Navigational skills

Definition

These are abilities required for planning, recording, and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one location to another. In history context, it often refers specifically to seafaring skills such as using maps and compasses, observing stars for direction etc.

Analogy

Navigational skills are like GPS for sailors. Just as you use GPS on your phone or car dashboard today to find your way around unfamiliar places, sailors had their own tools and techniques - albeit less digital - for finding their way across uncharted seas.

Related terms

Compass: A navigational instrument containing a magnetized pointer that shows direction relative to magnetic north.

Celestial Navigation: The practice of navigating based on observations of celestial bodies such as stars or planets.

Dead Reckoning: A method of estimating current position based upon a previously known position, or fix, and advancing that position based upon known or estimated speeds over elapsed time.