Illustrated navigation

By Ivar Dedekam, published by Fernhurst Books at £13.99 This book, one of three illustrated volumes (along with sail and rig tuning, and seamanship) deals with traditional, electronic and celestial navigation. It covers how charts are created, then chartwork, pilotage, Colregs, tidal and current calculations.

The electronic section takes a glance at instruments and MFDs before dwelling on radar then nodding at AIS before moving on to the celestial section. At 23 pages, it is no more than an introduction, which should help astro-novices like me get a grip on the fundamental principles, but still my head started to spin. For me, astro-nav has to be hands-on if the penny is to stand any chance of dropping.

If you’re a newbie keen to understand what’s happening on board, this could be just the thing.