C Hydrographic Office, September 29, 1846. COAST OF PORTUGAL.-Alteration of the Peniche Light-Information has been received by Her Majesty's Government, that, on the 16th of this month, the revolving light of Peniche, on the coast of Portugal, was converted into a fixed light, with the object of enabling seamen to distinguish it from the revolving light of the Berling Islands, and from the projected revolving light which is in course of construction on Cape St. Vincent. Trinity House, London, Oct. 7, 1846. LIGHT NEAR THE HELWICKS SAND off the Worms Head, in the Bristol Channel. A floating vessel having, in fulfilment of the intention expressed in the advertisement from this house, dated the 2nd ult., been placed at her intended station off the west end of the Helwicks Sand, on Thursday the 1st. inst., notice thereof is hereby given; and that a bright revolving light was exhibited on board the same on the evening of the said day, and will be continned every night from sunset to sunrise. This vessel is moored in 13 fathoms at low water spring tides, and in the Worms Head, Eb.S. S. E.b.N.N. N.N.W. W. N.E.b. E. E. By order, J. HERBERT, Secretary. SIGNALS AT ST. MICHAELS, Azores. The following signals to ships have been established at St. Michaels, Azores. 1.-A red flag.-Vessels at anchor should immediately weigh on account of the weather. 2.-A white flag-Vessels in sight may safely make for the anchorage. 3.-A red flag with white border.-Vessels must not send their boats on shore, landing being dangerous. The signals will be made at the flag-staff on Custom-house Quay, Ponta Delgada. 107, Richmondston, Liverpool, Oct. 6, 1846. SHOAL NEAR THE EQUATOR.-Sir,-As all communications relative to nautical affairs are widely diffused, and meet with proper comment in your Magazine, I beg to transmit you an account of the "Cæsar breakers." considered doubtful, witnessed by myself and crew of the brig " Mary," of this port from Africa. On the night of the 4th of July last, at 7 P M., fresh breeze, ship running 6 knots, saw breakers on the larboard bow, distance a quarter of a mile, strong current setting towards them, wore ship and stood along them; when first seen, they bore per compass N.W.b. N., and seemed to be a long ledge of rocks in a crescent shape; at 3 A.M., the following morning, saw the south-east end of the reef on the starboard bow; a strong breeze coming on prevented us making any further examination; the man, in heaving the lead, struck it upon a hard rock, but had no bottom the second cast. There can be no doubt of the existence of this reef, and so convinced were 4 K the crew, that they stood ready to clear away the long boat, neither was it any optical delusion from effect of current or phosphorescence of the sea. As they are in the longitude of vessels crossing the equator, it is surprising they have not been reported; by good sights at noon, with chronometer and computation of distance run, their position, when seen, was lat. 3° 07′ N., long. 24° 14′ W. To the Editor N.M. I remain, &c., CHAS. PRYCE. Supercargo. [Want of space prevents us from remarking on this important communication.-ED. N.M.] 11, Ebenezer Place, Sept. 16, 1846. DEAR SIR.-On referring to my original notes and the chart of Banca Straits, I find I have made a mistake in copying the bearings of the Toojoo islands, which should be S.E. and S. E., in place of N.E. and S. 3 E., for the position of the ship at the time of observation. This does not affect the longitude I have given as the true position of these islands. If you will correct them in your next number I shall feel obliged. I beg to hand you annexed a memorandum, which I request you will insert. My reason for making this request is, that Capt. MacDougall having given me a knowledge of working out the positions as given to every fifth meridian, I wish it to be known that it was by his method I worked them. There being no work extant, I believe, that gives the position in longitude to the nearest degree, which is certainly an improvement. Capt. MacDougall has an intention of publishing it with many other useful tables for both naval and merchant service officers. Page. Line. 449 450 450 5th, for Brantomebury, read Bronbornebury. Bottom, the last course, for 56° 56′′ 45', read 50° 56′ 45′′. N.B.-The positions in lat. and long. from Scilly to Bermuda are worked out by Capt. MacDougall's method. J. B. DURATION OF LIFE AMONG PROFESSIONAL MEN.-This was by Dr. Guy, and the conclusions at which he arrived were as follows. The meaning of the table is, that a man, for instance, who has attained 26 years of age, has a chance of living, if in the army, to 65.27 years; if in the navy, to 67-63 years, and so on (Continued from page 390.-cs crew saved, cd crew drowned.) Part of crew saved by the Secret. Part of crew saved by the Eliza Ann. Off the Leven Islands St. Lawrence. The Resolution for Quebec lying by her, and boats alongside wrecking her-seen by the Sir Robert Peel arrived at New York. Abandoned on fire, crew saved by Sunbeam, Fowler, and landed in Shetland. MAPS OF THE STARS.-The best maps of the stars that we have seen, and those, from their compact form, best adapted for use at sea, are published by Mr. Malby, entitled, “A Celestial Globe Atlas," and made up in a useful and compact form. They are most complete, also, as well as the most correct, Mr. Malby having prepared them for his large celestial globe from the Astronomical Society's catalogue. LIGHTHOUSES-Sir.-I have in my possession a small work entitled "The British Pharos, published at Leith, 1831, and purporting to give a description of the lights on the coast of the British Isles. I have hitherto kept this up by inserting the alterations from time to time taken from your magazine, but my addenda have exceeded now the original. Whether or not the stranding of the Great Britain is to be attributed to the imperfect publication of the lights, I cannot pretend to say-but I think the moment not unfit to call upon the Trinity Board or some government authority for an annual publication of a similar work, to be sold at a fixed price similar to the Nautical Almanac. If you see the value of such a publication as strongly as myself, I trust you will support it with the power of your pen. I remain, &c., JOHN BULL. [A pamphlet, containing an account of all the lighthouses, has always been kept on sale for the Admiralty by Mr. Bate, 21, Poultry, and corrected with supplements up to the year of publication.-ED.] THE GREAT BRITAIN.-The tale of the unfortunate disaster which has happened to the Great Britain, has been so often told in the prints of the day, that we should be disposed to leave her name in the long list of wrecks in our present number without comment, but that some degree of blame was first attached in consequence of it to the Admiralty Charts. These aspersions have been zealously and very properly refuted by Mr. Bate, the agent for the sale of those charts. The Great Britain, it was said, ran on shore in Dundrum Bay, owing to the light on St. John's Point not being inserted in the chart by which she was navigated, which proved to be not an Admiralty Chart. But in our opinion this had nothing to do with it. The vessel's reckoning allowing some little westerly set for nearly a whole spring ebb, will place her where she is. But, had her commander, who had already run beyond a discretionary distance at eight in the evening, when he shaped his course for the North Channel, stopped the ship's way through the water, as soon as he doubted his eyes, and was at a loss to know what light it was that he was looking at on his larboard bow, had he stopped his vessel's way, we repeat, as a seaman would have done, and found out what light it really was, feeling his way cautiously with his lead, the Great Britain would not have been run headlong on to the strand where she now lies. The absence of a light from a chart, seen plainly and distinctly before a vessel would never occasion her loss, in the hands of a careful commander in moderate weather, when she is under the control of sail and rudder. But the Great Britain seems to have darted from her port, anxious to run her course, like a high-mettled racer, and from some yet unexplained reason, to have been allowed to rush headlong on her own destruction as if she were in the hands of some landsman who had heard of the sea, but knew nothing of the duties of a seaman. 21, Poultry, 26th October, 1846. My dear Sir.-Though late, I trust that the importance of the subject and its prospective benefit to the nautical public, will induce you to make room for the following :— I have been watching and contradicting the calumnies published against our charts and all connected with them since this Dundrum business. You well know the steps 1 took in 1830; the public should know them likewise in vindication of the Hydrographical Department as well as of its agent. As I fancied that I had a very respectable boon to offer to the shipping interests, my first step was to wait personally on some of the principal shipowners with a specimen, imagining that the authenticity, the superior execution, and the low prices of the Admiralty Charts would induce these gentle. men to influence their commanders to adopt them-this attempt totally failed. My next application was to the Underwriters, but I here found myself on lower ground still. You, my dear sir, know that part of my engagement was to refrain from publishing, and even from selling any other charts without the approbation of your department. I therefore attempted to impose the same conditions on my agents, but found here adverse interests so predominant that I was sometimes compelled to forego the selling part of this condition, and have, in one instance, dispensed with the other. I have invariably allowed the full discount of the trade to the retailers, and have been liberal to a fault in extent of credit; but dissatisfied with my progress and with the usual modes of advertising, which were then much more expensive and less available than now, I listened to a proposal from the late Capt. David Thomson, of the merchant service, to publish in conjunction with himself, as a vehicle for the notice of the charts, an annual to be called "The Mariner and Merchants' Almanac"-this we were encouraged to compile and print, when our encouragement was unfortunately withdrawn. Next to this you and I started "The Nautical Magazine"-you, my dear sir, best know with what success, as regards the Admiralty Charts. Last of all I opened a new shop in the New Royal Exchange, at the foot of the staircase leading to Lloyd's, the sole object of which was, as you very well know, to bring these charts under the most especial notice, and where, in the most conspicuous manner I announced that I had placed them for inspection. This experiment has also failed, and however cheering the assurance that their rapid increase and general superiority, must eventually triumph, I am mortified to find that my own efforts have contributed so little hitherto, and earnestly entreat you and your readers' valuable suggestions regarding future proceedings on my part, towards the efficient circulation and sale of the Admiralty Charts; likewise your and their opinions of the reasons of so many failures. In your next I hope that you will allow me space for further detail of my proceedings and impediments, if it appear desirable.-I remain, &c., To the Editor N.M. R. B. BATE. Generally one-third or one-fourth of those of other authorities. |