The navigators work 4 hour shifts then are off for 8 hours then on for 4. On the starboard side on the deck is this huge, 12 inch in diameter or so, beautiful lit up compass that is checked every 30-60 is checked against fixed points on the shore to make sure the ship is still where it needs to be in the harbor.
He has to calculate where the anchor is and then the length of the anchor and the length of the ship to make sure that when the tide and current moves the ship some that it would not get into shallow water. It was all very interesting to learn and it was amazing of what the navigator job entails. Modern GPS's, paper topical maps, and old time compasses are used just to make sure everything was correct. There is no room for error. Next to the compass is this gigantic pair of binoculars when I looked out them I could see details of houses on the shore. These are used to find the fixed points on the shore to make the calculations needed to anchor the ship and to make sure it stays where it should. Very very fun! Michelle and I were giddy like school girls after our private tour of the Bridge. This was a perfect ending to a totally fun night. It could not have been better!
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