NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Latitude and Longitude by "Noon Sun"
From: Robert Eno
Date: 2005 Jun 6, 08:35 -0400
From: Robert Eno
Date: 2005 Jun 6, 08:35 -0400
I can't speak for my late friend as to why he held the opinion he did, except to say that he was a career military man who lived through several wars and was therefore a very pragmatic individual. I have no argument with you regarding the the whys and the wherefores behind traditional and practical reasons for the noon sun shot, however I still maintain (in agreement with my late friend) that in 2005, it is overrated. If one did not have accurate time available to him, then the noon sun shot would rocket to the top of the list as one of the vital components (as you alluded in your informative history of the noon sun shot), however, in this day and age where one can purchase a bushel basket of cheap, accurate watches, time and effort required to take a noon sun shot on a moving vessel with its attendant problems as outlined by Frank Reed, is of questionable value; except for the pure pleasure and sense of accomplishment. From a practical perspective -- assuming that one has an accurate time piece which is pretty much a given nowadays -- it doesn't make much sense to me. I'm not suggesting that the noon sun shot is useless and that it should be consigned to the dust bin, with lunars (no offence intended Bruce). Indeed, the noon sun shot is generally what the budding astro-navigator cuts his teeth on before he gets into the nitty gritty. Nevertheless, it seems to me that the main purpose of teaching the noon sun shot is that it is easy to learn, primarily because the calculations require only basic arithmetic. This has already been suggested by several list members in this discussion. If I were voyaging across the Pacific and navigating purely by traditional means (sans GPS), I would likley not bother with routine noon sun shots. Given sufficient time, I would practice them on occassion. Robert ----- Original Message ----- From: "Henry C. Halboth"To: Sent: Sunday, June 05, 2005 10:58 PM Subject: Re: Latitude and Longitude by "Noon Sun" ----------clipped-------------------- > The noon position is/was therefore a combination of traditional, > practical, statistical, and commercial factors, of concern primarily to > naval and merchant ship navigators, some of which transcend purely > technical considerations. I really don't think terming it overrated is > entirely appropriate. > > > Henry >