NavList:

This made me laugh. I was reading "Travels in the Interior of Mexico"
by a Lt. Hardy of the Royal Navy, published in London in 1829 (google
books again). He notes that he could not accurately determine the
longitudes of the mouth of the Colorado River and nearby islands
because he had no chronometer. Then he writes, "Neither could I
determine them from lunar observations: first, because I had no
sextant; secondly, for the want of a nautical almanac." Yeah, those
might be needed! :-)

Actually, there is a small subtle point here. He records many accurate
latitudes. So when he says he had no sextant, he's being specific about
the instrument. He apparently had a good octant, capable of measuring
angles to the nearest minute or two, but no sextant, which was designed
for the greater accuracy of lunar distance sights.

-FER


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