NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
From: David C
Date: 2016 Dec 20, 17:30 -0800
Total gloom and eternal darkness here (UK Cornwall) as you would expect. (doubt I'll be able to see the sun to measure the Alt. at winter solstice)
My problem is that for several hours a day the altitude of the sun is too high to observe it with an AH!!! Here is what the sun looks like just after LAN when its dec is S 23° 26'. It will give you something to look forward to in six months time.
Note that my sextant is still covered with the crud that it had when I purchased it off an ancient mariner 40+ years ago.
When the Brits, Dutch ,French etc eventually did decide enough was enough and sailed their ships to all points west and south to escape the gloom, they obviously needed accurate navigation. Hence our Navlist etc!
Humans are very adaptable. When the Brits went out east they protected themselves from the hot sun with Bombay Bowlers and Spine Pads. These days I doubt that the Brits use any sun protection when out east.
