In this site I talk about all methods of navigation that are practical on small craft. That covers navigating by buoys and with chart and compass, electronic methods, and fixing your position by sun, moon, and stars.

You may have been thaught that are waters for pilotage, and waters for celestial navigation. Wrong. You need charth-and-compass navigation in mid-ocean; celestial navigation can help you along the coast, even on lake. (And you shouldn’t wait for fog before you switch on your direction finder.)

To me, the pencil you use to plot direction and distance traveled, the electronic dials and beeps, and the sextant are just different tools for the same job. The job is getting position lines that tell you where you are at all times.

When you know that, it’s easy to set a safe course to where you want to be, and to figure when you should get there. After a while you check your position again. If necessary, you correct your course or revise your estimated time of arrival.

That’s about all there is to navigation. That’s how you find Boa Vista (Cape Verde) or the next marina.