Not sure how many others are doing full celnav out there, but for those who are, please share your routine (your “day’s work in navigation”). Here’s mine below. For sight reduction I use various tabular methods (S-table, F-Tafel, or Fulst’s Nautical Tables) or a calculator if not feeling up to crunching logarithms.
1. Morning twilight 2-star fix.
2. Calculate LAN for the approximate longitude I will be around LAN.
3. Take a sun sight about 3 hours before LAN for a sun line.
4. Take a latitude sight at LAN and advance the morning sun line for a running fix.
5. Take a sun sight about 3 hours after LAN. I won’t typically reduce this unless I can’t get evening stars or am otherwise diverted (by a target sighting etc). In that case I’ll advance the LAN latitude line for another running fix.
6. Calculate time of sundown and plan on being on the bridge shortly thereafter.
7. Evening twilight 2-star fix.
8. Calculate time of sunup and plan to be on the bridge about 30 minutes prior.
9. Hit the sack - I’ve earned it.
For my dead reckoning, I keep a log in a notebook, making an entry each time I change course, speed, save and exit, or get a fix.
The one concession I make is I pretend every target I sink radios its position and that it’s accurate. It’s my reward for sinking things.
Please share your approach!
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