Model Ships :: Navigation: Where are we?

Navigation: Where are we?

Early Navigation:

(Man at bow, sticking a pole in the water to see how deep the draft is.)

As with Lighthouses, knowing where one was at sea was important to say the least. But lighthouses were limited to shore lines. While sailing around local water ways, rivers and such, sailors could easily navigate by landmarks. However, once man started to cross the oceans, land marks would hardly be sufficient. After all, one wave looks pretty much like any other. Many vessels and men were lost at sea!

What did the seamen need to safely navigate the world's oceans? Well:

Almanac prepared by the astronomers
Chronometer or some other means of telling the time
A cartographer to provide accurate charts
Navigators need quick and easy mathematical formulas
Finally, navigators need an angle-measuring instrument, a sextant

Looking to the Stars:

Cross Staff

All of the above elements took a long time, over many centuries, to be discovered and invented.

Man Using Cross Staff.gif

Even in the modern Navy, Sextants are still used:

Why? Because modern electronics systems can fail. Even Computers (LOL). Stars don't fail or lie. They will always be there. The Navy still teaches sailors in the use of Signal Flags, Semaphore, Morse Code and Sextants. All methods where a seaman, or Navy Pilot, can rely on the basics if needed and can signal in silence to an other ship or safely navigate the oceans. If all else fails, watch for the Gulls. Then you'll know when land is near!

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by

This is a subject that is very complex and detailed. More than could be covered in this site. Below are some excellent links about marine navigation. Both the history and modern techniques:

Model Ships @ shipmodeling.info