Maritime navigation has always relied on thorough knowledge of the seas and of the skies, it also depended on experience that needed to be acquired through training. However, in different cultures and in different periods we find diverse navigational practices - using the Sun, stars, waves, currents and coastlines as markers. We also find many conflicts on what would constitute the right kind of navigational techniques. In this talk Dr Gerhard Wiesenfeldt will discuss some examples and look at the role islands played in the history of navigation.