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While looking for something else on the Web, I came across a 1882 study
guide for the Board of Trade mate and master examinations.

For the second mate exam, the candidate would be expected to "work a
day's work complete, correcting the course for deviation, leeway, and
variation. He will be required to find the latitude by meridian of the
sun [sic], and also the longitude from a given departure by parallel
sailing... and to find the longitude from altitude of the sun by the
usual methods."

A first mate was expected to find "the ship's position by Sumner's
method by projection."

"Candidates are expected to bring their answers to all problems within,
or not to exceed, a margin of one mile of POSITION from a correct
result, with the exception of the ship's position by Sumner's method,
where a margin of 2 1/2 miles may be allowed."

"The Sumner Problem (Exn. 6) must on no account be given out to any of
the grades on the first day of the Examination, but should be the
commencement of the Candidate's work on the second day, and on
completion of this problem the Candidates for Masters' Certificates
should proceed with the problems on Paper Exn. 7."

There is no explanation for this restriction. Maybe working the Sumner
problem first would make the other problems too easy?

Table of contents:
http://books.google.com/books?id=5zoIAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA175

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