The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. VII. Being the Third of the Third VoyageKing, James
History
The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. VII. Being the Third of the Third Voyage
King, James
Cook, James, 1728-1779 -- Travel; Explorers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Voyages around the world -- History -- 18th century
Thus, on the 24th October, 1776 (first column), at the Cape of Good Hope
(second column), we found the daily error in the rate of its going, to
be 2ʺ,26 (third column). The longitude of that place calculated on a
supposition, that the rate of the time-keeper had continued the same
from the time of our leaving Greenwich, that is, had a regular daily
error of 1ʺ,21, is found to be 18° 26ʹ 30ʺ E. (fourth column). And as
its rate at Greenwich is, in this instance, its latest rate, the
longitude thus found is the same (fifth column). The true longitude of
the place is 18° 23ʹ 15ʺ (sixth column). From whence it appears, that,
in our run from Greenwich to the Cape, the watch would have led us into
an error only of 3ʹ 15ʺ (seventh column), or three miles one quarter; or
had varied 13ʺ of time (eighth column), in four months twenty-three days
(ninth column), the period between our leaving Greenwich and our arrival
at the Cape. As the Greenwich is the latest error, the tenth, eleventh,
and twelfth columns will be the same with the seventh and ninth.
But, on the 22d of February, 1777 (first column), at Queen Charlotte’s
Sound, New Zealand (second column), the daily error of its rate was
found to be 2ʺ,91 (third column). The longitude of this place, according
to the Greenwich rate, is 175° 25ʹ (fourth column). But having found, at
the Cape, that it had altered its rate from a daily error of 1ʹ,21 to
2ʹ,26, the longitude corrected by this new rate is found to be 174° 54ʹ
23ʺ (fifth column). The true longitude of the place being 174° 23ʹ 31ʺ
(sixth column); it appears, that, in our run from Greenwich to New
Zealand, the error would have been only 1° 1ʹ 29ʺ (seventh column), or
sixty-one miles and a half, even if we had not had an opportunity of
correcting its daily error; or, in other words, that the watch had
varied 4ʹ 6ʺ (eighth column), in eight months eleven days (ninth
column). But the longitude, as given by its new rate, leaves an error of
only 30ʹ 54ʺ (tenth column), near thirty-one miles, or, in time, 2ʹ 3ʺ,6
(eleventh column), which has been accumulating during our run from the
Cape to New Zealand, or in three months, 28° (twelfth column). The
thirteenth and fourteenth columns require no explanation.
TABLE of the Rate and Error of Mr. Kendal’s Watch, on board the
Resolution.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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