Will Oxley

In fact, the Navy, it used to be a requirement in the Navy and it also used to be a requirement when I got my commercial ticket in Queensland.

I had to demonstrate celestial navigation in order to get a marine ticket that allowed me to go to an extended distance offshore, but that no longer.

My day is very much determined by...

the timing of new weather information.

And so the, the job of a modern day navigator is, has shifted completely from trying to know where you are, because you know where you are to within a few meters at all times.

But what you're trying to determine is how to make the best use of the prevailing winds and currents, but then the winds and currents that are expected to occur over the next 3, 5, 7, 10, even 20 days, depending on the voyage.

And so every time I'm able to access new weather information, I run complex computer modelling and determine what I believe to be the best weather

route that the vessel will take.

Now, of course, the computer itself knows no fear.

So that's where the skill of the navigator comes in.

Because if you have, for instance, a strong wind against a very strong current, then the sea state becomes very short.

The waves can break.

And of course, it's a very dangerous situation.

You, as the navigator, need to put in the safety margins.

That's right.

It does mean I'm on call all the time.

I typically would get to sleep uninterrupted for a maximum of about 90 minutes.

That could be up to... The longest period non-stop I've done at sea is 61 days, but...

I've learned over the years how to nap for very short periods of time.

I can feel refreshed after 15 minutes.