— Certification
French maritime certifications (Capitaine 200, 500, and 3000) administered by the Direction des Affaires Maritimes require celestial navigation competency using SHOM tables.
The exam covers sight reduction with SHOM tables, meridian passage calculations, and position fixing by multiple celestial observations.
Tables SHOM
Sailcasted simulates realistic ocean passages. Every day, you receive an astronomical observation by email — just like at sea. You reduce it with your tables (Tables SHOM), calculate your position, and submit your fix. The platform calculates your error in nautical miles.
Observations are generated from USNO/JPL ephemerides with ±0.5 arcminute accuracy — the same precision as official nautical almanacs.
Sailcasted passages are organized into 4 tiers of increasing difficulty. Start at Tier 1 with simple observations (sun only) and progress to Tier 4 with complex observations (stars, planets, challenging conditions).
To prepare for your FFVoile / Marine marchande exam, you will need:
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