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 (Bob) 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.
