Fantastic workshop! It was well run and you had the right props and supplies to make it an efficient learning experience. You made a complex topic understandable and I got a great sense of what it takes to navigate with the sun and stars as well as practical experience figuring out position based on real sights. Now I just need to get a sextant and the books and go out and practice. Andy managed to make the theory practical - which is not an easy feat so that rather than just learning things by rote we could understand the why and the how and put it to practice. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to learn more about the celestial universe and our place in it as well as the practical methods for figuring out where we are on the high seas.

-Nathan P.

Andy is a natural teacher. I went to the celestial navigation workshop because I'm the type of personality who values the benefit of learning traditional and more manual methods of any discipline in a modernized and automated methodology era. Anyone who maintains their own car knows the days of ignition timing, dwell, and mixture are a thing of the past, but understanding those lost mechanical arts are still valuable as a knowledge base. As a former military marksman, I learned traditional range, elevation, and windage marksmanship techniques before employing optics. It is my humble opinion that any sailor, any student of this lifelong endeavor of knowledge and skill we call seamanship, should know how to look to the heavens for a star to steer her by.

The U.S. Navy and Coast Guard agree with me. The astronomically low chances of hardened and robust ships' GPS, radio, and inertial navigation systems completely failing is not low enough for the admiralty brass to have a valuable boat and her more valuable souls on board, out on the deep blue without the unfailing backup of celestial navigation.

The course only briefly covers the use of a sextant. This is for the better with the amount of material to cover in a weekend. The course focuses on the navigational theory and use of celestial almanac and sight reduction tables to properly crunch the numbers and plot a fix after the sight is made. Practicing the use of a sextant is something that can be practiced after the course.

For anyone wanting to learn this traditional method, you won't find better teachers than Andy and Mia.

The 2020 Celestial workshop saved me from a lot of trial and error. I had previously attempted to learn on my own but lost interest as I hit roadblocks with no guidance. This workshop had plenty of “ah ha” moments. Andy keeps it simple with a healthy dose of theory. You won’t leave a rock star, but you will leave with enough knowledge to confidently practice sun and star sights on your own and the ability to find your position on an offshore passage. This was a great way to build a sailing resume. Wish I had done it sooner!

-Ken F.