"Astro-navigation from Square One to Ocean-master" is an impressively dynamic and understandable book. It is clear and concise with a large number of excellent diagrams that admirably compliment the text, demystifying and simplifying the art of astro-navigation. The excellent glossary of terms and language used, together with the highlighting of important points make this book particularly applicable to teachers, students and those new to the subject."Captain James P. Hughes. Lecturer in Nautical Science, South Tyneside College

The purpose of this field manual is to provide a standardized source document for Armywide reference on map reading and land navigation. This manual applies to every soldier in the Army regardless of service branch, MOS, or rank. This manual also contains both doctrine and training guidance on these subjects. Part One addresses map reading and Part Two, land navigation. The appendixes include a list of exportable training materials, a matrix of land navigation tasks, an introduction to orienteering, and a discussion of several devices that can assist the soldier in land navigation. Profusely illustrated throughout.

Sextants are used to measure angular heights of celestial bodies above the horizon to find the latitude and longitude of the observer. They can also be used on land with artificial horizons. Sextants can also be used to find the correct Universal Time by measuring the angular distance between the moon and another body along its path across the zodiac. In coastal waters or on land, sextants can be used for very accurate piloting by measuring the horizontal angles between charted landmarks. The vertical angle of a peak above its baseline determines the distance to it, which, combined with a compass bearing, yields a position fix from just one landmark. The angular dip of an object (island or vessel) below the visible horizon can also be used to determine the distance to it. This booklet explains how to get the best results from plastic sextants, and presents numerical comparisons with similar data from metal sextants. Sextant piloting techniques are also reviewed as they are an ideal use of a plastic sextant.

This book is a facsimile reprint and may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages.

This book is a facsimile reprint and may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages.

Celestial navigation is a way to find your latitude and longitude on earth using a sextant to measure the angular heights of celestial bodies above the horizon. It has been used by mariners at sea and explorers on land for three hundred years, and it is still used today as a dependable backup to modern electronic navigation. Routine celestial navigation relies upon accurate time (Universal Time) to find the longitude of a position (latitude does not require time). Advanced celestial navigators can find longitude without knowing the time using a technique called Lunar Distance. In this technique, the sextant is used to measure the angular (diagonal) distance between the moon and another celestial body. Since this distance slowly changes as the moon moves eastward though the stars, it can be used to find the time of day that is needed to complete the longitude determination.The process of finding longitude from lunar distance, however, requires special tables that have not been published in the Nautical Almanac or other sources since the early 1900s. Although software solutions have been available, most advanced celestial navigators are very grateful to navigation historian Bruce Stark for creating these printed tables dedicated to this task. They have been used and tested by mariners for more than 15 years and are praised by experts for their ingenuity and ease of use in solving this complex navigation exercise-which all agree is the hallmark of an expert celestial navigator.With The Stark Tables in your nav station, you no longer have to fear losing power to your electronic navigation aids, nor are you dependent on accurate time from any official broadcast.Besides their practical use in back up navigation, historians have used these tables for years to interpret the logbooks of Lewis and Clark, David Thompson, James Cook, Matthew Flinders, George Vancouver, Nathaniel Bowditch, and other notable explorers and sea captains."It is remarkable in this day when the very survival of celestial navigation seems in question, that an individual should suddenly appear on the scene and present to the world such a brilliant piece of work. Stark has rendered a great service to the celestial navigation community." - Robert Eno, The Navigator's Newsletter"Captain Cook would have relished using these tables, had they been available to him then."- George Huxtable, FRIN

A soup-to-nuts introduction to small, economical sailing craft

Trailer sailers--the smallest, most economical sailboats with sleeping accommodations--are a popular platform for learning the basics of sailing and are often considered to be the entry level to cruising under sail. Author Brian Gilbert shows how trailer sailers can be the ideal craft for a lifetime of enjoyment, including serious, long-distance cruising. This book covers all the bases, including how to inspect, buy, and equip a boat; how to trailer, sail, navigate, and cruise in small boats; how to use communications and navigation equipment; and more.

This book contains the definitive analysis of the navigation and achievement of the discovery of the North Pole by Robert Peary and Matthew Hensen in April of 1909. The report is the work of members of the Foundation for the Promotion of the Art of Navigation. It was commissioned by the National Geographic Society in 1989 to resolve the controversies surrounding this achievement once and for all. "I consider this the end of a historic controversy and the confirmation of due justice to a great explorer." - Gilbert M. Grosvenor, President National Geographic Society

"Navigation puzzles, controversies, historical problems, and other ponderables demystified by an expert navigator and writer. Joe Portney is a US Naval Academy graduate and Air Force navigator who has participated in three historic flights over the North Pole. He is a past President of the Institute of Navigation and recipient of the Weems Award for continuing contributions to the art and science of navigation. He has produced a wonderful little book here, chock filled with interesting tidbits, each of which can be read in a few minutes but will stimulate your thought for many days to come. Some are very basic, others more involved, but he provides a clear explanation of each. Some refer to math computations that we might not all be familiar with, but this is not a distraction from the main points being made even in these few cases."

For plotting a vessel's position to a tenth of a mile.

The definitive guide to a critical, hotly debated topic

How should a sailor cope with storms at sea? Some advocate heaving-to, others running off. Some say trail a sea anchor over the bow, others a drogue astern. The stakes in the discussion couldn't be higher, or the consensus lower. Finally, preeminent sailor/author Hal Roth offers a practical strategy that can evolve and respond as storms grow stronger.

This book is a facsimile reprint and may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages.

Beyond Acceptable Risk reports on ten Northwest Sea Disasters of charter boats and commercial fishing vessels, and points out guidelines for safety at sea for recreational boaters and commercial operators.

A FASCINATING INVESTIGATION OF HOW WE NAVIGATE THE PHYSICAL WORLD, "INNER NAVIGATION" IS A LIVELY, ENGAGING ACCOUNT OF SUBCONSCIOUS MAPMAKING.

Why are we so often disoriented when we come up from the subway?

Do we really walk in circles when we lose our bearings in the wilderness?

How -- and why -- do we get lost at all?

In this surprising, stimulating book, Erik Jonsson, a Swedish-born engineer who has spent a lifetime exploring navigation over every terrain, from the crowded cities of Europe to the emptiness of the desert, gives readers extraordinary new insights into the human way-finding system.

Written for the nonscientist, "Inner Navigation" explains the astonishing array of physical and psychological cues the brain uses to situate us in space and build its "cognitive maps" -- the subconscious maps it employs to organize landmarks. Humans, Jonsson explains, also possess an intuitive direction frame -- an internal compass -- that keeps these maps oriented (when it functions properly) and a dead-reckoning system that constantly updates our location on the map as we move through the world. Even the most cynical city-dweller will be amazed to learn how much of this innate sense we use every day as we travel across town or around the world.

Both a scientific and a human story, "Inner Navigation" contains a rich assortment of real-life insights and examples of the navigational challenges we all face, no matter where or how we live. It's a book that is as provocative to ponder as it is delightful to lose yourself in. Don't worry: Erik Jonsson will help you find your bearings.

The Army version "Map Reading and Land Navigation" is the simplest and most straightforward explanation of how to get around with just a compass and a map. This guide is perfect for any outdoorsman or for teaching Boy Scouts how to use a compass.

How was the Norse Navigator able to shape his course across the North Atlantic long before the invention of the magnetic compass? This book tells the story of the Viking Sun Compass and how it allowed the Vikings to sail across the Atlantic. In 1948, the Danish archaeologist C.L. Vebaek found the remains of a small wooden disc at the Viking Age site of Uunartoq in Greenland. Since then the Master mariners Carl V. Sver and Sen Thirslund have interpreted this find as a navigational instrument. This book is the essence of more than forty years of archaeological studies, discussions and practical sea-going experiments. The author gives a full account of the history of the find and demonstrates convincingly how Viking Age Navigators could make use of this and other simple devices in order to find their way across the vastness of the Northern Atlantic.

Set atop the rocky plateau of Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel, the Old Light stands proudly - a monument to the skill of its builder, Joseph Nelson. It is of a pleasing construction, both solid and graceful, and when built in 1820 it had two lights - an upper and a lower, and was the highest lighthouse in the country. In this fascinating history of the old lighthouse and the fog signal station, the author has combined her wide knowledge of the island's history with information gleaned from extensive research into Trinity House's archives. Some tantalising insights into the life of the keepers and their families have emerged - the keeper who was too tall for the lantern room; the keeper's wife who tragically died of water contamination, and the gunners who poached their dinners and hid their numerous children when the Elder Brethren came to inspect the cottages! Interwoven throughout the story are details of the numerous wrecks from the 15th century until 1897. Accounts from newspapers are often included, and the wrecks are linked to the lighthouse keepers of the time and the heroic rescues performed by the lighthouse staff. There are also some wonderful snippets of island history - one owner regarded Lundy as independent of mainland authorities and issued his own 'puffin' coins and stamps - the latter are still in use to cover postage to the mainland although the coins are now collectors' items. The height of the Old Light soon proved to be its downfall and eventually the reason why it was extinguished. Due to Lundy's plateau-top fogs which completely obscured the lantern, although there was clear visibility at ground level, a programme of alterations and intensifications took place under the advice of Professor Faraday. In 1862, a fog signal station was built on the west coast, providing shipping with another warning. This was not wholly successful either and it was not until 1897 that the Old Light was replaced by new lights on lower levels at the north and south ends of the island. Since the light was extinguished, the Old Light and the fog signal station reverted to the owners. The Landmark Trust restored the lighthouse and holiday-makers can now stay in the keepers' quarters, climb the 147 steps to the lantern room, and enjoy the breathtaking views across the whole island to the coasts of Wales and Cornwall. Owned by the National Trust, Lundy Island is an outstanding area of great natural beauty which attracts many visitors, who frequently return year after year to enjoy this special place.

The Yachtsman's Tidal Atlas, covering the English Channel, Southern North Sea and Bristol Channel, is a comprehensive aid to accurate navigation. In 2 colour for the first time, and compiled from a number of different sources including tide tables, tidal stream atlases, pilot books and charts, The Yachtsman's Manual of Tides provides clear tidal stream information in an easy to read format. All boaters will appreciate the large format, well laid out tidal stream charts with their detailed coverage and easy to read strength arrows. 'A superb navigational aid...this handy paperback is a well-proven aid to passage-planning.' Yachting Monthly 'Whether for cross-Channel planning or coastal cruising, many yachtsmen would not be without their Reeve-Fowkes.' Practical Boat Owner

Published by the Hydrographic Office under the Authority of the Secretary of the Navy.