NavList:

Hello All and hope NEW YEAR is healthy and happy:

 

As winter really settles in here in New England I just finished reading the biography (almost a diary)  “ Master of the Moving Sea” of Captain Peter John Riber Mathieson who died at age 83.  Starting about 1885 as a cadet he sailed and Captained ships over all the oceans. He was Master of clipper ships and steam driven ships and his last command was a Liberty ship during WWll. I never imagined that sailing ships hauled cargo well into the 1900s. His stories are quite interesting and include near misses over his career. His last cargo was 3000 tons of gasoline, plus oil, and many tons of bombs....serious stuff to haul around the  Pacific. He describes the sometimes terrible treatment of crew by Captains and owners. Navigating through mine fields,etc.  Regarding time keepers he used:

 

In 1922 as Master of the Moshulu approaching Cape Town on a 110 day trip after leaving Cape Flattery (NW corner of USA) , he became concerned with his longitude after rounding Cape Horn.  He.....” steered a course for Gough Island in order to check longitude, for although we had 4 chronometers in the chartroom, the longitudes varied from 10 to 20 miles. There were 2 Waltham chronometers, another of English make, and my own. This last was a very old instrument much in the style of that invented and constructed by John Henderson (typo he meant Harrison) of Yorkshire........the ship’s English chronometer came the nearest to being correct, placing us only 4 miles too far to the eastward of our actual position.”  He did not need a time signal. Several good time keepers, take an average, and check position as you pass known locations (even if you must change course a bit. Very interesting.

 

Bruce

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