(click for animated version)

Bet you didn't know one animated picture could show you a bunch about using a sextant. Navigating these days is GPS and other electronic aids for most of us, but having a manual fallback only makes sense, especially if you are really embarking on a voyage.

I don't recommend this as the be-all, end-all knowledge base, but its an interesting start.

...an awesome, indigenous type of ocean mapping and navigation technology known as stick charts (aka Marshall Islands stick charts, Micronesian stick charts, or Polynesian stick charts). read more »

I didn't realize until running across this article that the basis for most GPS unit output started with a marine standard - NMEA 0183. Nor did I realize how poorly suited the protocol is for a lot of what people now use GPS units for. Even nautical uses.

If you're interested in GPS, navigation and especially bits and bytes of computer protocols, you might find this worth a read. read more »

This is a slick set of web pages provided by the Stevens Institute of Technology. Wind speed, currents, water levels... all kinds of stuff. read more »

Billed as the "Home of Online Marine Trip Planning" this is an interesting site with various boating, scuba and even user uploaded videos and photos. They have lots of navigation "stuff" with interactive charts and other resources that are worth a look. Its not a full navigation suite, but for some route planning and dreaming, it might be just the thing.

Mad Mariner™ has an ongoing series on navigation software... in depth reviews including PC, Mac and even freeware software. So far I've been quite impressed. This resource page lumps it all in one starting point. read more »

Another PC based navigation software product billed as being "for boaters who don't think like a computer". Might be worth a look... comes in a range of "levels", all for reasonable prices.

Do you know how?

An interesting little article discussing how certain solar flares can swamp the GPS signal. Yet another reason to make sure you have a backup and don't just rely on our tech toys.

Books related to this topic.

Maptech is offering a new web page to find and download free charts. There are other sources for these online also, but this may be useful to you, and the price is right :-)