Reply With QuoteA sextant and sun set. sun rise position just might be needed this Sunday Bob
51ZJ0JTWueL.jpg
Will your sat nav stop working this Saturday? – Which? News
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SubscriberSounds good. Without Satnav I doubt you could claim accuracy , but a good story.
A FASCINATING SHORT SEA STORY
The passenger steamer SS Warrimoo was quietly knifing its way
through the waters of the mid-Pacific on its way from Vancouver to
Australia.
The navigator had just finished working out a star fix and brought
the master, Captain John Phillips, the result.
The Warrimoo's position was LAT 0º 31' N and LON 179 30' W.
The date was 31 December 1899.
"Know what this means?" First Mate Payton broke in,
"We're only a few miles from the intersection of the Equator and the
International Date Line".
Captain Phillips was prankish enough to take full advantage of the
opportunity for achieving the navigational freak of a lifetime.
He called his navigators to the bridge to check & double check the
ships position.
He changed course slightly so as to bear directly on his mark.
Then he adjusted the engine speed.
The calm weather & clear night worked in his favour.
At mid-night the SS Warrimoo lay on the Equator at exactly the point
where it crossed the International Date Line!
The consequences of this bizarre position were many:
The forward part (bow) of the ship was in the Southern Hemisphere &
in the middle of summer.
The rear (stern) was in the Northern Hemisphere & in the middle of
winter.
The date in the aft part of the ship was 31 December 1899.
In the bow (forward) part it was 1 January 1900.
This ship was therefore not only in:
Two different days,
Two different months,
Two different years,
Two different seasons
But in two different centuries - all at the same time.
I’m pretty sure the dinosaurs died out when they stopped gathering food and started having meetings to discuss gathering food
A bookshop is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking
Very Very Lucky!
A sextant and sun set. sun rise position just might be needed this Sunday Bob
51ZJ0JTWueL.jpg
Will your sat nav stop working this Saturday? – Which? News
RoverLord
Sorry to spoil the story a little - but contrary to popular belief, 1899 and 1900 are in the same century. The twentieth century did not begin until 1/1/1901.
John
JDNSW
1986 110 County 3.9 diesel
1970 2a 109 2.25 petrol
CTRL + V!
SubscriberYou are right of course. But sometimes I think we need these stories .Originally Posted by JDNSW
I’m pretty sure the dinosaurs died out when they stopped gathering food and started having meetings to discuss gathering food
A bookshop is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking
CTRL + V!
SubscriberI'll just put the stick in ground, find north with my watch, and count my steps. I'll get there.
I’m pretty sure the dinosaurs died out when they stopped gathering food and started having meetings to discuss gathering food
A bookshop is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking
YarnMaster
SupporterThe Warrimoo was 105m in length
At the equator 1 minute of long/lat is 1850m
So to straddle a specific point on the equator with a 105m boat
Requires accuracy to 1.6 seconds of accuracy
Current considered accuracy of non differential GPS is in the order of
0.3 seconds of accuracy.
Sooooooooo, using a few chronometers and sextants (on a moving boat)
The turn of the century mariners would only need to be 6 times less accurate
Than an I-phone !!! Feasible perhaps.
But with current accurate time pieces and $$$ sextants (likely more accurate than the 1899 mode used) about 6 seconds is considered bomb accurate
I’m guessing at best they may have been in the general vicinity of the intersection at roughly midnight!!!
Steve
'95 130 dual cab fender (gone to a better universe)
'10 130 dual cab fender (getting to know it's neurons)
Wizard
While I technically agree with you, does it mean that we should have had the big millennium party on 2000-2001, instead of 1999-2000?
Aaron
Very Very Lucky!
I think I am repeating a yarn. As Anzac day is approaching I will give my self a leave pass today.
On HMAS Vampire, Mutiple mishipmen took sexants to mark our possitions every sun rise and sun set. The running joke was were and what we could be eating given thier sightings. I think Malasian was a possiblity while off JB BobJervis Bay for you non Naval types
RoverLord
Yes, and this was widely discussed at the time.
John
JDNSW
1986 110 County 3.9 diesel
1970 2a 109 2.25 petrol
ForumSage
Yep
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