NAVIGATION AND SAFETY AT SEA 



21 



Detailed information filling many volumes provides 

 the needed margin of safety in coastal waters. 



by the Navy since 1871 for foreign waters of the world. Other 

 manuals are concerned with distances between ports, world port 

 facilities, radar plotting, air navigation, marine navigation, ship 

 maneuvering, compass adjustment, navigational observations, and 

 hydrographic and geodetic surveying. 



Perhaps the most notable single navigational publication is The 

 American Practical Navigator, which is identified as H. O. Pub. 

 No. 9, and more commonly referred to as "Bowditch" in honor of 

 Nathaniel Bowditch, the author of the original edition published 

 in 1802. It supplies, in the language of the navigator, basic infor- 

 mation covering the procedures, methods, and techniques of 

 navigation, exploring both practical and theoretical aspects of 

 the science. This publication is often referred to as the navigator's 

 modern reference "bible" and is generally recognized by 



