. This process is called getting a terrestrial fix. However, if the sailor is in the middle of an ocean, there are no lighthouses or church steeples. There is a solution however, and as the Friendly Giant used to say, “Look up … way up,” and there are all those heavenly bodies, “lighthouses in the sky.”
This seminar on this traditional and reliable offshore navigation method, was written by a skilled navigator, for the boater who wants to do some serious offshore cruising, maybe even challenge a transoceanic crossing, and needs a Plan B to back up his electronic navigation equipment. While by no means a full celestial navigation course, this is an excellent introduction to the two celestial navigation courses offered by Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons, and covers all the basics.
This seminar on this traditional and reliable offshore navigation method, was written by a skilled navigator, for the boater who wants to do some serious offshore cruising, maybe even challenge a transoceanic crossing, and needs a Plan B to back up his electronic navigation equipment. While by no means a full celestial navigation course, this is an excellent introduction to the two celestial navigation courses offered by Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons, and covers all the basics.
When the GPS ceases to work, be guided by the sun. This is the first of a two-course program of Offshore Navigation for the recreational boater. Learn to use a marine sextant to derive lines of position and a running fix from sights on the sun. When you are boating offshore, remember that GPS is not infallible, nor always available. Be confident when no aids to navigation or land objects are in sight. This course was formerly called Junior Navigator.
When the GPS ceases to work, be guided by the sun. This is the first of a two-course program of Offshore Navigation for the recreational boater. Learn to use a marine sextant to derive lines of position and a running fix from sights on the sun. When you are boating offshore, remember that GPS is not infallible, nor always available. Be confident when no aids to navigation or land objects are in sight. This course was formerly called Junior Navigator.
This is the second of a two-course program of Offshore Navigation program for the recreational boater. It introduces the navigator to route planning for going offshore, may the voyage be long or short. While overshadowed by the new electronic systems, the art and science of celestial navigation is still a valuable asset to the offshore boaters. This course provides the student with the fundamental knowledge and practical skills of celestial navigation. It involves the use of a sextant for taking sights on the sun, planets, moon, and stars. This course was formerly called Global Navigation.
This is the second of a two-course program of Offshore Navigation program for the recreational boater. It introduces the navigator to route planning for going offshore, may the voyage be long or short. While overshadowed by the new electronic systems, the art and science of celestial navigation is still a valuable asset to the offshore boaters. This course provides the student with the fundamental knowledge and practical skills of celestial navigation. It involves the use of a sextant for taking sights on the sun, planets, moon, and stars. This course was formerly called Global Navigation.
This is the second of a two-course program of Offshore Navigation program for the recreational boater. It introduces the navigator to route planning for going offshore, may the voyage be long or short. While overshadowed by the new electronic systems, the art and science of celestial navigation is still a valuable asset to the offshore boaters. This course provides the student with the fundamental knowledge and practical skills of celestial navigation. It involves the use of a sextant for taking sights on the sun, planets, moon, and stars. This course was formerly called Global Navigation.