I think this is a neat shot of a new version of old technology. I go to CalMaritime right now, and there’s talk of getting rid of nautical navigation. I think that would be a real shame. Hopefully they will still offer it. I want to be sure I’m capable of using a sextant and finding where I am on the globe!
I learned how to use the Sextant as a cadet, back then GPS was a new phenomenon. We used to check the accuracy of the GPS with our celestial fixes! Now everybody has a GPS, I even have one in my mobile phone!
Old technology, it may be and it works, no batteries required, but GPS is easier and no long theory of navigation to learn, no sextant angles or errors to learn. It will become a hobby in the end like morse code and semaphore. Unfortunately.
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I think this is a neat shot of a new version of old technology. I go to CalMaritime right now, and there’s talk of getting rid of nautical navigation. I think that would be a real shame. Hopefully they will still offer it. I want to be sure I’m capable of using a sextant and finding where I am on the globe!
Comment by drew
— September 17, 2008 @ 5:12 am
I learned how to use the Sextant as a cadet, back then GPS was a new phenomenon. We used to check the accuracy of the GPS with our celestial fixes! Now everybody has a GPS, I even have one in my mobile phone!
Old technology, it may be and it works, no batteries required, but GPS is easier and no long theory of navigation to learn, no sextant angles or errors to learn. It will become a hobby in the end like morse code and semaphore. Unfortunately.
Comment by Tim
— September 17, 2008 @ 9:02 am