Junior Navigation
This site is provided as a means of communications with the USPS National Offshore Navigation Committee (ONCom). We welcome your questions and comments on our courses, Learning Guides, and associated materials.
R/C
Kenneth Beckman, SN
Stf/C Kenneth J. Boyd, SN
Stf/C Donald Fiander, SN
Topics
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News
Updated Celestial Tools Program
There is an updated version (v1.80) of the Celestial Tools program on the ONCom Tools web page. (25 May 09)
Sight Folder Quality
The quality of celestial sight folders has significantly diminished over the past six months. Folders have been received which lack the required number of sights, the type of sight reduction method required, and numerous mathematical and plotting errors which indicate inadequate sight checking at the squadron level. A failed sight folder should never occur if properly checked!
Effective immediately, sight folders will be returned to SEOs ungraded, if, in the opinion of an experienced ONCom grader, the folder has been inadequately checked at the squadron level.
In addition, folders received without an accompanying form ED-33, Examination Order, will be held at Headquarters until the form is received. Squadron SEOs will be notified by email. (13 Mar 09)
Sight Plot Update
Before the days of GPS, it was customary to plot an estimated position (EP) when only one Line of Position (LOP) was available for positioning. As you know, the EP is that point on an LOP which is closest to the reference DR position. Now that GPS positions are available, there is no longer a need for an EP as long as the GPS is operating properly. If there is no reason to question the GPS accuracy, we can reduce a sight from the GPS position and use the resultant LOP to determine our sight-taking accuracy. The important point to remember is that EPs are associated only with DR reference positions; sight accuracy is associated with GPS or Known Position (KP) reference positions.
The following procedure indicates how sights are to be plotted and labeled on CLS or UPS plotting sheets:
Plot and label the reference position, which can be a DR, a KP, or a GPS position. Lay out the intercept (as a dashed line) in the direction of the azimuth (toward or away). At the terminus of the intercept, construct the LOP perpendicular to the intercept. Label the LOP above the line with the zone time of the sight and below the line with the name of the body. If the reference position is a DR, indicate the EP at the intersection of the intercept and the LOP with a square, and record the EP coordinates at the bottom of the CLS form. If the reference position is a KP or GPS position, an EP is not meaningful; just record the sight error (SErr) at the bottom of the CLS form as the distance in nautical miles from the known position to the LOP. Until the word reaches everyone in the field, exam answers or sight folders won't be marked wrong if the old EP convention is used. (29 Oct 08)
JN07 Homework Solutions and Quiz Answers Available for Download
The initial release of the JN07 Course Instructor CD, USPS
version: 03/22/07, contains a PowerPoint presentation for each of the 13
chapters of the JN07 course, but does not contain the homework solutions
nor quiz answers in PowerPoint. Several instructors have asked that
we develop this capability, for ease of projecting these questions and answers
while reviewing them in class. Homework
solutions and quiz answers are available in the Instructor’s manual,
but they had not been previously formatted into a PowerPoint presentation.
We have completed developing PowerPoint presentations for each chapter’s
homework, as well as for each quiz, and these files are now available for
JN07 instructors to download, if desired. All releases of the JN07 Course
Instructor CD issued after the 03/22/07 version will contain these homework
and quiz files. (26 July 2007)
New Junior Navigation 2007 Course
The new USPS Junior Navigation 07 course is now available for Squadrons to order! This is the first of a two-course program of Offshore Navigation for the recreational boater in which students learn about current offshore navigation electronic tools and software as well as conventional route planning techniques. Students also learn traditional celestial navigational skills to determine position, using these techniques to check their electronics and as the backup navigation technique in the event electronics fail.
Today’s recreational boater uses electronics as the primary means of positioning, and employs celestial positioning techniques as a check that the GPS is working correctly, and as backup in the event that electronics fail. In Junior Navigation, the student will continue to use GPS as the primary position sensor, as they learned to do in Piloting and Advanced Piloting. However, the offshore environment impacts how one uses the GPS and other electronic tools; the student will learn about some of these considerations in the course.
In the offshore environment, accurate determination of position is just as important as when one is navigating in coastal waters. While offshore, visible terrestrial landmarks are no longer available to the navigator as reference points. In the Junior Navigation course, the student will learn to substitute celestial objects such as the sun as reference points. The course begins with the study of celestial navigation, teaching the student to take sights on the sun with a marine sextant and derive a line of position from that observation. The sun represents but a single reference point, so the student will apply the principles of the running fix learned in Advanced Piloting, and be able to plot a running fix of one’s position from the sun sights. Once the student has learned the basics of celestial sight reduction, the course continues with planning, positioning, and checking one’s position in the offshore environment, using both electronic and celestial tools.
The new JN07 Instructor Manual for this course includes lesson plans for each chapter and comes with a PowerPoint CD. The PowerPoint presentations for each chapter include animation to help the student in his understanding of the material.
Check out the updated Education Department Catalogue for ordering information of the new Junior Navigation 07 course and instructor materials. (05 April 2007)
Junior Navigation Course Description
Junior Navigation is the first in a two-part program of study in offshore navigation, followed by the Navigation course. It is designed as a practical "how to" course. Subject matter includes:
- Precise time determination
- Use of the Nautical Almanac
- Taking sextant sights of the sun
- Reducing sights to establish lines of position
- Special charts and plotting sheets for offshore navigation
- Offshore navigational routines for recreational craft
Questions or Comments?
If you have any questions or comments about the Junior Navigation course, please contact the National Offshore Navigation Committee chair by e-mail, phone or postal service mail. Please be sure to keep your SEO and/or DEO advised of any correspondence you may have with the National committee. Addresses for the National ONCom chair are listed in The ENSIGN and on the Committee Chairpersons page.
We will try to answer your questions as soon as possible, but please allow 5 working days for an answer.
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