A Sextant is navigational tool that provides the movement and direction of a craft or vehicle.  Sextant’s provide navigation for land, sea, and space.  In the 1600’s or 1700’s, Sir Isaac Newton invented the principle of the reflecting navigation instrument, but never promoted it.   Prior to the Sextant, navigators relied on the sun and stars to determine direction.  The Sextant was the next best thing.  It provided sailors the ability to navigate with accuracy through the water.  Navigators started to use this invention as early as the 1730’s which was developed by John Hadley (1682-1744) and Thomas Godfrey (1704-1749). Today of course most of us rely on GPS systems.  But some do prefer to rely on the old faithful Sextants which working ones are still available today to purchase. There are plastic ones as well as metal ones.   They range from $20.00 to $600.00.  There are also many available for decor only.  Many like it’s nautical beauty to display as artwork or décor. The antique ones certainly make for greater conversational pieces, but some reproductions are beautifully made to fit the bill.

SEXTANTS FOR DECORATION

HOW THE SEXTANT WORKS:

Sextants rely on the sun and planets.  It’s an optical device.  It measures the angel of the horizon and a Celestial object.  It has a telescope that gives you the opportunity to view objects.  Built in is a dimmer depending on if you’re looking at the sun or the moon.  There are two mirrors, the horizon mirrors stands still while the index mirror moves.  One must learn the ability of how to use a sextant, and it just might behoove you to learn, you know, just in case!

WORKING RELIABLE SEXTANTS FOR SALE

SOME DIFFERENT STYLES OF SEXTANTS:

KEEP A JOURNAL OF YOUR ADVENTURES:

My Uncle was an avid sailor.  I have wonderful memories of weekly adventures with him on his 27′ sail boat.  Most of his travels were on Lake Ontario in NY.  One of our ventures was going through Lake Ontario up to Canada.  My funnest memories were manning the sails, steering the boat, checking our path of destination, and saving a bat lost at sea.  He landed on our boat and rested inside one of the sails.  My mother kept a gram cracker box for him to also take cover until we reached land.  My Uncle always kept a log of his destinations and happenings while on a trip.  I still have his log book, and it’s fun to reminisce and read all the places he had been, and things he experienced.  Whether you own a boat or just enjoy nautical items, a log book is great for every day personal use as well.  Some ideas would be, a simple note book, a place to jot down personal things about yourself, a log book to document your family and friends birthdays, phone numbers and addresses.  There are many color and style log books to choose from.  They even look nice just sitting on a desk or night stand.