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Originally Posted by jbarros
ok, I''m not claiming I NEED to know this, and I''m not looking to start a flame war, I''m just saying I WANT to learn it, and was wondering if I could get some feedback from people who do, as to what a decent, inexpensive sextant is, and where I can find a decent book on the subject. How do I learn to do this, and once I can, how acurate can I realisticly expect to be?
Thanks 
-- James |
James
You are right you do not need to know celestial but if you do learn it you will be a better mariner. Celestial navigation is a joy once learn it gives you a level of self confindence you will never get from a
GPS. To get started try a very inexpensive sextant from Davis. They are plastic but do the job just fine and later can be used as a spare or packed in a
life raft. The best book to get started with is a small book by Stafford Campbell "The yachtsman's Guide to Celestial Navigation, it does not get into the heavy theory or mathamatics, simple addition and subtraction does it nicely. With a little practice you should be able to come to within a mile or two of your actual position, remember celestial is Ocean nav where and errror of a mile will not hurt you. When coastal piloting using modern electronics and traditional dead reckoning works well.
Good sailing
David