Date: Monday June 22 2009
Location: Rodeo Beach
Time: Almost High Noon when the sun is about to start its descent back to sunset.
.
.
.
.
The man in the white hat is Robert Darr who is the head teacher of Arques Boat Building School. He’s gesturing to Becky, who is taking a noon sight - the time when the sun is the highest in the sky. After 3 night classes that go from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm or later - the class goes out to Rodeo Beach on a clear and sunny day when the horizon is visible.
.
.
.
.
After many night hours of formulas and theory at a cramped table, we were now on a beautiful beach taking sights. For most of us it was the first time we had ever held a marine sextant in our hands. We set up a little card table right there on the beach and we all worked through the math needed to see how close our shot was to our actual location. And it worked!
.
.
With one sun sight, that just takes a few minutes - first timers calculated Latitude and Longitude within a mile and half of our actual coordinates. By learning this skill we become part of a tradition of navigation that still has a practical value if the gps fails and you are far from home.
.
.
.
.
And because Arques School believes everyone should be able to learn this skill - they offer it to the community for free once or twice a year.
.
