NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: The Zen of Sextant Navigation
From: Peter Fogg
Date: 2005 Oct 16, 05:13 +1000
From: Peter Fogg
Date: 2005 Oct 16, 05:13 +1000
> From: Robert Eno > My two bits' worth of philosophy on a windy, cold Saturday afternoon. On a lovely Sunday morning just slowly revealing itself; a rosy glow through complex slowly moving clouds, towards a day that is unlikely to be cold or, unfortunately, contain any rain ... I think you're all missing the point with your obsession about tools, although I understand their appeal. Let us remember that the basis of navigation is not tools at all, it's a DR plot. To put that another way; it's a state of mind, of being aware of space and time and movement, and of recording and interpreting them. Various tools may be available to assist and refine this process (starting with a pencil and paper). All have their advantages and failings. Like us, none are entirely to be relied upon, but all are potentially useful. At the risk of belabouring my point, nav is not about tools, any more than gardening is. The Polynesians who lived and migrated between small islands scattered about a vast ocean navigated without any tools.
