Re: Low Tech Navigation

Bill Blohm (bblohm@boi.hp.com)
Tue, 24 Nov 1998 13:01:12 -0700


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West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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I remember this method of speed taking. I'd completely
forgotten about it until you mentioned it!

> I once started a thread on the Latitudes and Attitudes BBS about the US
> Naval Academy no longer requiring celestial navigation. I love the
> magazine (L and A), but it seems that most of its readers (or at least
> those who participate in its BBS discussions) have a love affair with
> electronic navigation. I guess I'm just looking to see if there are
> other people out there who believe that one aspect of good seamanship is
> manifested through one's ability to determine location and course
> without the aid of electronics. Any takers...?

Sign me up as one interested. I've been interested in
Celestial for some time, but never got into it as much
as I'd have liked to. The coastal navigation's easy
enough to do, so long as one remembers some simple
common sense rules such as a bay won't look like it does
on the chart when you're searching the shore for the
opening.

Here's a toss-in: A question for Nav 101 levels:
How can you tell the latitude you're at if you were to
be taken out of your office or home right now, no chance
to get anything, and all you've gotten on you is what
you can use. You're taken out into the woods somewhere
on Earth. What's your latitude?

A question for Nav 201 levels:
All you have is a clock/watch. You don't know where you
are. How many hours away from Greenwich are you?
You don't know what your watch is set to. You can
use any pre-1800 tools available to navigators, but no
maps or charts. There's no-one around to ask questions
of, either.

I know the answer to Nav 101's question, but haven't
figured out the answer to the Nav 201. Any takers? :-)

Bill B.
P-18 #454 "Dream Catcher"
Nampa, ID