Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Navigating the High Seas

I was able to visit the Mel Fisher exhibit while in Key West.   If you aren't familiar with Mel, he invested years of his life in pursuit of sunken treasure.   And, he hit the jackpot with the Atocha. 

Below is a sextant taken from the bottom of the ocean.  Can you imagine, for a moment, being completely away from any visual bearing?   A compass will get you in the general direction.   But, left to the wind, hundreds of miles from any visual landmark, how do you know where you are?



I was not aware of a "Cross Staff" as another tool to measure location.    I have a notion to find a modern day sextant and give it a try.    If you can get away from the light pollution, it should be just fine....for within 10-15 miles or so!

Well...maybe I will just use Google maps. 

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