NavList:

   

Reply

Fred,

One thing we've often been told the old navigators couldn't do was get
latitude if they missed the noon observation. They had a number of ways of
doing that. Any two altitudes of the sun we could use for a fix would give
them their latitude. Local time too, if they wanted it.

And, do you remember what we went through on the list last year in order to
convince people they didn't need accurate Greenwich time to calculate
accurate altitudes? It started last winter as I recall, and the problem kept
coming up.

The main thing to keep in mind when you read that 1851 Bowditch is that you
are in a different world. Celestial navigation as we know it would have been
useless. It requires that you know Greenwich time before you can work your
observations successfully. Our celestial navigation, and the nautical
astronomy Bowditch knew, are two different animals. Key words and phases had
different meanings then. Don't jump to conclusions when you read that 1851
"Navigator." Follow through, work the "problems," and see what Bowditch DOES.

Bruce

   

Reply