Nautical Astronomy
June 12, 2009 by Chris Wethered
Filed under Boat Electronics And Nautical Navigation
Learn from
Robin Knox Johnstone was the first man to sail around the world none stop. In those days Nautical astronomy was the only means of finding out where you were.
Nowadays, using a sextant is seen as ridiculous, when we have chartplotters and GPS all around.
But they can fail too, listen to this:
With all the there are over 300,000 pieces of razor sharp space rubbish orbiting the earth right now! That's very dangerous if your a satellite. Recently an out of service Russian satellite collided with one from the US.
It's not scare mongering. It's fact. The more probes, satellites and so on that get orbited only increase the chance of an accident.

Even today the stars will guide us
This affects you because:
If you only rely on your electronics then it may affect your safety.
look out for the sextant demonstration! Purchase your products below
Necessary
The sextant is one instrument that has stood the test of time. If your offshore it's a basic necessity. But also fun to use! Of course when in shore you can plot a fix triangulating landmarks.
You can judge for yourself. Try getting a position in your back garden at night. If you have never used one, then this is your opportunity!
Buy now, practice later
West Marine carry a range of money back dollar saving sextants. You can pick one out below
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