Blog

  • Classic navigation

    In classic navigation at the beginning of the journey we need to know where we are in order to plot where we are going.  If you navigate with a compass you need a map to show you where you are and where you want to go. This then gives you a bearing and distance. With…

  • Navigation is like a rope

    One way to look at navigation is to think of a rope. A rope is made up of many strands each are often tiny weak and short.  The Incas made bridges over great canyons using straw wound together to make great strong ropes that last for ages. Each fibre of a rope must be wound…

  • Dolphins

    Whilst dolphins may not teach us much more about animal navigation than other animals, humanity has been fascinated by the dolphin from the earliest times.  They are a part of Greek mythology and we have continuous stories of sailors being rescued by dolphins as well as the legend of mermaids. A book called Le Cinquieme…

  • A sense of direction

    I hold the view that animals, the ancient peoples and the aborigines navigate perfectly well without compasses.  This we often call a sense of direction.  People with a sense of direction very seldom get lost even on dark nights even in unfamiliar territory. Not everyone has a sense of direction but those who do rely…

  • Albatross Navigation

    The Albatross that ranges over huge areas of the South Atlantic Region in overcast weather where sun clues are seldom available to return to their breeding islands such as Crozet in the South Atlantic, work done by Bonadonna et al in 2004 shows that manipulating the albatrosses by altering their magnetic environment made no difference…