Interesting story. I remember reading that there was a hugh fight over the location of the Prime Meridian. The french actually had (have?) a building with the line inscribed on the floor. Wonder if it still stands???RonWild CheriC&C 30STL
--- On Tue, 1/29/13, elev...@grayinsco.com <elev...@grayinsco.com> wrote: From: elev...@grayinsco.com <elev...@grayinsco.com> Subject: Re: Stus-List Sextant To: Cc: "cnc-list@cnc-list.com" <cnc-list@cnc-list.com>, "CnC-List" <cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com> Date: Tuesday, January 29, 2013, 4:11 PM I will add another element to the GPS/Sextant thread. It is a story I read years ago in a magazine. A circumnavigator was in French Polynesia and was given a set of old charts of the Indian Ocean and approach to the Red Sea. Though old, the donor claimed he had used the charts and that they were accurate. As the circumnavigator approached the Arabian coast line, his celestial fix and his Sat-Nav fix did not agree with a distinct landmark on the chart - a mountain. His position was roughly 100 miles off. Perplexed, he hove to for several days until he found the answer in the corner of the chart. The chart, being of French origin, had the prime meridian through Paris, France and not Greenwich, England. Now with the correction, the circumnavigator was able to fix his position. The moral is to use every means of navigation at your disposal particularly when approaching unfamiliar shores, islands, and shoals. Ed C&C 30 Mk 1 Dreamgirl C&C 34 (To be named) New Orleans From: Martin DeYoung <mdeyo...@deyoungmfg.com> To: "cnc-list@cnc-list.com" <cnc-list@cnc-list.com>, Date: 01/29/2013 02:12 PM Subject: Re: Stus-List Sextant Sent by: "CnC-List" <cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com> At the finish of Transpac the RC sends out a trawler with a big “Follow Me” sign prominently displayed. This practice began shortly after a race boat went on the Waikiki reef by not correctly identifying the Ala Wai Marina channel. I believe the official report also noted the alcohol may have been a factor. Martin Calypso 1970 C&C 43 Seattle From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of Della Barba, Joe Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 11:57 AM To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com Subject: Re: Stus-List Sextant Hint: Don’t tell the Sunfish rental guy you were miles out to sea. They get annoyed for some reason. Joe Della Barba From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of Andrew Burton Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 2:29 PM To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com Subject: Re: Stus-List Sextant Nice, Joe. : ) The old red lightship with "Nantucket" in big letters on the side is often anchored outside Newport harbor. I imagine there are some who are a bit confused by this. I've got to try your Jamaica trick, though. That's classic! Bermuda is harder in some ways. As the many wrecks can attest to, you can be on the reefs before you see the island. We did create some confusion by sailing a Sunfish west from the island until you couldn't see land and waiting for an incoming boat. Their expression when we said "Welcome to Jamaica" was priceless. Joe Della Barba From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of Steve Thomas Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 12:54 PM To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com Subject: Re: Stus-List Sextant Some people have used jet contrails to find Hawaii. Steve Thomas -----Original Message----- From: CnC-List [ mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com <mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com> ]On Behalf Of Joel Aronson Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 12:34 PM To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com <mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Subject: Re: Stus-List Sextant Those were the days! Joel Aronson On Jan 29, 2013, at 12:30 PM, "Della Barba, Joe" < joe.della.ba...@ssa.gov <mailto:joe.della.ba...@ssa.gov> > wrote: We used a sextant to find Bermuda in 1980 and it was a major PITA. In rough seas on a small boat getting any accuracy beyond maybe +/- 15 miles is doing very well. Just taking the sight and not falling overboard or dropping the sextant was an accomplishment. We ended up running a latitude line north of the island until we picked up the radio beacon on the RDF and followed that in. Joe Della Barba Coquina _______________________________________________ This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album http://www.cncphotoalbum.com <http://www.cncphotoalbum.com> CnC-List@cnc-list.com <mailto:CnC-List@cnc-list.com> _______________________________________________ This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album http://www.cncphotoalbum.com CnC-List@cnc-list.com -- Andrew Burton 61 W Narragansett Ave Newport, RI USA 02840 http://sites.google.com/site/andrewburtonyachtservices/ phone +401 965 5260 _______________________________________________ This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album http://www.cncphotoalbum.com CnC-List@cnc-list.com -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album http://www.cncphotoalbum.com CnC-List@cnc-list.com
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