There are a number of references to navigation in this week’s journal entries. Navigation is being able to move from one place to another, both safely and efficiently. We are always navigating our way around, often without thinking about it. Navigating a vessel safely from England to South Australia in 1836 required precision and skill. There was no modern day GPS equipment and sailors used the position of the sun, moon and stars to calculate a longitudinal position. Bingham Hutchinson onboard the Buffalo makes many references to location, providing us with great detail about the ship’s position and distance travelled. By plotting these references on a map, we can identify the routes travelled and make comparisons between the nine voyages. Did each ship take the same route and which route was the safest and most efficient journey from England to South Australia?
Ship's chronometer, c.1907