Nautical history - Part one of many!

Staff

Published Sunday, September 14, 2003

Special to the News-Herald

In the past few months, I have become a MAJOR fan of the History Channel on Charter Cable. Some of the events and topics that they cover are done with such class that you really do learn a lot about your world.

Recreational boaters will enjoy one recent History Channel presentation called "Longitude." This look at a piece of nautical history features actors Jeremy Irons, who starred in "Die Hard III" along with Bruce Willis, and Michael Gambon who made his mark in the movie "The Singing Detective."

Gambon, in one of the best efforts I have seen for a "Made For TV Movie" plays 18th-century watchmaker John Harrison. Harrison spent the majority of his life solving the greatest scientific problem of his era-how to determine longitude while at sea.

Irons stars as Rupert Gould, a World War I military officer who discovered the wreckage of one of Harrison's timepieces and then nearly lost his mind trying to restore it. As the promotion from the History Channel Web site states, "As each man approaches their goal, they are met with increasing opposition, which only serves to strengthen their resolve." What a story!

But what exactly is longitude? Longitude are lines made by circles that intersect with both the North and South Poles. Each longitude can be thought of as taking the earth and dividing it in half. Longitudes measure from 0 to 180 degrees, both east and west. The Royal Greenwich Observatory, located in Greenwich England serves as the "0" point.

The idea of longitude became increasingly important because of advancements in travel that occurred throughout the world. The world, and Europe's view on it, was expanding rapidly. Columbus had completed his voyages and other explorers were rapidly following on his heals. Large merchant vessels operated throughout the East and West with the British being a major player. Unfortunately, with no truly reliable navigational systems onboard, merchant vessels encountered problems, which resulted in loss of both human lives and the vessels themselves.

Several noteworthy maritime disasters occurred, involving British vessels, and the British Parliament responded by offering 20,000 pounds for the first reliable method of determining the longitude that a ship was sailing while on the open sea. The amount of money England was offering for this discovery was literally a "king's ransom". It drew many of the "best and brightest" of the era. But the winner of the "Longitude Prize" was a little-known Lincolnshire (UK)-native with little formal education.

According to Public Television's NOVA series, "It is known that longitude can be found by comparing a ship's local time to the time at the port of origin." Simple idea, right? "The challenge is finding a clock, or a chronometer (as they are referred to at sea), that can keep time at sea, where temperature changes, humidity, gravity, and a ship's movement affect accuracy." All these factors combined to thwart previous attempts to develop a system that worked accurately.

Enter British clockmaker John Harrison (1693-1776), who we mentioned above. Harrison, who was a carpenter by trade, used logic to attack the problem, running directly against the scientific and academic communities in England, devising a portable timepiece that kept its accuracy.

He built his invention around the simple pocketwatch. His findings were later validated in 1764 during a voyage to the Caribbean island of Barbados. Because of his work longitude became a mainstay of all follow-on voyages.

Longitude and its history should be of interest to any mariner. To find out more about Longitude, Harrison, his discovery and some hands on activities I recommend the following three web sites:

n

NOVA's Lost at Sea: The Search For Longitude (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/longitude)

n Exploring Latitude and Longitude (http://edweb.sd-su.edu/triton/LatLong/LatLongIntro.html) This site is a great game which teaches the idea of longitude uniquely!

nLatitude and Longitude

(http://www.cogtech.com/EXPLORER/lat-long.htm)

n If you are interested in the History Channel Special, on DVD look at: http://store.aet-v.com/html/product/index.jhtml

Longitude and its history is another interesting topic in the world of recreational boating!

We will keep the review of Nautical Terms and History next week. Until next week, Boat Safe... and Boat Smart!

Joe DiRenzo is a regular News-Herald columnist and a regular News-Herald columnist.

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