Navigation Association exam

If you want a certificate from the Navigation Association proving your theoretical ability to calculate your position from the stars, you must take an exam.

The exam always includes:

  1. Star identification
  2. Transferred observer (the vessel is underway)
  3. Position fixing using stars, the Sun, planets, or Polaris
  4. Determination of deviation using the Sun’s azimuth method or the amplitude of a celestial body
  5. Position fixing using meridian altitude (crossing of the celestial meridian)
  6. Time calculation where a vessel travels from point A to point B

The exam often includes:

  1. Calculation of chronometer rate
  2. Non-standard temperature and atmospheric pressure conditions
  3. Transferred observer, or generally an observer may have a known bearing to a target
  4. Determination of sextant index error using a star or the Sun
  5. Position fixing using the Moon

The following are not included in the exam:

  1. Great-circle navigation

    This is especially important to master before undertaking a long offshore voyage.

  2. Morning and evening twilight
  3. Meteorology and ocean currents
  4. Effect of vessel motion on meridian altitude

C o n t e n t s

Hamburg VII 2026