Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-11-16
STEERING BY A STAR.
Sailors Can Keep the Course Better This
Way Thap by n Compass.


In st. Nicholas there is an article on
"Steering without a Compass by Gustav
KobbC. The author says:
That sailors prefer not to steer by com
pass must have struck you as one curious
fact. Here Is another-a stecrsman can
keep his ship .etter on her course at night,
II it be clear, than during the day Look
ahead, get a star and steady her head by
it 80 says the a. b.. Of the ocean to the
sailor who has not yet won his degree, for
to the helmsman tho stars are like the
pillar Of fire in Scripture. They are the
hands on the dial Of the night. They
twinkle good evening" to poor Jack as
he sits up aloft or stands at the helm, and
wink good morning" and "gOodby" to
him with daylight. 1t is obvious that the
'to" or of" movement of Il vessel can
be more quickly detected by II small,
bright object like a star dead ahead than
by the lnonotonous sweep Of the horizon or
by pcering into the compass box. The
same ancient mariner who told me about
measuring tho length Of the off and in
shore legs by the life of candles told me
hat once, when the oil in the pinnacle
lamps gave out and he was steering by IA
star, he occasionally struck Il match and
looked at the compass "to see if the star
had moved any He was a genuine sea
cook, - this ancient mariner, being steward
of tho vessel on which | was sailing, and
he would bob up out Of the cooks galley
amidships like IA seal bohbing up through
IL hole in tho ice and proceed to spin yarns.
WlCn the lockout sings at, Land ho!
and has replied to the officers "Whcr7
away n star over the rock or other dau.
ger may be noted and brought down in
line with the point on the conpass and its
proper bearing obtained.
Tho stars said a sea captain 10 me,
"mOvc apparently from east to west, 81
that whom we find our first star will no
longer do we select another. This is The
case with all but the north or pole star,
which is III line with two certain stars in
the Great Bear or Dippor, and the orbit is
SO small that it is "A good guido for all
night. and we can even detect errors Of tive
compass by it,
The north star is. Of course, as true as
or even trucr than the most accurate COM
pass. To the "othcr things that sailor,
steer by the compass is, however, what
steam is to electricity. To produce an
electric light you require a dynamo. Ic
run the dynamo you need steam. You
may feel the wind on your moist brow OF
Huill, lNll INC N4EhNkl'l A4'IA NHlNAi IL
blows you can-eNcept in case Of the regu-
lar trade winds or unless you are up in
sea lore-tcll only from the compass. Then
by sailing close to the wind You can keeI
on that course without looking at the com
pass.
But the sailors naturally have n large
accumulation u weather lore, and in ad
dition in the trades there are, except il
case of violent storms, certain %reeularitic.
in the winds IN certain parts OF the oceal
and certain other recurring signs which
the helmsman can utilize, and which oftel
enable him to dispense with the compass
altogether. For instance, If in standing
south to round the Horn, you see III,
"MagcllHnic clouds bright patches il
the milky way directly above the ship
change your CURSE for the strait Of Ma
gellan.