Well, less than 4 weeks to go before the Yachtmaster Offshore course goes around Vancouver Island. The course will of course include a CelNav component. My goal will be to use the passage across the north end of the island as a warmup with sun and noon sights. Maybe the moon and a planet or two will be out.
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| 1904 Map of Vancouver Island |
Once around Cape Scott I plan to go at least 25 miles offshore and rely totally on CelNav for position fixes - Sun, Moon, Planets or Stars - whatever is available. I will record GPS positions at all sights in order to compare our accuracy but not until we have come back inshore. To rely totally on CelNav requires a leap - if you knew how accurate or inaccurate you have been, may make you recheck your worksheet reduction if you are out in accuracy.
Once further south near Tofino I would like to do another offshore leg with additional offshore sights.
I am pretty sure that I have decided to bring my Astra III Professional sextant, as it has a full horizon mirror which will make it easier for people to take sights. This is the one I took around the island last year and seems to travel well and allowed me to take very accurate sights.
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| Astra III Professional Sextant |
All my other metal sextants are split horizon mirrors and may be more problematic for first time users.
Then also to take stopwatch, calculator(s), note taking, alamanac, tables, plotting instruments, all plotting and sight reduction worksheets.
One of the best books that I have found, and the thinnest, is Tom Cunliffe's Celestial Navigation.
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| The Best CelNav Book... |
See you back in October...
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