One Hundred Problems in Celestial Navigation

Traditional navigation with a sextant, an almanac, and a book of tables is still thriving, even with the availability of accurate, cheap GPS receivers. Batteries sometimes go dead, and electronic devices fail, especially in salt air. Also, it can be satisfying, and fun, to work out a position and plot it, all on your own - but getting good at it requires some practice.

100 Problems is a self-contained book of realistic celestial navigation problems, including excerpts of all the necessary Nautical Almanac pages and sight-reduction table, with answers and explanations. All of the regularly encountered navigation situations are covered, as well as those that are used only occasionally and whose routines may have been forgotten, such as the backsight, shooting an unknown body, finding Venus in daylight and storm avoidance. Procedures for all the needed methods are outlined in an appendix, for review and for reference, and a sight-reduction form is included. It may be photocopied, for non-commercial use.

In the problems, emphasis is on actual conditions at sea, so sometimes sights are poor or planned-for bodies are not visible. Errors are made - and an occasional blunder - as in real life.