Quote:
how hard it is to aquire and maintain a sextant sighting on a pitching deck


I always wondered how someone gets an accurate angle of sun and horizon on a pitching deck.

For really amazing celestial navigation, I have always been fascinated by how the ancient polynesians did it. No sextant, compass or timepiece, yet they traveled thousands of miles of open ocean in large canoes. It is really a good read to see how they did it.

My sailor skills are nil, by the way.

Jeff