6 July: HYC Cruising Group presents: Celestial Navigation

A talk by Captain Jeff Werner

Celestial navigation can be a very intimidating subject for cruising sailors. This presentation 

demystifies celestial navigation and serves as an introduction for those sailors interested in pursuing 

theory and practical instruction on this topic.

 

Over the past thousand plus years instruments and techniques for celestial navigation were developed 

to find the latitude and longitude of any place on Earth. From the Arabian caravan navigator who used 

the kamal to guide his camels across the desert to the bazaars in Timbuktu, to the quadrant and 

astrolabe that Christopher Columbus used on his voyage of discovery in 1492. Running down the 

latitude and taking lunar distances to determine longitude were practical techniques for navigators at 

sea until 1850. Today, cruising sailors can use a modern marine sextant and the Marcq Saint-Hilaire (or 

altitude intercept) method developed in 1875. Regardless of the instruments and techniques used 

throughout the ages, there is one constant: It’s all about altitude! 

 

Presenter: Jeff Werner has been a yacht captain for almost 35 years. He is a certified instructor for the 

RYA, US Sailing, MCA and the US Coast Guard. Jeff is a US Sailing celestial navigation instructor and has 

completed just under 100,000 miles of passage making under sail.