Does Celestial Navigation still have a role in navigation despite the use of digital methods?

[Tony Barwell]

I suspect Tony Barwells compass error was for a Bridge wing gyro repeater. In my time this would have been taken on the Magnetic compass on the monkey island. Maybe as someone said in a previous post the magnetic compass has already ceased to exist. Cheers John S.

The magnetic compass still exists but on the monkey island it's always covered up with a canvas that looks like it was put in place when the ship was built. Also with all the radiation warning signs up there from all the radars, transceivers etc, some crew don't even like going up there to hoist the flags.

We tend to just use the gyro, then compare the compass headings of gyro and magnetic to the true heading to calculate our magnetic deviation and gyro error.

[John Arton]

Tony
Are your crew wimps. International regs. state that the magnetic compass must be sited "x" number of metres away from any magnetic interference caused by radio/communications equipment.
Health and Safety regs. require safe distances to be marked around all radars scanners, satellite receive/transmitter domes etc. etc. to protect crew members from any dangers of radiation from the signals causing damage to their health. The old wives tale of men being made impotent by standing too near to the emissions from radar scanners was just that, an old wives tale. Standing too near to a radar scanner usually resulted in a hefty blow to the head not a set of fried balls.
For all of this I bet those same guys who don't like going up on the monkey island to hoist flags will still talk for hours on the mobile phone that is pressed to within millimetres of their brain!!!!
Get that canvas off the magnetic compass and start taking compass errors using the magnetic compass, it will give you a far more accurate picture of how the deviation is altering over time and whether you need to get the compass adjusted (don't suppose the captain will know how to these days, to get yourself some brownie points, next time you are on board and the weather is good, ask the captain to show you the magnetic compass rods placement, what the correct and how to swing and correct the compass. Hopefully he will show you, but don't hold your breath.
rgds
JA

[cappy]

#22 and then set sail jim lad ...shiver me timbers

[Tony Barwell]

Tony
Are your crew wimps.
JA

I wouldn't say they're wimps but I do remember one day the deck fitter went up to do some work on the monkey island, as part of the risk assessment all the radars were turned off. After a few minutes he comes down and asks me and the second mate to turn off a radar. We told him they were all off but he said he "could feel the radiation on his head". The second asked him to point out the piece of equipment, turned out to be the Inmarsat antenna which as far as I am aware cannot do any damage especially as it doesn't transmit unless we tell it too. The deck fitter wasn't convinced though. For weeks after the Chief and Captain would tease him saying he won't have anymore kids. I was convinced the 'radiation' he could feel was that dangerous and rare thing called, heat from the sun.

I remember reading about compass adjustments, but I think I will never trust myself to actually give it ago without someone who knows what they are doing, which nowadays seems to only professional shore based adjusters. I am sure one day I will be onbaord when it gets done and I will pay attention. I do like the more traditional way of doing things, seems more of an accomplishment, hence my interest in celestial navigation.

[Robert T. Bush]

Tony,
I agree with John Arton. Regarding heat from the sun, having suffered from skin cancer many years after leaving the sea would advise you not to sun bathe or go without a shirt or hat working on deck unless you have dark skin.

Also make sure your helmsmen can steer from the magnetic compass and that it is properly visible from the steering position. I almost wrote 'wheel'.

[j.sabourn]

Just keeping your hand in Richard. That is not the attitude that I saw latterly however. Everything was around money and getting off, how far you could get up the ladder in the shortest possible time. Some with that idea in mind wouldn't have been carried for ballast years ago. Cheers John S.

[cappy]

in some heavy weather down in the carribean we got a mayday from a yacht askind for immediate assistance I can even now remember the name of her as gold doubloon.....with others we searched after allwent quiet but never found any thing further........my daughterlived on a greek island at one stage the island of kithara......a fisherman had found at sea a 40 footer that had been well battered in heavy weather he asked if my daughter and husband wished to buy it ..the damage was not to bad and engine etc was got in working order.....they sent me a photo of the yacht to see if I was interested.....it looked not bad condition I made enquiries and it ha been in very bad weather and lost enginine power and sails it had been on passage to I think it was crete the two people aboard had been rescued by a passing freighter and the yacht left adrift.......its a small world as the couple rescued lived only some 15 miles from us in the uk ...we took no further action as I was not interested in a boat on a greek island re expense etc it was an interesting episode....regards cappy

[j.sabourn]

#25... Skin cancer.. That is what my wife is going into hospital for. The Doctor would have cut it out at the surgery, but she is a very poor patient when it comes to the likes of that, and insists of going into hospital and being put out completey. Is really only a 5 minute job but all the paperwork and pre op visits take up time. She has never even sat out in the sun. I more than likely have them over the body as well and the doctor would easily check, cant be bothered with all the fuss. Will probably die with something completely different, more than likely alcohol poison if kong gets down here in a few days. Cheers JS

[cappy]

john regards to gwen sure she will be ok regards cappy ......as for the alcohol yes I agree

[j.sabourn]

The Original post does Celestial Navigation still have a place in a mariners world... or words to that affect. I answered honestly as I saw it. In a perfect world both methods would be used to make the navigator proficient. However this is not going to happen, as past experience with aids to navigation have shown, Radar started off as such and is now a necessity to the modern navigator. Myself and many more like me could go out and take a sun or star sight even now, as was drummed into us, and have no fear in taking on anyone in such a subject. However the present way of training does not cover the learning and training we received from our elders. People always take the easy way out and unless you have a very eager person wanting to know some of the old time methods, we are stuck with the new whether we like it or not. Cheers JS