"March 24, A Very Significant Day For Mariners" Topic

"If you were aware of the grounding of the British fleet, and the deaths of over 2000 sailors, off the Isles of Scilly, west of Cornwall, in October 1707, then you are either the rare supercentenarian or you are a maritime history geek such as myself. All of this begs the question, why is this date in maritime history so important?

Well since you're wondering, it took those deaths to get the attention of the Admiralty in solving one of the biggest conundrums in ocean navigation, accurately measuring longitude. Seven years later in 1714 Parliament passed the Longitude Act, [they] convened a Board of Longitude to examine the problem and set up a £20,000.00 GBP ( $2.5 USD Million 2015) prize for the person who could invent a means of finding longitude to an accuracy of 30 miles after a six week voyage to the West Indies. It also made minor awards for discoveries and improvements to the general problem. (Citation from The Royal Naval Museum)

John Harrison undertook this challenge with no formal education or training. By Jove he was just a self taught clock maker! John's belief was that time would prove the correct measurement of Longitude. He was going head to head with the Astronomer Royal, Nevil Maskelyne, the most prominent proponent of an astronomy-based method. Maskelyne wholeheartedly believed that longitude could be calculated using lunar charts and tables, and that using a mechanical piece was irrelevant…"
Full article here
link

Amicalement
Armand

IIRC, that would be the loss of Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell's squadron – a (nowadays) little known naval tragedy.

And, yes, the development of the naval chronometer is a great story indeed.

B

Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell was unusual, he entered the navy aged 14 as a cabin boy and not an officer, only later becoming a midshipman.

Glad you enjoyed it my friend.

Amicalement
Armand

A very good television series on the subject

link

That series, Longitude, was absolutely fantastic. Set in two periods, the 1700s and John Harrison, and in modern times,as someone (I forget his name)tried to restore and save the original timepieces from the ravages of time and possible loss during the bombing of London.

It was excellent.

Mark