For decades celestial navigation was seen as an increasingly archaic skill, but there is now a resurgence of interest in these traditional navigation skills, writes Rupert Holmes
Yachting World, September 28, 2020
Rupert Holmes has more than 80,000 miles of offshore experience. As a Yachtmaster Instructor he also taught the RYA Yachtmaster Ocean course.
Celestial navigation: Why sailing by following the stars is enjoying a resurgence
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Position finding via GPS is certainly more accurate than fiddling around with a marine sextant. It’s certainly a lot quicker.. That said, and my attempts at Celestial Navigation have been limited to shooting such celestial bodies as were visible while standing on the beach in North Carolina, or shooting the sun with an artificial horizon from the parking area of the apartment complex where we live, GPS lacks the feeling of having accomplished something that fiddling with a sextant and tables provides. Additionally, batteries not required has a singular virtue.