Product Description

Today, with the rapid advances in science and technology, increasing numbers of sailors and boat owners venture across the world's oceans relying almost entirely on electronic aids and global positioning systems. In the unfortunate event of damage by electric storm, equipment failure, disruption by a truculent government or space junk, they may be left struggling to master the mysteries of celestial navigation and, like the flying Dutchman, doomed forever to circle the globe. Many of the ideas which are presented in this book are intended for the benefit of those sailors who wish to be less dependent on modern and expensive equipment and who want to discover how the early navigators found their way safely across vast oceans. In the first part of the book, several gadgets are presented which focus on pilotage skills, the use of charts and the management of tidal and other information. The second half is devoted to the basics of navigating by the sun and the stars and how to make a selection of traditional instruments.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #258383 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 148 pages

Customer Reviews

Splendid, Splendid and Thrice Splendid
Verily the secrets of the ancient Mariners are here paraded for your education, and for the better knowledge of the craft of the Navigator of the Seven Seas you could not find a more concise and witty tome. Delve within, o student, and learn things that the RYA will never tell you, and probably don't know. Make passage using the celestial orbs placed by the Almighty in a very simple manner, if you would like to make it harder, choose any other author.

Lo-tech navigator
A very entertaining and useful book packed with lots of hints, ideas, designs, gadgets etc for those sailors who do not wish to rely entirely on hi-tech electronic aids and systems.
Shows you how to make and use a range of traditional navigation equipment (octant, back-staff, cross-staff, quadrant etc) plus some unusual devices invented by the author. Plenty of colourful photographs and illustrations and some amusing seafaring yarns. I particularly liked the poem which is used to help readers untangle the basics of celestial navigation and the sailing personality quiz which (for me) was spot on.