Hi George – interesting article, and very valid comments on all sides. \u00a0I teach piloting, coastal nav, celestial nav and electronic nav, and have used all on numerous passages. However, we primarily use GPS – and keep a plot on paper and on MFDs. \u00a0(paper charts is yet another discussion)<\/p>\n
Some say that keeping a sextant onboard in case the GPS constellation dies is like keeping a horse in the garage in case the gasoline supply dries up.<\/p>\n
– IF that constellation fails, it probably means global warfare – \u00a0then you\u2019ve likely got higher priorities than making a passage.
\n– Don\u2019t forget that many mariners wear an electronic watch that relies on GPS signals for accurate timekeeping\u2026 essential for celestial navigation. \u00a0If you\u2019re relying on sextant vs GPS, then be sure to have a stand-alone chronometer.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s ironic that many people take sights with a sextant, then plug the readings into an app on their iPhone for the solution.<\/p>\n
The more likely scenario (to GPS constellation failure) is a loss of power onboard, or malfunction of the MFD. \u00a0In that case, you\u2019ll probably have numerous other GPS-enabled devices onboard from which to derive a position (which may need to be plotted on paper, if an e-chart isn\u2019t on one of those devices). Redundancy in power supply is essential then – battery packs and\/or solar chargers for GPS devices, even in a liferaft.<\/p>\n
I am an advocate of learning celestial navigation, not \u201cin case the GPS fails\u201d, but for the ability to master an ancient craft, learn the constellations, and have more to look forward to on watch.<\/p>\n
A similar question might be posed, \u201c why do people like wooden boats when fiberglass or aluminum is more practical?” \u00a0Perhaps it\u2019s as simple as enjoying the classics – like celestial navigation.<\/p>\n
All the best, \u00a0 Lisa<\/p>\n
Hi George,\u2028I too have done a lot of celestial navigating, and I too carry extra plotters as backup. I actually miss the process. That said, it\u2019s all technology: celestial was state of the art in its day and requires an accurate sextant, timepiece, skill, current books, and good weather. It may be traditional, but it\u2019s by no means infallible technology. Is it a good backup? Probably.<\/p>\n
Aloha,\u2028Tor<\/p>\n
Yes.<\/p>\n
Celestial Navigation is a skill, and like any skill it needs to be practiced.\u00a0 If not practiced regularly, can it really be trusted?<\/p>\n
Call it like golf, you can’t play twice per year and expect to break 80.\u00a0 But playing twice per year and shooting 100 won’t put you on a reef.<\/p>\n
Who is honestly going to practice these skills regularly with all the electronic resources at your command?\u00a0 My sextant hasn’t been out of a box in the basement in 20 years…..<\/p>\n
Dave Kanzler
\nOak Brook, IL<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hi George – interesting article, and very valid comments on all sides. \u00a0I teach piloting, coastal nav, celestial nav and electronic nav, and have used all on numerous passages. However, we primarily use GPS – and keep a plot on paper and on MFDs. \u00a0(paper charts is yet another discussion) Some say that keeping a sextant onboard in case the GPS constellation dies is like keeping a horse in the garage in case the gasoline supply dries up. – IF that constellation fails, it probably means global warfare – \u00a0then you\u2019ve likely got higher priorities than making a passage. – Don\u2019t forget that many mariners wear an electronic watch that relies on GPS signals for accurate timekeeping\u2026 essential for celestial navigation. \u00a0If you\u2019re relying on sextant vs GPS, then be sure to have a stand-alone chronometer. It\u2019s ironic that many people take sights with a sextant, then plug the readings into an app on their iPhone for the solution. The more likely scenario (to GPS constellation failure) is a loss of power onboard, or malfunction of the MFD. \u00a0In that case, you\u2019ll probably have numerous other GPS-enabled devices onboard from which to derive a position (which may need to be …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":39307,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1877],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/cc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39306"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/cc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/cc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/cc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/cc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39306"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/cc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39306\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39317,"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/cc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39306\/revisions\/39317"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/cc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/cc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/cc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/cc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}