Re: [Paddlewise] stupid natives

The hotshot Europeans at the time could not
tell how far around the globe they were. At a time when the Europeans  
had no
answer, the Pacific navigators new latitude by the north star and by the
position of other stars at their zenith.

Those two sentences serve to imply that the Europeans could not tell  
latitude from the stars which is incorrect and it implies that the  
natives could tell longitude which is incorrect.


> True. But Chuck specifically said that they could determine true  
> east and west from the stars. My gut reaction to this was "BS" but  
> upon thinking it over I believe that knowing the BAND of stars that  
> ring the equator could give them clues to true east and true west  
> (independently of the sun). Of course, keeping Polaris to your  
> starboard or port would also work; as long as you were far enough  
> above the equator to see Polaris.
>
> I suspect the Pacific Navigators did the same thing as the European  
> Navigators; sailed to a latitude well east (or west) of their  
> destination and turned the proper direction. There is even a name  
> for this: "running down the latitude".
>
>
> Craig Jungers
> Moses Lake, WA
> www.nwkayaking.net
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