 |
I had wanted to learn how to do celestial navigation since I was a kid. As a boat owner who plans/dreams to someday circumnavigate our planet, I decided there was a practical reason to learn how to use a sextant for navigation. After searching the internet, I found the School of Ocean Sailing web site with a listing of their programs. The dates, costs, and the availability all worked for me and I signed up. What I received from this experience was much more than I ever imagined. Captain Larry and Letty Wheeler were wonderful to work with even before I arrived in St. Thomas. They were very responsive to questions I had, and overall were extremely courteous and professional. Everything was well organized and set up upon
my arrival to St. Thomas. After meeting the Wheelers with the other five students (always a maximum of six students) for the various programs (two of us had signed up for the celestial navigation program), we were dinghied out to one of the most beautiful yachts I have ever seen, the S/V Samana. We
were immediately introduced to one another, to the boat, and then prepared to get underway. This began one of the most memorable sailing weeks of my adult life.
Both Larry and Letty are inspirational teachers--both are very patient with slow learners such as myself and each gave us a huge amount of personal attention in learning about and then using the sextant. They never tired of my endless questions. I learned how to use and care for the sextant, how to use the Nautical Almanac and the Sight Reduction Tables, the Site Reduction Calculator (Merlin II), and the Sight Reduction
worksheets. We learned how to do the universal plotting sheet position calculations and then learned how to plot our position fix on maps while underway. I got lots and lots of hands-on experience and I learned what I had set out to learn.
A huge bonus to this program are the vast experiences, stories and wit from both Larry and Letty. And, not only are they great teachers, you get to sail in some of the best and most beautiful sailing areas in the world (the U.S. and British Virgin Islands) on one of the most beautiful yachts around. I learned a lot and made great friends with both the crew and with the other students. I strongly recommend this program to anyone who wants to learn celestial navigation.
Communication Rating: 
Atmosphere Rating:
Meal Rating:
Yacht Rating:
Value for the Money:
Overall Charter Experience:
|
|
|
