One Hundred Problems in Celestial Navigation, Second Edition

This is a very good book. I have made good use of it. I am very happy I bought it. My only negative thing I have to say is I wish that there was more comprehensive aswers to it. The answers are simply coordinates (eg: N35 23.2 S 153 23.4) and that's it. I would like to see the math/workings so I can compare it to my math/workings.

This is a great book if you want to practice the technique of "sight reduction" (calculating your position based on the altitudes of heavenly bodies) without having to do sextant sights of your own. The book is entirely self-contained; meaning you won't need any additional material aside from a pencil, ruler/protractor, calculator and/or scratch paper. Different types of problems are presented in scenario format, including Sun, Moon and Star sights, "running fixes", noon sights, etc. All necessary data is given for each problem and relevant pages from the Nautical Almanac and H.O. 249 are reprinted in the appendices. There is, however, only very brief instruction on how to perform the calculations. I would recommend this book only after the reader has a decent grasp of the concepts involved. A sample sight reduction form and answers to the problems are also given in the appendices. Perfect for keeping those skills sharp!

Excellent serie of celestial navigation exercises you can hone your navigation skills with home at the desk.

Absolute requirement whether you take a course or teach yourself Celestial Navgation.

I am in the process of teaching myself Celestial Navigation. I bought this book to help my learning process by having problems with answers to work through. And therein lies the problem. I applaud Mr. Gray's approach to set up realistice navigation problems. However, only THE ANSWER is given. Here we have a multi-step problem involving many aspects of navigation and by only giving the answer without showing solutions or partial solutions your left twisting in the wind if you didn't come up with the answer. You have no guidance on where you have erred. This has been extremely frustrating. It would have been so easy for the book to have at least included filled out sight redution forms for each problem. This addition would have enabled a "just learning neophyte" to see where his errors were. If your are an accomplished celestial navigator looking for practice or have access to an expert to mentor you than the book would be of value. To the beginner trying to learn the craft it comes up very short....too bad, it couldbe so much better. I would have gladly paid more for additonal pages that showed the solution process for the problems.

The exercises are very helpful in enhancing my celestial navigation training.

This book allows the students to experience the celestial navigation problems at sea instead of going to the sea to experience the problems. At beginning of this book, I was bit confused and I struggled with some problems. Some time later I managed to solve the problems. I wish there are more solutions shown and explanations available about the answers to the 100 problems. Also I prefer to see the pictures of the works on the maps for the answers. However, there are the answers provided by a list of the latitude and longitude coordinates with brief explanations. Overall, I am satisfied with this book.

It is a good teaching aid because it contains deliberate errors. The joy of finding them can't be downplayed. Not a cookbook. Some familiarity with the subject is needed.