Celestial Navigation

by Tom Cunliffe

Guiding a craft using one of the oldest of the mariner'sarts-celestial navigationAs romantic-sounding as sailing to Tahiti did centuries ago, using the sun, moon, planets, and stars to guide one's boat on the seas is enjoying a comeback. For those who do not wish to be caught short when modern technology fails on board, knowing how to chart a path with the aid of a sextant is an essential navigating skill. In "Celestial Navigation," veteran yachtsman, Tom Cunliffe, reveals how any boat owner can master this seafaring technique, without complex mathematics, using his simplified approach. Readers begin with a sound foundation of basic concepts and definitions, before moving on to the hardware-the sextant and how to use it. Within a few pages, you'll be working out your latitude from a noon sight, and learning how to plot a position from observing the sun, planets, moon or stars-or wherever you may be on the world's oceans.Helps readers prepare for the RYA Yachtsmaster Ocean Exam, which includes celestial navigation as a requirement Includes clear diagrams and worked examples to help guide the novice navigatorNew edition has downloadable material, a new chapter on electronic navigation as well as the bonus feature of online video demonstrationsWhether setting out to sea on a short or long journey, "Celestial Navigation" is an essential guide to using the sun, moon, planets, and stars as your guideposts home.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference

74 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 1998

About the author

Tom Cunliffe (born 1947) is a British yachting journalist, author and broadcaster.

Cunliffe has been a regular contributor to Yachting Monthly, Yachting World, Sail magazine, Classic Boat and 'Sailing Today' for many years.

A professional writer since 1986, Cunliffe has won the Best Book of the Sea award twice, for Topsail and Battleaxe and Hand, Reef and Steer.[4] He is author of the important Shell Channel Pilot for the English Channel.

In 2010 he presented the award-winning six-part BBC documentary series, The Boats that Built Britain. He also presented the popular 'Boat Yard' series for Discovery TV. He now has a big following on his Youtube channel, 'Yachts and Yarns'.

Reviews

[Frank Pernett · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a good book. But, the basics were barely touched. If you don’t have a good background on celestial navigation you will be confused

[Dmitry · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I appreciate Tom Cunliffe's writing in magazines and books, I did not find this book very useful. It is hard to use when you are actually trying to master celestial navigation without any prior background. In this matter, I think, the organization of the material is of utmost importance, and this book is a bit chaotic in that sense. The matters are somewhat exacerbated by the media of a Kindle book: all the references are skewed, the tables are gone fishing and the drawings are smeared. I may be on a mission impossible trying to learn celestial navigation from a Kindle, but this book definitely didn't fill the bill.