Here’s a goodie for anyone interested in old-fashioned navigation: A video series on YouTube, the “Celestial Navigation Film Series,” a video instruction series teaching navigating by the stars.

The series is produced and presented by “Practical Navigator” Christopher D. Nolan, whose credentials include being a merchant mariner and also a U.S. Coast Guard cutterman for eight years.

Each how-to video also has extensive notes to expand your grasp of the topic, including links to information like instructions on how to make your own simple sextant out of a CD and its case, and where to download the full edition of “American Practical Navigator.”

It probably wouldn’t hurt to check out The Nautical Almanac while you’re at it, either. No musty old classroom for this course — Nolan lectures from onboard a boat. If zenith declinations send you into a tailspin, just check out the scenery. (Painting: Vincent Van Gogh)