RodTungsten
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5 brothers in the merchant marine (all Blue Star) - 3 deck and 2 engineers in the 70’s. Two are back teaching old school stuff in Nautical College. I’ll bet my fid (3ft) is bigger than your marlinspikeI still have my sextant. In the 70s before commercial satellite navigation systems. A sextant, chronometer and a nautical almanac and I could navigate a ship across any ocean and make a port with surprising accuracy. It certainly gave you a sense of achievment using the sun and stars rather than allowing some electronic box.
Just finished reading the account of the recent locating of Shackleton’s Endurance and the expedition - Frank Worsley’s impressive navigation -22+ chronometers on the ship but his trusted one kept inside his shirt.