Galway Bay Sailing Club

Unravel the mysteries of astro navigation, the sextant, global meteorology and ocean passage making.

As fewer and fewer people rely on paper charts for their primary means of navigating, the skills acquired on this course could be considered more important than ever for those venturing out of sight of land.

It could be considered risky to go offshore without the ability to determine position other than that provided by an external source that could be withdrawn or interfered with.

This course will introduce you to the principles of astro navigation, the practical use of the sextant, the measurement of time, position fixing by the sun and stars, compass checking and great circle sailing.

You’ll also study the concepts of worldwide meteorology, including tropical revolving storms, and passage planning for ocean voyaging.

On completion of this you will receive an RYA certificate in Yachtmaster Ocean Theory.

Description

As part of this course you will learn how to:

• Plan an ocean passage.
• Use a sextant.
• Determine latitude at noon.
• Determine position from two or more observations of celestial bodies (Sun, Moon, 4 of the planets and 57 stars).
• Learn which publications are useful for the offshore navigator and what communication equipment to carry.

Prerequisites

Attendees would be expected to be familiar with basic navigation and chartwork.

Duration

This course will take place over 2 weekends 17/18/19 of Jan and 24/25/25 of Jan to include:

• Friday afternoon/evening (from 7pm to 10pm)
• All day Saturday.
• All day Sunday

This course take place at the Galway Bay Sailing Club in Rinville, Oranmore, H91 W678.

Instructor

The course will be instructed by Mr John Roberts a fully experienced, accredited and approved RYA instructor.