Circumnavigation

“ In practical navigation a vessel commences her voyage and [Pg 2] attempts to sail in a certain direction, but the well-known elements of compass error, variation and deviation, current, wind, seas and poor steering all divert the vessel from the projected course. In dead reckoning a navigator strives to keep track of his position by keeping a record of actual courses steered and distances run. ”

“ Where vessels approaching are yet so distant from each other, or where the lines of approach, though parallel, are so far apart as not to involve risk of collision, that rule of navigation has no application to the case. ”

“ Thus it will be seen that in navigation there are currents in the sea and currents in the air to be considered, and that it requires a great deal of forethought, and knowledge, and experience, to take a ship in safety and with speed round the world. ”

“ The Baker navigating machine, with the chart, was on my knees. Not knowing what kind of weather was before us, I knelt on my seat and made haste to take observations on the sea, the horizon, and the sun, through intervals in the covering of clouds.
The navigation of aircraft, in its present [Pg 43] stage, is distinctly more difficult than the navigation of seacraft. The speed at which they travel and the influence of the wind introduce problems which are not easily solved. ”

“ We will confidently leave our feeble vessel entirely to thy guiding care, to shape its course and direct its way; nor will we dread the greatest danger, with thy hand upon the helm, believing no hidden rock can escape thy penetrating eye, nor any storm or danger surpass thy skill, or counteract thy unbounded power.
The hour arrives, all is in readiness, the pilot gives the signal, the anchor is weighed, and with all sails set, our bark proceeds to sea. What more majestic sight than a gallant ship, under full sail, wafted by a fair gale, proudly cutting her way through the vast deep? ”

“ The Lead Line
SINCE the coming of the mariners’ compass many centuries ago, navigation has made steady headway. It is now an exact science, and vessels properly equipped with needed instruments and with men able to use them, can, no matter what the winds or seas, or how extended the voyage, be brought safely to their destination.
The instruments used in navigation are, the compass, by which ship’s courses are steered; the sextant by which observations of the sun, moon and stars are taken, and through which the latitude is ascertained ”

“ His knowledge in mechanics rendered him capable of building a ship from the keel: his skill in navigation, of conducting her to any part of the globe: and his courage, of defending her against any equal force. In the conduct of an expedition, he superintended all the details of the service, without being perplexed either with the variety or number of them. ”

“ We, in the present age of improved navigation, who have been instructed by their labours, and have followed them as our guides, have no such claim to fame. Some merit, however, being still, in the public opinion, considered as due to those who sail to unexplored quarters of the globe; in conformity to this favourable judgment, I prefixed to the account of my last voyage the names of the officers of both my ships, and a table of the number of their respective crews. ”

“ But, you pattern of piety, the earthly navigator makes his plans, takes his measures, gives his orders, with a single eye to efficiency; there is nothing useless or purposeless on board; everything is to make navigation easy or possible; but as for the navigator for whom you claim the management of this vast ship, he and his crew show no reason or appropriateness in any of their arrangements; the forestays, as likely as not, are made fast to the stern, and both sheets to the bows; the anchor will be gold, the beak lead, decoration below the water-line, and unsightliness above. ”

“ We can picture the earliest sea voyager taking his first lesson astride of a log with one foot on the bottom, and thus proceeding by sure stages till he had built his coracle and learned to paddle it in shoal water. But the case was wholly different when the first frail air ship stood at her moorings with straining gear and fiercely burning furnace, and when the sky sailor knew that no course was left him but to dive boldly up into an element whence there was no stepping back, and separated from earth by a gulf which man instinctively dreads to look down upon. ”

“ We were now a little fleet, viz., two large ships and a brigantine, well manned, and furnished with all sorts of necessaries for any voyage or any enterprise that was fit for men in our situation to undertake; and, particularly, here I made a full design of the whole voyage, to be again openly declared to the men, and had them asked, one by one, if they were willing and resolved to undertake it, which they all very cheerfully answered in the affirmative. ”

“ On the contrary, the general rule is that they may proceed on their voyage although it is dark, observing all the ordinary rules of navigation, and with such additional care and precaution as experienced and prudent navigators usually employ under similar circumstances. ”

“ The purposes of the marine of a country whose interests are so inseparably connected as ours are with the improvement of the art of navigation, would be very inadequately fulfilled, if our navigators were merely supplied with the means of determining by Nautical Astronomy the position of a ship at sea. ”

“ And a little apart, there was yet another focus of centrifugal and centripetal flight, where, hard by the deafening line of breakers, her sails (all but the tattered topsail) snugly furled down, and the red rag that marks Old England on the seas beating, union down, at the main—the Flying Scud, the fruit of so many toilers, a recollection in so many lives of men, whose tall spars had been mirrored in the remotest corners of the sea—lay stationary at last and forever, in the first stage of naval dissolution. ”

“ Carriages, under the impetus communicated by this the most potent, and at the same time the most perfectly controllable of all our mechanical agencies, can be drawn forward at the flying speed of thirty and thirty-five miles an hour. When so much has been already done, it would be rash to conclude that even this is to be our ultimate limit of attainment. In navigation, the resistance of the water, which increases rapidly as the force opposed to it increases, very soon set bounds to the rate at which even the power of steam can impel a vessel forward. ”

“ Now the great vessel, followed by the fleet, moves swiftly through the ample passage, while from overhead as well as from below cheers upon cheers rend the air and from the Transports, which keep pace with the fleet, showers of blooms in glowing beauty rain down upon the heads of the people crowding the upper decks, and now the flag ship has plunged onto the lake as though purposing to pass straight across to the further side, but no, it turns to the right, leading the fleet in a triumphal procession around the lake. ”

“ The great point in practical navigation is to obtain a passage for a ship by removing or displacing the particles of water as quietly as possible, and to no further distance on either side than the greatest width of the vessel. ”

“ Gallantry under the stimulus of onlookers ready to cheer on the adventurer and to make history out of his exploit, is not the supremest type. Surely first among the brave, though unknown men, we must rank that navigator, who, ignorant of the compass and even of the art of steering by the stars, pressed his shallop out beyond sight of land, into the trackless sea after the fall of night. ”

“ In point of dismal fact that voyage is made upon an uncharted sea. A few plain general instructions in the principles of navigation are all we get; we have to look out for the rocks and shoals and whirlpools and adverse currents for ourselves. ”

“ He then compares that position with his voyage plan, his operational commitments, and his predetermined “dead reckoning” position. A good navigator anticipates dangerous situations well before they arise, and always stays “ahead of the vessel.” He is ready for navigational emergencies at any time. He is increasingly a manager of a variety of resources--electronic, mechanical, and human. Navigation methods and techniques vary with the type of vessel, the conditions, and the navigator’s experience. ”

“ It is hard to say; for in that voyage from which no man returns Landfall and Departure are instantaneous, merging together into one moment of supreme and final attention. Certainly I do not remember observing any sign of faltering in the set expression of his wasted face, no hint of the nervous anxiety of a young commander about to make land on an uncharted shore. He had had too much experience of Departures and Landfalls! And had he not "served his time" in the famous copper-ore trade out of the Bristol Channel, the work of the staunchest ships afloat, and the school of staunch seamen? ”

“ These Rapids are the most perilous in all the river’s extent, on account [56] of the devious nature of the channel, and the dangerous rocks which lie just enough below the surface to deceive any but the skillful navigator. The swarthy giant who takes the wheel at this point pays little attention to anything but the duty in hand, and that seems to demand all his energies. Casting alternate glances at him and at the rushing waters ahead of us, we involuntarily breathe the words of the hymn,
“Steady, O pilot, stand firm at the wheel.” ”

“ It is impossible to appreciate the intrepid seamanship of the early navigators without first taking a view of the art of navigation as it was in their time, and understanding the shapes, bulk, and rigs of the vessels in which they cruised in search of plunder or started on long voyages of discovery. In these days one is so used to the facilities of science for traversing the deep with swiftness and certainty, that it is necessary to bend the mind with some severity of thought to compass the difficulties of the old sailors and honour their triumphs justly. ”

“ The departure is the beginning of our calculation when we lose sight of the last cape or head-land, and the land-fall closes it, by letting us know where we are, at the other end of our journey, as you probably remember.”
“Is there not such a thing as clearing out in navigation?” asked Rose quickly, willing to cover a little confusion that was manifest in her aunt’s manner.
“Not exactly in navigation, Miss Rose, but clearing out, with honest folk, ought to come first and navigation a’terwards. Clearing out means going through the Custom House, accordin’ to law.” ”

“ But the sensible passenger may, though he knows the difficulties of the voyage and the dangers of the sea, fairly ask the man at the wheel to keep a true and constant course. He may with reason and justice insist that, whatever the delays which the storms or accidents may cause, the head of the vessel shall be consistently pointed towards the distant port, and that come what will she shall not be allowed to drift aimlessly hither and thither on the chance of fetching up somewhere some day. ”

“ The liferaft will be over between the tug and the ship. When you hear me holler Go! you're to start jumping. Go overboard from the waist there—it's lower. Don't all jump at once—two or three at a time; and keep on coming. When I say jump I mean jump! I don't want any exhibition dives or posing on the rail—no headfirst stuff. This ship is supposed to be red hot and you're getting off of her as quick as you can. ”

“ We must not start by picturing a binnacle, exposed by day, and lighted by night—a quartermaster conning by it, and a steersman looking at it, second by second, in presence of ship’s company, passengers, and strangers. We must bring before us habits of navigation formed without this aid ”

“ A ruder and more practical direction in which the spirit of the age manifested itself conspicuously and with prodigious results was that of exploring navigation, to penetrate the unknown regions of the globe and find their secrets out. ”

“ Our velocity had been so great as to leave the poor fellow miles astern; and as every one had been engaged at his station in wearing ship, the bearings of the place where he was struggling for dear life had become confused. ”

“ You may know theoretically how many revolutions of the propellers are needed to go at the rate of ten, eleven, twelve or even more knots an hour, but even then one ship will inch up, so to speak, foot up might express it better, and you have got to correct this all the time or you will be crawling up on the quarter deck of the ship in front of you, or lagging so behind that the ship after you will be in danger of crawling up on your own deck. ”

“ Rules of navigation are ordained, and required to be observed, to save life and property employed in marine pursuits, and not to promote collisions, or to justify the wrong-doer where such a disaster has occurred. ”

“ Rules of navigation are obligatory upon vessels approaching each other, from the time the necessity for precaution begins, and continue to be applicable as the vessels advance, so long as the means and opportunity to avoid the danger remain. ”

“ All persons engaged in navigating vessels upon navigable waters, whether upon the seas or in rivers or harbors, are bound to observe the rules of navigation recognized and approved by the courts in the management of their vessels on approaching a point where there is danger of collision. ”

“ The innovation of steam with paddle-wheels, than which nothing could have been more impracticable for ice navigation, proved a decided failure, and the engine was finally torn out and thrown overboard, and the voyage continued under sail. ”

“ Onward we sped, through a fleet of vessels, our craft threading her way, "like a thing of life," obeying the master's steady commands, creating no little sensation, as she darted amongst them, inclining to the right or left, or pressing boldly, straight ahead, to the repeated orders of "starboard," "port," or "steady there, so," and causing the different craft to run up their signal lights quite hastily. ”