NavList:

John:

 

I'm also fascinated by primitive navigation. I've enjoyed reading the National Geographic re-creation of the Polynesian voyage from Tahiti to Hawaii. They had modern navigators aboard, but no instruments. I remember their astonishment as to how well they could estimate altitudes with the naked eye.

 

I've just published a book where I assert that I offer the simplest possible backup to GPS. But a sextant, a watch and an almanac are needed. I'd like to hear about an even simpler method.

 

A part of the Power Squadron Navigation course involves finding your position using only basic knowledge, and it was surprising how much we could do. But it was really only for specific situations, and not every day.

 

Jim Wilson