Postby bkilbour » Tue Aug 30, 2011 8:36 pm
Okay, so I'm off of deployment and leave, and I had an intense compunction to relate to y'all some fun facts on nautical navigation... yeah.
Okay, so the American Practical Navigator (also known as Bowditch after its author) is the Big Book of Seafaring for those who want to learn everything from celestial to radar navigation, covers both the IALA A and B bouyage systems, and makes sure that the mariner has a good working knowledge of the lights and shapes one sees at night from other ships and bouys.
...but it's 475 pages long, and bigger in size than Akira. For a simpler version, I recommend Dutton's, which is something of a beginner's Bowditch.
Did you know that there is a traffic system for the high seas? DID YOU!?!??? It's called the Nautical Rules of the Road, put out by the Coast Guard, but accepted by the U.N. as the authoritative system for the open ocean and inland/river/lake travel. It contains all of the info one would ever want on fog signals, mandatory maneuvers, bells, whistles, and what exactly one should do when one notes a "power-driven vessel constrained by her draft." If you own a small boat, or hang around harbors, this is almost 100% necessary before you get your license.
There are three kinds of compasses one can use; Magnetic compasses (pointing to magnetic north), mechanical compasses, and gyro compasses. The Ohio, where I work, uses a mk27 gyro compass, which was originally intended for the Army's tanks, to gain info on heading, but that's a backup to our RLGN (Ring Laser Gyro Navigation) modules which act like a 3-D version of the Mk 27.
um,.....what else.... the essence of a good fix is the bearing to each Navigational Aid - a near-perfect fix being one which uses three aids at 120 degrees apart from one another. The same can be achieved through radar, but is less reliable is one lacks a good return on the radar.
Okay, so I'm using waaaayyyy too much jargon here. I guess the point was to say hi to all my friends and folks here on CAA, and see what was up.
What's up? What's new? Is there a good way to get back into the thick of things around this here site? Message me is there's something I can help ya with and with prayer requests, please!!!
wuv,
Blake
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