Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#21
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Internet on the Ocean
On Sun, 6 Sep 2009 23:16:49 +0200, "Edgar"
wrote: "Bruce In Bangkok" wrote in message .. . It's been some years since I read the book but I seriously doubt that an experienced ship's Captain would have set off without navigation equipment. If I remember there is at least one reference in the book of Slocum taking a lunar sight to establish longitude. Likely he didn't have a chronometer though if he was shooting lunars. Cheers, Bruce (bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom) My recollection is that he managed with a cheap alarm clock Then he wasn't using it for navigation. Thus the Luna sights. Or he was running down a line of latitude. Or he was using dead reckoning for much of the trip which seems most likely. Cheers, Bruce (bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom) |
#22
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Internet on the Ocean
On Mon, 07 Sep 2009 07:19:51 +0700, Bruce In Bangkok
wrote: I seem to recall a comment about the minute hand falling off of his watch. That would screw up your noon sights a bit. One of the nice things about a noon sight is that your time does not have to be dead nuts accurate. You just keep shooting the suns altitude until it peaks out and then you can compute latitude directly from that if you know what the date is. |
#23
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Internet on the Ocean
Wayne.B wrote:
On Mon, 07 Sep 2009 07:19:51 +0700, Bruce In Bangkok wrote: I seem to recall a comment about the minute hand falling off of his watch. That would screw up your noon sights a bit. One of the nice things about a noon sight is that your time does not have to be dead nuts accurate. You just keep shooting the suns altitude until it peaks out and then you can compute latitude directly from that if you know what the date is. By coincidence, I read about half of Slocum at the beginning of the summer as a "Kindle Test." (I since got one and have read about a dozen books; highly recomended since it comes with with lifetime internet.) I was about a page shy of the lunar sight mention, the only reference to celestial in the book. Slocum was 47 days out of Juan Fernandez, approaching the Marquesas, and wanted to check his dead reckoning. His first Lunar Distance sight was off by 200 miles, so he tried again and again was way off. He then went into the tables and found a flaw, which when corrected, placed him 5 miles off the DR. Not bad for 47 days. He continued on to Samoa without stopping. He never mentions any other celestial, and only has a cheap tin clock. However, he did have a patent log spinning off the stern, so he has a good measure of speed/distance. He does mention the Lunars are a lost art, now that chronometers are commonplace. A few years later radio time signals would completely eliminate the need for Lunars. |
#24
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Internet on the Ocean
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. |
#25
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Internet on the Ocean
On Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:15:01 -0400, Gogarty
wrote: In article , says... On Sat, 05 Sep 2009 00:21:07 GMT, (Richard Casady) wrote: On Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:28:18 -0500, Geoff Schultz wrote: silverdragon wrote in news:91685a8a-6561-44c5- : This is probably a stupid question but I haven't come across an answer in any of my sailing books. How would you go about getting e-mail and an internet connection while on the open ocean? What kind of equipment would you need to buy, and what is the cost of the service? Learn to disconnect from the Internet. I know it's not easy, but I used to run an Internet company and am very used to being connected. However, with Sailmail/Airmail you can still be connected and not need the web interface. Remember, cruising is about letting go of your land based connections. And believe it or not, you can do it! -- Geoff www.GeoffSchultz.org Slocum got along without an engine or anything electric. Casady I wonder how many people would be satisfied in cruising the way that Slocum did it? And, if Slocum was alive today would he would want a GPS or chart plotter? Cheers, Bruce (bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom) This raises another issue. Here and there we have historic ships maintained in just the way they were when built. No electronics, no engines, no labor saving ship handling equipment, etc. But my belief is that any such ships that might have remained in profitable service would have been continually upgraded throughout their working (or fighting) lives until the entire platform (the ship) just got too obsolete for any more retrofitting. So putting an engine in the Half Moon (or Spray) is not an anachronism. 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? The Bugis people of Sulawasi Island, in Indonesia, were famous seafarers and traded all over S.E.A. They built, and still build, very distinctive vessels and I remember seeing them late as the 1980's moored side by side, bow into the dock, in both Singapore and Jakarta - looked like an 1800's photo of Gloucester, Mass. In the 1990's we were building a plant in Central Java and had some commissioning engineers over from the States and one weekend I took them down to the harbor to show them some "Bugis Schooners". The harbor was still full of them but every one had the masts removed and a big diesel engine slung over the stern to power it. It appears that the people who actually make their living with water craft are quite interested in modern technology and are quite indifferent to the fact that "traditional" ways are being ignored. Cheers, Bruce (bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom) |
#26
posted to rec.boats.cruising
|
|||
|
|||
Internet on the Ocean
On Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:47:02 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote: 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. Any of the electric watches can be adjusted to keep time within a second per month. A insulating plastic case with metal against the skin does a good job of keeping the temperature steady. Casady |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
internet geld machen , geld verdienen im internet de , geld seite , wie kann ich online gewinnen , jetzt sofort schnelles geld , schnell geld , www geld im internet , wars schnell viel geld , geld verdienen mit online casino , geld über internet v | General | |||
Supporter website PUMA Racing Team | Puma Ocean Racing | Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009 | ASA | |||
At sea internet | Electronics | |||
What the Internet has done for me. | General |