I was wondering about something! Cartography is listed as a potential specialty for both the seacraft and for the dolphin craft. Navigation is also listed as a specialty for the seacraft.
I assume that navigation refers to plotting courses using charts of the sea (depth, shoreline, topography, etc- which sounds like cartography knowledge would be needed!) as well as using the sky and other tools. Am I wrong? Is navigation in fact something else? What does cartography entail?
Here's why I'm curious. I'm considering a persona who was a seacraft apprentice and then changed over to be a dolphineer one (giving her a late start, I know). She had originally wanted to become a navigator before finding that she loved being with the dolphins. I was wondering how much navigation and cartography overlap? Could she theoretically be a dolphineer journeywoman with cartography as her specialty, but also learn enough navigation through some kind of crosstraining to serve as a navigator? I assume a dolphineer wouldn't be able to be a ship's navigator permanently, but wouldn't experience help her a.) be able to take over if needed and b.) provide just plain useful in a dolphineer?
(Also, thinking about all this makes me wish we had a Seacraft Hall, but it seems to be overlapping quite a bit with the Dolphincraft. It seems to me that cross-training with each other would be incredibly useful, teaching the Dolphineers about life on a ship, and the Seacrafters more about the dolphins. It also seems like weather classes and the like would also be the same, so it would make sense to have combined classes if only a Seacraft and Dolphincraft Hall were close to each other. Or am I being silly?)
I would think that there was a bit of overlap, but each had their own specializations.
A Navigator has to have a deep and indepth knowledge of all their charts. If they don't have a good idea exactly where they're going and how to get there, how can they plot a course? I'm sure they would know the shipping lanes, the fishing lanes, where they can find resources and of course the fastest route there. They are, of course expert at reading maps. However, they probably have little skill at making the maps.
A Cartographer would not need to have several maps memorized. They just need to concentrate on the one they're making. They would need to be able to recognize geological feature, currents, erosion, changes in the landscape. They have to have accurate drawing and spacial abilities. They need a good understanding of math (as does a naviator).
It's kind of like a composer and an instrumentalist - one writes the music, the other interprets it.
Kouna's specialty is in navigation on both dolphins and ships.
Dolphineers need to understand the basic workings of a ship, since they can't spend their entire sea journeys on dolphinback. In knowing the basic sail of one or two manned ships they need to know the basic navigation techniques for a ship as well. If she wanted to be a dolphineer who specialized in navigation she would have to learn both ship navigation and dolphin navigation, which have some big differences.
While ship navigation requires knowing how much wind and in what direction it has to be to get you there, dolphin navigation is more about knowing how to jump from sight to sight, kind of like how you use a compass. You use the stars or the sun to get yourself in the right direction, then tell the dolphin the closest visible landmark then start over once you reach said landmark.
Ship navigation in our time period uses a lot of contemporary tools: sextants and compasses as well as maps. In the water there is less you can rely on because most of it is made of metal and thusly can't be taken out mid voyage, for fear of rust, or hide or paper which doesn't do so well in water either. While I'm sure some masters get plastic compasses or laminated maps, often times dolphineers would have to use the stars or the sun to navigate from one place to another while aboard a dolphin.
Also dolphin navigation wouldn't be used for long journeys, thats why dolphineers understand the basic workings and navigations for small ships. So they have a dry place to return too when going on long patrols with their dolphins.
Using dolphin echolocation as a navigation tool:
Dolphins have that amazing ability of echolocation, and can use it in navigation to an extent. If you are familiar with the surrounding seascape of your patrol area you may be able to inform your dolphin of the major seaforms that you will encounter, then use your dolphins knowledge of the terrain and the dolphins natural ability to guide you. Also dolphins can use echolocation to determine the fastest or least difficult way to traverse a distance.
A brief touch on latitude and longitude:
Very few dolphins can understand the specificity of latitudes and longitudes. But for ship navigation it works well, also in the pre planning stages of a dolphineers patrols. All dolphineers should know the latitude and longitude of their destination and their starting point before a journey, in the case they get lost at sea and are saved by a ship.
Um... didn't mean to get all explain-y, but I had to do a bit of background research for Kouna when I made her and this is what I came up with that made sense to me. There was nothing in the FAQ about navigation that I could find and so I made up my own. :D Please don't smite me! :sad5:
Also I think that a lot of the classes would be similar for both Seacraft and Dolphincraft. Some things, like weather, human first aid, basic ship classes (like the theory of making ships and knot tying) would be almost exactly the same, in my opinion. I'll quietly go back to my corner now...
That is all true, Patrick (except I very much doubt the dolphineers would take ship-building classes). Remember, they would learn differently. Dolphineers would have a general idea how to sail a boat, a Seacrafter would have been trained on a boat over a period of time. Where a dolphineer would have learned navigation and cartography in a classroom with limited real-life experience, I think its safe to assume the seacrafter apprentice would have learned it on-ship. In the same respect, a dolphineer apprentice would have been taken out to actually make maps for cartography class. For the Seacrafter the emphasis would have been on reading them with limited real-life experience actually making one. The dolphineers would have learned the signs of weather and the effect it could have at sea and on land, seacrafters would have learned weather and how that effects the way they sail a boat. They have similar talents, but its suited to their particular view.
But remember we're also talking about apprentices, not journeymen. Navigation and Cartography are both specializations of journeymen, so while they would learn the basics of all those things, the real meat of the field comes into play later. Like taking a university 101 class versus a 200, 300, or 400 level class. Kouna would have learned most of her skills as a junior-journeyman, not nearly as much as an apprentice.
But you certainly did do your homework, Patrick! Good on you!
Thanks Eimi. And your right that apprentices would learn the basics of everything. And I meant basic shipbuilding theory, so they understood how a ship worked, not necessarily so they could build one themselves.
Well, U'das is a seacrafter specializing to cartography. During the Intervall he and Zack made charts, mostly sea charts and studied the sea currents. (I believe I've made of mentioned it a post some times in past.)
His cartography-knowledge came very handy with Threall-fall charts and - patters while he was a Weyrleader. (Still does, as a wingleader).