Navigator

A navigator (航海士) is the person onboard a ship responsible for the navigation of the vessel. The navigator's responsibilities include planning the journey, advising the captain (or pilot) while en route, and ensuring that hazards or obstacles are avoided.

Navigators in One Piece
A navigator is the member of the crew who is the most knowledgeable about the world as it is crucial for the determination of course and direction when traveling. A good navigator has a skilled understanding of tools such as maps, compasses and sea charts that are able to not only travel through the sea but use the sea to their advantage in whatever direction they are headed. While not typical, many navigators have the knowledge of cartography, giving them the ability not just to read maps but to create their own maps of their journey, taking the knowledge that they pick up and using it to create guides for others from crewmates to other people in other parts of the world to know and understand what they are entering when in a certain area.

While many navigators must have basic knowledge and ability to use the common tools and abilities of their trade, they are also required to pick up on new matters that make traveling across the seas easier and better. In particular, navigators traveling through the Grand Line must gain an acculmation with the Log Pose, the only known compass that can travel through this part of the world. Due to its intricate and delicate nature and its special attributes such as coordinating with an island's magnetic field and the ability to point in directions not normally known for travel (such as the sky or the depths of the ocean), navigators must come to grips and understanding the nature both of this compass and of the world upon which the Grand Line is part of and assist in allowing the rest of the crew to make necessary adjustments in their ship so they can follow the desired path. Without an active navigator, particularly in the Grand Line with an understanding of the Log Pose, journey becomes much more difficult leading to the crew getting lost, like Brook once he revived, or coming across unexpected matters whether or not they are already mapped out.

In One Piece, navigators are the most crucial members of a ship, especially when traveling the Grand Line. Whenever a member of a crew, be it pirates or marines, is seen with a Log Pose tied to their wrists, their position as their respective crew's navigator becomes immediately evident, since Log Poses are one of the most crucial tools of a navigator. A ship is only as good as the navigator that directs it. Otherwise, the ship will be damaged or shipwrecked by unforeseen obstacles. Unlike other members of crews, such as captains, doctors or chefs, navigators aren't formally introduced. Characters that are classified as navigators are rare, despite how important they are to the ship. Currently, the most well known, and arguably the best navigator in the One Piece world is Nami.

Noted Navigational Skills

 * Mr. 9: seen with a Log Pose until he lost it to Nami.
 * Portgas D. Ace (Second-Division Commander; Whitebeard Pirates): seen with a Log Pose.
 * Coby: was kept by Alvida because of his skills.
 * Mr. 3/Galdino: seen with a Log Pose on his wrist while fighting Luffy on Little Garden.
 * Dracule Mihawk: able to sail through the unforgiving seas of the Grand Line in a meager coffin-shaped raft, with no known assistance.