File:Coast watch (1979) (20633146216).jpg

Title: Coast watch
Identifier: coastwatch00uncs_1 (find matches)
Year: 1979 (1970s)
Authors: UNC Sea Grant College Program
Subjects: Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology
Publisher: (Raleigh, N. C. : UNC Sea Grant College Program)
Contributing Library: State Library of North Carolina
Digitizing Sponsor: North Carolina Digital Heritage Center

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Almanac tells the navigator where each star is in relation to the earth's surface and he is able to determine his ship's position. With celestial navigation, a boater can determine his position within one- eighth of a mile—without the use of electronics. "The new equipment won't do anything the old wouldn't do," says McNeill. "It's just easier now." At the Morehead Planetarium in Chapel Hill, Joe Snare teaches recreational boaters the ancient art of celestial navigation. Many of his stu- dents' vessels are equipped with loran, but Snare says his students prefer to put their faith in the stars. "Electronics are subject to failure, and when,you're miles from nowhere, there's nobody to call to fix it," says Snare. "But the stars will always be there." The view of the new electronics is the same from somebody who makes the gear. Jerry Barton, a Harkers Island electronics manufacturer, likes to talk about the gear's evolution. He points out that the first sonar of the sea belonged to the dolphin, which transmitted a sound and received the echo with its forehead. And the patent on celestial navigation belongs to migratory birds, which have been found to use the stars to navigate on their journeys. While sonars were around during World War I, they weren't used com- mercially until after World War II, says Barton. He boasts of being the only U.S. manufacturer of fish scopes. Unlike most depth indicators on the market today, Barton's fish scopes use

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