The magnetic compass is the default instrument on sailboats. Unlike commercial vessels, which generally have a gyrocompass, it is usually the only instrument on board that points to the (magnetic) north. Regardless of the vessel type, Canadian regulation requires a magnetic compass onboard (on vessels of more than 8 meters)....
The St. Lawrence Global Observatory had been offering limited access to various S-100 map layers for some time. The Nautilo app extends these maps to a range of services designed for navigation. It includes real-time wind and current data, as well as tide forecasting tools.
Electronic apps are now an integral part of recreational boating. This course aims to help you understand how to use them, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. It includes three general texts on electronic charts and navigation apps. It then focuses on five popular navigation apps: Navionics (Boating), OpenCPN,...
This series of twelve articles explains the techniques required for celestial navigation. They include examples and practical applications, enabling you to learn through exercises. Beforehand, you should be comfortable with the basic calculations used in navigation. In particular, you need to have a good understanding of coordinate systems and know...
This text is the last in the series on celestial navigation. It applies the material developed in the previous texts to determine a position from two observations of the sun. In English, this technique is known as a sun-run-sun. In addition to astronomical navigation techniques, it draws on the concept...
This text is the tenth in the series on celestial navigation. It covers how to convert three star sightings into three position lines, enabling you to determine your position. All the knowledge required to carry out this work has already been covered in the other texts. The challenge of this...
This eleventh text in the series on celestial navigation covers the use of solar observations to determine the compass deviation associated with a course. In addition to the first six texts in the series, some prior knowledge of basic coastal navigation is required. In particular, you should be familiar with...
This is the eighth in a series of articles on celestial navigation. It answers a key question: when should you take your celestial observations and which stars should you choose? To observe stars or planets, it must be bright enough to see the horizon, but dark enough to see the...
This article is the ninth in a series on celestial navigation. It explains how to take a noon sight. Before reading this, you should have a good grasp of the first six theoretical articles. To take a noon sight, you need to: The noon sight is the astronomical navigation technique...
This seventh article in the series on astronomical navigation focuses on plotting position lines. This is the easiest part – and usually the last – of a positioning exercise. To do this, you will of course need a specialised sheet of paper for your plots, a parallel ruler and a...
