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THE BAREFOOT NAVIGATOR – Jack Lagan. Published in soft covers by Adlard Coles Nautical at £14.99. 160 pages including 40 b/w diagrams and sketch charts. ISBN 0-7136-7429-6
The Barefoot Navigator arrived in mid June, just as I was abandoning my desk for six weeks of long-overdue boat maintenance. I thought I’d take a quick look at it while I ate my lunch, and ended up reading it from cover to cover (and some parts more than once) over a period of several weeks.
Jack Lagan is both an entertaining writer and eminently pragmatic, and not afraid to question some cherished salty beliefs. He states at the outset that none of the traditional methods can approach the accuracy of GPS, and doesn’t for a moment advocate setting off without all the goodies that modern electronics can provide – but goes on to question why the sextant is still held up, by the RYA amongst others, as the gold-standard of traditional navigation – why not the quadrant or the backstaff? Why indeed?
So he steps back in time. The Pacific islanders, the Vikings, the Arabs, the Chinese, even the Pharaohs and the Phoenicians, all evolved strategies suited to their own particular needs and waters. These are undoubtedly fascinating, but whether it is logical to suggest that many could be adapted to practical use should one be cast up on an unknown shore is doubtful. If one is without GPS, accurate time or any other instruments it seems likely that one will also be without a copy of The Barefoot Navigator and the items described in the appendices (or a computer with which to download them from Jack Lagan’s excellent website, of which more below).
I would suggest this book merits a place on the cruising bookshelf for another reason entirely. With the demise of ‘traditional’ navigation there is much less incentive to spend time in the cockpit looking up, down and around – the GPS is generally below at the chart table. Reading The Barefoot Navigator will encourage one to look and also explain what one is seeing – I itched to test out some of the methods described, not possible while marooned in a dusty boatyard! And of course the dark mid-ocean is also the very best place to become familiar with the stars.
In addition to writing on a variety of topics, Jack Lagan maintains a highly professional website at www.jack-lagan.com . One can download printable versions of the appendices, puzzle over a nautical quiz, learn about ‘hazardous marine creatures’ (recommended), get a taste of the author’s previous and future publications or, under Web Reviews, follow links to his own favourite websites. These latter will occupy my lunch breaks now I’m back at my desk....
AOMH
PS: The Barefoot Navigator inevitably reminded me of David Burch’s Emergency Navigation, published by International Marine Publishing back in 1985 and still available via Amazon. They tackle much the same topic but from somewhat different angles – perhaps a place should be found on the bookshelf for both.
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