Nautical Institute launches new edition of The Principles of Navigation

The Nautical Institute launched the 11th edition of The Admiralty Manual of Navigation, Volume 1: The Principles of Navigation. This edition is the first to be digital by design and is based on the assumption that the readers’ vessel will be sailed using IMO type-approved ECDIS.

As the Nautical Institute reports although the edition is based on the ‘digital era’, it still represents the basic safety features.  The basic principles are the same as those of a century ago: ensuring the safe conduct of a ship across the oceans. In his Foreword to the 11th edition, First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Philip Jones KCB ADC DL highlights:  “The fundamental skills of the professional navigator remain unchanged, no matter the medium on which a fix is plotted”.

Moreover, this edition is encyclopedic-featured, and provides authoritative guidance on everything from map projections, geodesy, charts, and ocean and coastal navigation techniques to plane and spherical trigonometry.

The book focuses on the need for the OOW or Navigating Officer to use all available information when navigating.  However, traditional techniques such as manual fixing and use of paper charts are not forgotten; confidence in using them could be vital should satellite systems be unavailable.

Consequently, the Principles of Navigation contain everything the 21st-century navigator needs in order to plan a passage from berth to berth, The Nautical Institute comments.  The guidance and techniques described are as applicable to ocean-going merchant ships as to naval vessels, and are conveyed in a clear and accessible style.  The author, Alastair Harris, a third-generation submariner, was Navigating Officer on HMS Trafalgar and HMS Talent and more recently authored Volume 2 of The Admiralty Manual of Navigation: Astro-Navigation, the 11th edition of which was published by The Nautical Institute last year.

Jones states:  “The ability to conduct your ship from one place to another, arriving at the time and space specified, safely, remains the principal task of the navigator, and safety at sea is everyone’s business”.

Concluding, he noted that it is of a big importance to help seafarers have a safe navigation. Therefore, the Royal Navy is happy to share the centuries’ experience via this publication.

Source: SAFETY4SEA