Exploring the South Atlantic using celestial navigation turns into a three-year quest for a little-visited archipelago, by Kate Schnippering
One foot east, one foot west. I stand on a line inscribed in stone: the Prime Meridian, longitude of zero. This threshold marks a rite of passage for becoming a celestial navigator. It’s April 2023 and I’ve journeyed a long way to the UK for my RYA Yachtmaster Ocean exam, where I’ll be extensively questioned on the South Atlantic passage I sailed the previous year with Vinson of Antarctica, and on the ins and outs of my navigational records.
I’d spent six weeks aboard the expedition vessel, first learning the basics of wayfinding by sextant from shore, and then putting