Post by Kevin K on Oct 25, 2013 22:14:19 GMT -8
"All mariners lose their way. In truth, being lost is a more common state of being than knowing your position. Finding yourself, on a chart, takes time. And the moment that exercise has been completed, you immediately move away from that known position and into the unknown once again."
Spiridon clears his throat and looks out at his class. Written on the board in neat letters is "Celestial Navigation at Sea" and underneath that, a name of convenience. The students were mostly members of the yacht club this pseudonym belonged to, and largely the same. Unlike most of society, this sailing country was almost exclusively for old men. Old men who had the wealth of time to study arcane "unnecessary" things like navigating by the stars.
"Most of navigation, of finding yourself, relies on knowing facts about your environment. You've done this already in your regular passages within sight of land: familiar landmarks, places, that sort of thing.
"We will build on that familiarity, but with something more reliable than the curve of Point No Point, or the lights of the mid-channel marker. We will build familiarity with the sky.
"But what builds familiarity, exactly? Tell me, what points do you look for as you navigate around here? I'm looking for landmarks, not electronic coordinates."
The class pours out the local names. Point Roberts, Mats Mats Bay. Various buoys and navigational markers are named. Mount Rainier is mentioned and gets a laugh. "Smith Island Rocks" says one participant, a younger woman in a red racing jacket.
"That's an interesting answer -- why the rocks of Smith Island, and not Smith Island itself?"
"Because I've never hit the island, but I spent ten hours grinding on the rocks waiting for the tide to change!" This gets a great response from the class - laughter, groans of empathy, nodding heads.
"Exactly! You're familiar with them! And I have no doubt that you'll remember them always, am I right?"
"As long as I live, now that I'm so lucky to be alive."
"Exactly. So we'll tell the stories of the stars, so that when we are lost, we can remember the stories, remember the stars, and find our way again. Does that make sense?"
The woman in the red racing jacket nods but says, "But these will be just stories. My experience on the rock is something that I lived. If we could experience Poseidon and Sagittarius, then it would be different."
Spiridon looks her in the eye and says, "Yes it would. Yes, it would."
Spiridon clears his throat and looks out at his class. Written on the board in neat letters is "Celestial Navigation at Sea" and underneath that, a name of convenience. The students were mostly members of the yacht club this pseudonym belonged to, and largely the same. Unlike most of society, this sailing country was almost exclusively for old men. Old men who had the wealth of time to study arcane "unnecessary" things like navigating by the stars.
"Most of navigation, of finding yourself, relies on knowing facts about your environment. You've done this already in your regular passages within sight of land: familiar landmarks, places, that sort of thing.
"We will build on that familiarity, but with something more reliable than the curve of Point No Point, or the lights of the mid-channel marker. We will build familiarity with the sky.
"But what builds familiarity, exactly? Tell me, what points do you look for as you navigate around here? I'm looking for landmarks, not electronic coordinates."
The class pours out the local names. Point Roberts, Mats Mats Bay. Various buoys and navigational markers are named. Mount Rainier is mentioned and gets a laugh. "Smith Island Rocks" says one participant, a younger woman in a red racing jacket.
"That's an interesting answer -- why the rocks of Smith Island, and not Smith Island itself?"
"Because I've never hit the island, but I spent ten hours grinding on the rocks waiting for the tide to change!" This gets a great response from the class - laughter, groans of empathy, nodding heads.
"Exactly! You're familiar with them! And I have no doubt that you'll remember them always, am I right?"
"As long as I live, now that I'm so lucky to be alive."
"Exactly. So we'll tell the stories of the stars, so that when we are lost, we can remember the stories, remember the stars, and find our way again. Does that make sense?"
The woman in the red racing jacket nods but says, "But these will be just stories. My experience on the rock is something that I lived. If we could experience Poseidon and Sagittarius, then it would be different."
Spiridon looks her in the eye and says, "Yes it would. Yes, it would."
