On Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:15:01 -0400, Gogarty
wrote:

Didn't Slocum use an ordinary beat up alarm clock for a chronometer? Do you
think today he would have made do with a $10 Cassio?

A $10 Casio would be better than the finest chronometer available in
his day. It would have been considered as miraculous as a cell phone
or hand held GPS.