NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
From: Paul Bedel
Date: 2015 Sep 16, 06:12 -0700
Hi Jacques,
I have just read the preface of "The Secant Time Sight", tables by Captain P. V. H. Weems, dedicated to merchant marine navigators. The beginning of the text is as follows:
"Traveling as Convoy Commodore on various merchant ships has convinced me that about 25% of Merchant Marine navigators will cling to the time sight method. This preference is due to tradition, aversion to plotting, influence of examiners, and other causes. While I personally prefer to do more plotting and less computing, and, for this reason feel that HO 214 or the Line of Position Book are more efficient methods of navigation, I concede that the average Merchant Marine navigator addicted to the time sight method does excellent navigation.
To give these navigators the same break that other navigators have in especially arranged tables, this book caters to the time sight navigators (...)"
Weems wrote this preface in March 1944.
In France, aboard merchant ships, the time sight method disappeared completely after the WWII, replaced by the intercept method.
I'm working about LoP calculated with HO 203-4 and HO 214 (or 229). I'll let you know a bit later.
Best regards;
Paul.