Nowhere to Ask Directions

          All I have to say is that we are lucky that we're not out at sea. My first sighting with my sextant put me about 150 miles south of where I am currently pretending to live the sailing life. I'm out sitting on my hammock rocking to simulate the movement of the boat and trying to take sights to the moon with my sweet Astra IIIB. I'm using a bubble horizon, which is no piece of cake, and I am still not sure if I'm supposed to align the middle of the bubble to the bottom of the moon or if it's the top or bottom. Well, I measured from the bottom of the moon to the top of the bubble, and my best clock doesn't give seconds... so I'll blame this first shot on a faulty time piece. I really have no clue what I'm doing either though, so that could be it too.

          Even though I might be sextant illiterate, I took some cool photos through the sextant scope using different filters. I also found a sweet website with a sight reduction program, almanac program, and other helpful links. If you're into this sort of thing, you should check it out, A Short Guide to Celestial Navigation. I think I should really read my "Celestial Navigation for Yachtsmen" book before I take my skills on the road.

EDIT September 10, 2014;

          I grabbed some batteries for my Celesticom V navigation computer (came along with the sextant I bought) and after an embarrassing 45 min button pushing fiasco I finally got it working. Here is the link for anyone looking for the user manual, though it is sadly missing the "troubleshooting" section. Anyway, it seems to be working well, now all I have to do is finish reading the manual, my book, and learning my stars so I can figure out where I am right now (take it as existentially as you will).