Almanacs and Pilotage

Almanacs and Pilotage

Because written knowledge is always more reliable than any electronic device, skippers often use nautical almanacs to navigate at night. The almanacs help skippers to determine the position of their boat with the help of the stars and other celestial bodies, a technique which has changed little over the centuries. 

A nautical almanac lists the position of 57 selected stars and their position to the earth on each days of a particular year. Since the stars’ position changes constantly, a new almanac is created every year. Besides these stars, the almanac also describes the position of the moon, sun, planets and the first point of Aries. These days, nautical almanacs can also be found online. See these websites for more: 

https://thenauticalalmanac.com/ 

http://www.tecepe.com.br/scripts/AlmanacPagesISAPI.dll/