It's the little things that add up - what if bugzilla had existed back then. Think Bligh would have made an entry?
In the passage to the Cape of Good Hope, there occurred nothing worth remark. I cannot however forbear noticing the Dutch manner of navigating. They steer by true compass, or rather endeavour so to do, by means of a small moveable central card, which they set to the meridian : and whenever they discover the variation has altered 2.5 degrees, since the last adjustment, they again correct the central card. This is a steering within a quarter of a point, without aiming at greater exactness. The officer of the watch likewise corrects the course for lee-way, by his own judgement, before it is marked down in the log board. They have no log : I was told that the company do not allow it. Their manner of computing their run, is by means of a measured distance of 40 feet, along the ships side : they take notice of any remarkable patch of froth, when it is abreast the foremost end of the measured distance, and count half-seconds til the mark of froth is abreast the after end. With the number of half seconds thus obtained, they divide the number 48, taking the product for the rate of sailing in geographical miles in one hour, or the number of dutch miles in four hours.
It is not unusual to make any allowance to the sun's declination, on account of being on a different meridian from that for which the tables are calculated : they in general, compute witht he numbers just as they are found in the table. From all this, it is not difficult to conceive the reason why the Dutch are frequently above ten degrees out in their reckoning. Their passages likewise are considerably lengthened, by not carrying a sufficient quantity of sail.
Yuck! Which side, the Engs or the Dutch do you reckon went on to become a world power and tame the Deutsch?
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