Sextants - An Important Part Of Maritime History

The sextant detailed a great step in the history of navigation. Even in the modern day the sextant manages to cling to life as a navigational aid. However, the introduction of the sextant required an evolutionary process of its own. The creation of the sextant evolved through several other inventions prior to it. However, new innovations come along and make the old obsolete. As such, sextants are viewed rather primitively in relation to the GPS, though traditional travellers prefer the analog nature of the sextant.

Before the sextant there were a long list of other navigational aids that helped sailors find their way around. Way before the first sextant was invented, sailors learned how to use Polaris to travel back and from home port. The Arabs in particular were proficient in using this technique. To aid them, the Arabs used what is known as a "Kamal". The Kamal was composed of a tiny rope and an object used for positioning Polaris and the horizon. A knot was tied in the rope in order to mark the distance between Polaris and horizon. The return home from a voyage prompted the navigators to adjust their sailing path to bring them back to the position in which they measured Polaris and the horizon.

The Arabs were responsible for introducing Europe to two navigational aids that would prove significant in the evolution of navigational technology. These two vital instruments were known as the astrolabe and the quadrant. The astrolabe was useful against the erratic conditions at sea. The astrolabe was used for more than 200 years because of its remarkable ingenuity. The astrolabe uses a circle-like scale and rotating alidade with pinnules for sighting. The altitude of the celestial object is then gauged by viewing through the sighting pinnules and using the alidade.

The quadrant was the other instrument that the Arabs introduced. The quadrant was especially useful to the Portuguese. Explorers such as the renowned Christopher Columbus used the quadrant to mark off points of Polaris altitude similar to the Arab way of tying knots in the Kamal. The quadrant was used similar to the Kamal, by marking off Polaris and recording the alturas (latitude). The publishing of the alturas gave sailors a guide to travelling the coasts of Europe and Africa.

As the needs of nautical exploration arose, so did the need for a navigational instrument that was accurate and reliable. In order to use a sextant, a few things had to be done first. For one, an almanac that detailed the location of stars and other points had to be accounted for at every hour of every day for several years. Also, there had to be an instrument capable of measuring time to an exact point. The latter was called a chronometer. The plotting and charting of maps was done by a cartographer. A mathematical formula for relating a celestial body with the horizon and navigator's position was also necessary. With all of these key components filled, the sextant was the final piece in the navigational puzzle.

Sextants Of All Shapes And Sizes
Sextants Of All Shapes And Sizes
Sextants - An Important Part Of Maritime History