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His comment about the chrono suggest he shot a Venus lunar for time and thus the position.

Thomas A. Sult, MD
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On Jun 18, 2011, at 13:46, Geoffrey Kolbe  wrote:

> In O'Brian's book, HMS Surprise, Aubrey fixes the position of an island thus:
>
> "...Jack had set up his instruments and where he and his officers were 
gazing up at the pale moon, with Venus clear above her......  The instruments 
stood on a carefully levelled patch of sand, and as the great moment 
approached, the tension could be felt.....  A deadly hush fell over the 
group, broken only by Jack's voice reading off figures to his clerk.
> "Two seven four," he said, straightening his back at last.
> "Mr Stourton, what do you find?"
> "Two seven four, sir, exactly."
> "The most satisfactory observation that I have ever made," said Jack. He 
clapped the eyepiece to and cast an affectionate glance to Venus, sailing 
away up there, distinct in the perfect blue once one knew where to look.
>
> Jack strolled up the beach. "Such a perfect observation, Stephen," he called 
out as he came near the tree. "...... All our observations tally, and our 
chronometers were out by twenty seven mile. We have laid down the island 
exactly..."
>
> What procedure is Jack Aubrey invoking to find his longitude here?
>
> Geoffrey Kolbe
>
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>
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