The lo-tech navigator

Today, with the rapid advances in science and technology, increasing numbers of sailors and boat owners venture across the world's oceans relying almost entirely on electronic aids and global positioning systems. In the unfortunate event of damage by electric storm, equipment failure, disruption by a truculent government or space junk, they may be left struggling to master the mysteries of celestial navigation and, like the flying Dutchman, doomed forever to circle the globe. Many of the ideas which are presented in this book are intended for the benefit of those sailors who wish to be less dependent on modern and expensive equipment and who want to discover how the early navigators found their way safely across vast oceans. In the first part of the book, several gadgets are presented which focus on pilotage skills, the use of charts and the management of tidal and other information. The second half is devoted to the basics of navigating by the sun and the stars and how to make a selection of traditional instruments.