Fall 2017 seminar now open for registration!
Join Andy, Mia & friends at The National Sailing Hall of Fame, Annapolis in October for another weekend of sailing history and celestial navigation. While there is hardly an argument anymore for celestial as a backup to electronic navigation, it's part of sailing history, and as ocean sailors, we owe it to ourselves to at least have a general understanding of it, I say! Plus, it makes those long night watches that much more enjoyable when you know your place - physically and philosophically - in the universe.
Note that the course officially starts Saturday, but there is an optional happy hour & 'History of Navigation' talk Friday night at Weems & Plath in Eastport!
Workshop Details
Working hard at the US Sailing Hall of Fame at our Feb. 2014 seminar.
This will be a hands-on workshop, where you'll learn the concepts of celestial and do some actual sextant sights on the docks. Plus, you'll get to hang out with some like-minded people in a cool & inspiring environment! The basic course outline looks like this:
Day Zero (Friday):
Happy Hour at Weems & Plath's shop in historic Eastport. Tours of the shop & products available for purchase. Free beer & wine. Food available for purchase.
CEO Peter Trogdon to give talk on the 'History of Navigation'
Live music!
Free to attend for everyone! Not just course participants!
Day One (Saturday):
In-depth discussion of celestial concepts & a series of 'thought exercises' to get you in the right frame of mind and learn your position spatially on the surface of the Earth.
Hands-on work with the sextant and practice taking sights.
Diving into the books and how to 'reduce' a sight.
Day Two (Sunday):
Practice sight reduction problems based on real-world passages Andy & crew have completed.
The running fix concept.
Introduction to star sights
#isbjornsailing crew Dan taking sights offshore from Lunenburg-Annapolis, summer 2016.
Special thanks to Weems & Plath & Bacon Sails, for helping to organize and promote this celestial event!
Cost is $500, and the Workshop is limited to the first 8 people who sign up.
What the workshop includes:
Copy of Hewitt Schlereth's Celestial in a Nutshell
Universal Plotting Sheet booklet
Notebook & pencil
Weems & Plath Star Finder
Use of a pre-owned sextant for practice during the weekend, with the option to buy one at the end of the Workshop (courtesy of Bacon Sails in Annapolis)
Happy hour & live music Friday night before the course.
Click here to read some of Andy's articles on celestial that he's written over the years.
Weekend Schedule:
Group dinner at the Fall 2016 seminar.
Friday, Oct. 20, 1900: Join Andy, Mia & friends at Weems & Plath for an Open House, including live music, free drinks, tours of the workshop & food for purchase. Open to all.
Saturday, Oct. 21, 0900-1700: Workshop begins at the National Sailing Hall of Fame building in downtown Annapolis. 69 Prince George St. Coffee and tea (included) during the morning session, with a break from 1200-1300 for lunch.
Saturday, Oct. 21, 1900: Meetup downtown, location TBC, for an optional group dinner at your own cost. (RSVP required).
Sunday, Oct. 22, 0900-1530: Workshop Day 2. Coffee & tea in the morning, with a 1200-1300 lunch break. Stay later for Q&A and storytelling if you so choose, but we'll formally end at 1530 for those who need to travel home.
Testimonial from the February 2014 workshop:
"The seminar was an interesting academic exercise that fed my curiosity about celestial navigation. Andy is a a charismatic instructor that involves his students and makes great use of visual examples to successfully teach otherwise potentially difficult concepts to grasp." -Fred Roller
How to Register
To register, click 'Add to Cart' and complete your payment! Follow photos below for instructions on how to complete the signup process...
1.
Add # of people signing up, then click 'Add to cart'.
2.
Go to cart, then click 'Checkout'
3.
Add contact info, & make payment to complete the Registration
