NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
NA sight reduction tables - a considered response from NavList to the NA office?
From: Geoffrey Kolbe
Date: 2012 Apr 09, 08:18 +0100
From: Geoffrey Kolbe
Date: 2012 Apr 09, 08:18 +0100
The straw pole that has effectively been taken on this list
would appear to universally condemn the NA tables as being too
complicated and confusing to be used in the circumstances for which they
were intended, which is an emergency backup in the event that other
electronic means of navigation have failed and the navigator is reduced
to pencil and paper.
My own view, for what it is worth, is that the rules for the tables are too complicated and are not well expressed in the NA. I think that a well thought out workform - such as that devised by the people at Starpath - is essential if these tables are to be used successfully on a regular basis.
Back in January, Frank Reed was suggesting that the NavList community could be considered as a legitimate body to represent those who still practice celestial navigation today. Is this not a good case where representation could be made to the NA office that the NASR tables are not practical as currently laid out?
To this end, should a more formal pole be run to gauge the opinion of the NavList?
What mechanism should be adopted to convert this pole into a document for consideration by the NA office?
Geoffrey
My own view, for what it is worth, is that the rules for the tables are too complicated and are not well expressed in the NA. I think that a well thought out workform - such as that devised by the people at Starpath - is essential if these tables are to be used successfully on a regular basis.
Back in January, Frank Reed was suggesting that the NavList community could be considered as a legitimate body to represent those who still practice celestial navigation today. Is this not a good case where representation could be made to the NA office that the NASR tables are not practical as currently laid out?
To this end, should a more formal pole be run to gauge the opinion of the NavList?
What mechanism should be adopted to convert this pole into a document for consideration by the NA office?
Geoffrey
