NavList:

   

Reply

George Huxtable wrote:
'Surely, any navigator will know which ocean he is in!'

We ...ll, maybe not. So long as you are French. In Australia, and maybe
other places too, we know the ocean lying to the south of the great
(inhabited) land masses as the Southern Ocean. Its a place where even
the Australian Navy in their big steel ships prefer not to go, although
they do, sometimes to rescue French sailors who find themselves in
trouble to the south of Australia - while sailing in around the world
races, typically.

While monitoring the French news I was surprised to learn that these
events happen in the Indian Ocean, which took me aback, but I learned
that they may be technically correct. In this view the Southern Ocean is
a figment of our imaginations, and is divided up among the other oceans.
So presumably the Indian Ocean extends to the Antarctic, and as far east
as the southern tip of Tasmania. This seems absurd, that this daunting
area has anything in common with India, a long way away in another
hemisphere.If ever one body of water had its own geographic and
climactic unique character it would have to be the Southern Ocean, on
its ceaseless stormy rolling to the east.

And this is the point, its not just about semantics. If one of these
French .. women, like Isabelle Autissier, should come to grief to the
south of Australia (as she did) then she could easily be swept to the
east into, according to them, the Pacific Ocean, not knowing where she
might be.

Having got that off my chest, thanks to all who contributed to the
ongoing lesson of how to find one's position without a DR. As always,
its been very enlightening.

   

Reply