Hey all, Does anyone have any recommendations on celestial navigation videos and/or books? I'd like very easy-to-learn stuff as I've read some on the subject without understanding a lot of it. Thanks, Dave *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 98-09-11 05:34:55 EDT, dave_at_seacanoe.com writes: << Does anyone have any recommendations on celestial navigation videos and/or books? I'd like very easy-to-learn stuff as I've read some on the subject without understanding a lot of it. >> There is a well recommended book , I think it may be called just "Celestial Navigation" and the author is (if memory serves?) Mary Blewitt. However, I don't think there is any really easy way to understand the theory behind Celestial Navigation. It is however easy to use, if you don't do the math from first principles and if you use modern calculator/computer power instead. You can either use a special hanheld calculator (Celesticomp - costing about $450....ouch!) or a notebook computer if you have one anyway, or a programmable scientific calculator ($75 maybe?). The actual process of taking a star/sun/moon/planet sight with the sextant & keying in data to the calculator can be learned very easily without understanding any of the underlying theory, (but a more thorough understanding is good for the soul anyway) My question, however, is why would you want celestial navigation in a kayak? You would need a heavy & bulky sextant, and position accuracy is not suitable for coastal work anyway - more for open ocean stuff. I just finished earlier this year a US Power Squadron Celestial Navigation course (a lot of work, but worth doing) and accuracy of our sights had to be +/- 5 nm - not very applicable to kayaking, I think. A GPS is a much easier & cheaper solution - and takes less space on board. If I were sailing to Bermuda, I would want to use celestial nav to practice the procedure, but I would have a GPS along too, to check my skill. In effect the sextant nowadays is used by most sailors as a backup in case their GPS fails (lightning strikes or whatever) but in order to get good results with a sextant practice is probably advisable. I suggest the BEST approach to knowing where you are is to learn conventional navigation (US Power Squadron offers a series of excellent courses on this subject) with chart, compass, plotting tools, etc. If the GPS fails (& it will!) you will still be able to get where you need to go, providing you have a chart & compass. best regards David Booth *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
---------- > > There is a well recommended book , I think it may be called just "Celestial > Navigation" and the author is (if memory serves?) Mary Blewitt. the book i have by mary blewitt is 'Celestial Navigation for Yachtsmen'. peace ted *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
The best course I ever reviewed is given by the staff of "Ocean Navigator" magazine. I don't know if they have it on video but you may want to pick up an copy of the mag and see. Their course is a hands on deal and it brings a beginner up to modest speed in a couple of weeks. For a kayak you will probably want to invest in a sight reduction calculator since carrying the books will get quite old...and wet. Plotting will be another challenge. You need a horizon to do a sight so be prepared to paddle a bit. Maybe there is a GPS that already has sight reduction capability built in??? Tom *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
The following webpage has a many links of a Nautical nature: http://www.powercruising.com/ (Downside is, you have to listen to streaming audio and this page uses frames, so you can't make bookmarks of the links very easily). Celestial navigation Video: http://www.seatape.com/203out.htm Celestial Navigation for the Complete Idiot: http://www.seatape.com/359out.htm Books: Wright, Frances W. 1969. Celestial Navigation. Cornell Maritime Press, Inc. (Wright includes a list of references, including Bowditch, Nathaniel. 1995 ed. The American Practical Navigator. I found this book for under $24.00 at West Marine. It lists for $99.00). Duttons is a pretty good lead-in too. Forget about Dutton's supplemental "Problems and Answers Booklet." I didn't find it very good; mostly a pain. I have a Davis, Plastic Sextant. Good enough and it is not heavy; just a little bulky. >Does anyone have any recommendations on celestial navigation videos and/or >books? *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:32:51 PDT