Author Description

As much as it is a part of history, Bowditch is not a history book. In this edition, as in past editions, dated materialwas dropped and new methods, technologies and techniques added to keep pace with changes in the practice of navigation. The changes are intended to ensure Bowditch remains the premier reference work for modern, practical marine navigation. Volume I Contains: PART 1, FUNDAMENTALS, includes an overview of the topic of marine navigation and the organizations which develop, support and regulate it. These fundamentals include chapters relating to geodesy and chart datums; modernhydrography; the types, structure, use and limitations of nautical charts; electronic chart display and informationsystems; and finally a concise explanation and summary of the various navigational publications necessary for prudent marine navigation. PART 2, PILOTING, mainly emphasizes the practical aspects of navigating a vessel in restricted waters, using both traditional and electronic methods. The closely related problems of finding the course & distance between one known point and another, and using The Sailings, are also discussed. PART 3, CELESTIAL NAVIGATION, reflects the renewed interest in the age old art and science of navigation bythe stars, planets, moon and sun. The update recognizes the trend to over rely on GPS and electronic navigation by offering the tried and true alternative method in the event of electronic failures. PART 4, INERTIAL NAVIGATION, is often referred to as a sophisticated dead reckoning method. This sectionstarts off with a discussion of gyroscopes and accelerometers. PART 5, RF NAVIGATION TECHNIQUES, explains the nature of radio waves and electronic navigation systems.Chapters deal with several electronic methods of navigation--satellite, Loran, and Radar, with special emphasis on satellite navigation systems. PART 6, ALTERNATIVE NAVIGATION TECHNIQUES, addresses the topic of bathymetric navigation. This comes in direct response to several Bowdi