| Throughout all time the big question has been and still | | | | My son and son-in-law tagged along and we cought a |
| is: Where in the heck am I? | | | | boodle of fish. Toward evening, I put my hand up to |
| Adam said, "Where are you going, Eve?" | | | | measure the altitude of the sun and I said, "In 40 |
| Eve shook her blond hair and said, "Darned if I know, | | | | minutes it will be dark. We'd better head in." |
| Adam. I'm just bored with this place." | | | | Well, nobody wanted to quit fishing and my friend |
| "Well, stay here then if you don't know where you are | | | | assured me that we would be able to get in by looking |
| going. You might get lost." | | | | for the navigation light at the mouth of the Maurice |
| Adam set on a rock and waited for her answer. | | | | River. We would follow the light and slip up the river to |
| Eve said, "I won't get lost, Adam. Besides, I'm not a | | | | the dock. |
| man. If I do get lost, I'll ask for directions." | | | | Finally as the sun dropped into the abyse of spacetime |
| Adam said, "You must have some idea where you | | | | my friend decided it was time to leave. He cranked up |
| want to go, Eve. You can't just go wondering off into | | | | the engine but the boat didn't move. Poking our heads |
| the dark and dreary world. | | | | to see what was below deck we found water. The |
| She looked at Adam with her pale blue eyes and said, | | | | boat had such a tonage of water that it would not |
| "I was thinking more of Paris than the dark and dreary | | | | move. |
| world. | | | | My friend had installed a pump so he flipped it on. That |
| Back in those days folks tried to keep track of where | | | | didn't help, so we started bailing out the water. |
| they were by looking at the stars. The great explorer, | | | | Eventually, we got the boat moving. |
| Phendom, used the stars to navigate. In 45678 b.c. on | | | | I suggested that we put on the lifejackets. The |
| his first trip to Greenland his chief navigator, | | | | Delaware is full of ugly tankers and cargo ships and |
| Sogbottom, said, "I think we had better head back | | | | such. I could see us in the water screaming at the top |
| north, Phendom. I think that is the Southern Cross." | | | | of our lungs, HELP! |
| I found only one reference to Phendom on That is | | | | We headed east but we could not see the blasted |
| how unknown he is. The reference was cached, but | | | | navigational light. We moved south and finally we could |
| the ever-loving said I could read the text if I liked. I | | | | see it. We motored up the river at a slow pace |
| decided to do that until one of those little boxes | | | | because the docks on the river had signs that said: NO |
| popped up and told me I would have to install the | | | | WAKE! |
| Korean Language module to read it. | | | | We moved slower and slower as we took on more |
| That is how I learned that Phendom, who was | | | | water. The musquitos got thicker and thicker. We |
| probably the first Sea Explorer, was Korean. | | | | thought we were with Bogey on the African Queen. |
| I still remember three words in Korean from my | | | | Finally, we arrived at the dock. That's where we |
| Korean War days. I can say, "How are you? | | | | learned that we could not move to the dock because |
| (awnyahasiminiga)" I can say, "Come here," to a man | | | | the boat would not steer properly. Then by luck on the |
| (erioseeo). And I can call a dog (ereereereere, etc.). It's | | | | 70th try, we pulled up to the dock. |
| best in Korea not to get the last two mixed up. | | | | I grabbed two five gallon cans of fish and ran for my |
| Koreans like to throw rocks. | | | | Volkswagen bus, ten zillion mosquitoes helping me |
| Back to the stars: If you measure the angle from the | | | | along. |
| horizon to Polaris, you will know your latitude. Polaris is | | | | The next morning, my friend went down to the dock |
| the "Pole Star." You may know it as the "North Star." | | | | to check on his bargain boat. |
| To find Polaris, look for the big dipper. If you can't find | | | | He couldn't see it at first. |
| the Big Dipper, it is opposite the "W" which is also | | | | Then he found that it was only a few feet away. |
| known as Cassiopeia. To see how this is all done go | | | | Unfortunately, the direction was down! |
| to: | | | | Glub, glub! |
| You can see why I just love "I love those goo goo | | | | Sorry for that major diversion from our very serious |
| googlely eyes!" You might try: for more on Barney | | | | discussion on navigation and all. |
| Google with the goo goo googlely eyes!" | | | | Sometime after the compus was discovered, man |
| Don't forget to drop in to see Barney Google himnself | | | | discovered radio navigation. Transmitters along the |
| at: You will be glad you did. | | | | cost sent out a characteristic bleep that boats could |
| At this point it would be proper to discuss how the | | | | triangulate on or dead recon on to find their way home. |
| early mariners determined longitude. Darned if I know | | | | We learn the following at: |
| how they did it. I do know that Captain James | | | | "The first system of radio navigation was the radio |
| 1768-1780 A.D. was the first to use a chronometer to | | | | direction finder, or RDF. By tuning in a radio station and |
| determine longitude. It says so at: | | | | then using a directional antenna to find the direction to |
| The chronometer will just get us into a flimditty just as | | | | the broadcasting antenna, radio sources replaced the |
| the sextant would. Let's move on. | | | | stars and planets of celestial navigation with a system |
| (I made up the word flimditty because it is just what | | | | that could be used in all weather and times of day. |
| we needed in that last sentence, right? You won't find | | | | Taking two such measurements and plotting the |
| it in your dictionary or at You must be thrilled to be | | | | directions on a map will result in an intersection, your |
| reading the writings of a modern creative literary | | | | current location. Commercial AM radio stations can be |
| genious.) | | | | used for this task due to their long range and high |
| There is no reason to get into a fitznizzle over | | | | power, but strings of low-power radio beacons were |
| longitude and the chronometer. | | | | also set up specifically for this task. Early systems |
| Skipping history, modern day navigators have a | | | | used a loop antenna that was rotated by hand to find |
| number of ways to find their way home. Some years | | | | the angle to the signal, while modern systems use a |
| back a friend of mine told me that he had bought a | | | | much more directional solenoid that is rotated rapidly |
| fishing boat at a sheriff's sale for $800.00. He was | | | | by a motor, with electronics calculating the angle." |
| very excited about that boat and so was I. He put a | | | | Placing transmitters on Global Positioning Satellites |
| new V-8 engine in the boat and off we went fishing | | | | solved all of our navigational problems except during |
| on Delaware Bay, God's great gift to ardent fishermen. | | | | heavy sunspot activity or overlyactive solarwinds. |