if you go the right way theres a follwing wind all the way! Any fule kno that!Originally Posted by molesworth
Order of Kilopi
if you go the right way theres a follwing wind all the way! Any fule kno that!
sicut vis videre esto
When we realize that patterns don't exist in the universe, they are a template that we hold to the universe to make sense of it, it all makes a lot more sense.
Originally Posted by Ken G
Order of Kilopi
(Off-topic, but I love that you and Molesworth are actually typing in the style of the Molesworth books.)
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molesworth hav been my "altir ego" on the intarnet since aprox the time of joolius cesar! :-D
we shall take the eesy root. there will be relaxing on dek, cucmber sandweches and BEER!
The Cape to Cape trip, while it should be exciting, won't quite be "Vendée Globe" level sailing. I'll be on my "home-from-home", the beautiful Bark Europa. This should take me over 20,000 miles sailed on her!
Somewhat on topic for the thread, I'm planning on trying some reconstructions of old navigation instruments (astrolabe, quadrant, backstaff) to compare with the modern ship's sextant. I've made a bit of a study of the history of navigation, and while records are a bit sparse, it's almost certain that sailors and navigators as far back as the Minoans (around 2,000 BC) knew that the Earth had to be spherical, or at least definitely curved in some way. No doubt the astronomers / astrologers / priests of the time had figured it out as well.
Which leads to the question - if the Earth actually is flat, why was the idea that it's a sphere started so long ago, and why has it persisted for 4,000 years? Who's behind it? What's the "benefit" of the deception?
Days spent at sea are not deducted from one's alloted span...
(Phoenician proverb)
Order of Kilopi
I do envy your trip and my son has done that kind of thing, learning ancient navigation. The old issue of longitude without a chronometer might get a new look but it's basically hard. If you have a log and an atlas of currents you might be able to integrate up your longitude but that's like walking to the pub blindfolded and with ear muffs while the crowd push you around.
Jules seeza ha a lot to anser for sez my Mum, wot wiv thos hob naled boats an eegels pooping all over the dek. Its a fare wind. sale away!
sicut vis videre esto
When we realize that patterns don't exist in the universe, they are a template that we hold to the universe to make sense of it, it all makes a lot more sense.
Originally Posted by Ken G
Order of Kilopi
Well, it’s a bit hard to know what specifically the Minoans thought about anything as we can’t read their writing...
Order of Kilopi
Yes, I recall the story. This is #13 in reverse (looking down vs. up) but just as worthy. The distance to the Sun should be about 4000 miles, matching the radius of the Earth, if the Earth was flat. It is obvious that the Moon is much farther and the Sun must be farther as well, given evidence such as solar eclipses.
Yes, I see your point, the rate of angular change would only fit a spherical Earth.Not quite. #13 is about the changes in the stars visible with latitude, and changes in the angles of stars above the horizon. What I'm meaning is the distance measured on the ground between locations which are on the same latitude, i.e. due east or west of each other. For example, Philadelphia and Denver, Edinburgh and Moscow or Cape Town and Sydney. On a spherical Earth, each degree of longitude at the equator is 60 nautical miles. As you move north or south, the measured length along one degree becomes smaller, eventually becoming zero at the poles.
Thanks for you input. [I would add these but the Edit function time has expired.]
We know time flies, we just can't see its wings.
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