Glossary of terms and editorial notes on James Smeal's Morning Light diary and his account of the Eliza shipwreck.
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j - l
knot
One knot indicates a speed of one nautical mile per hour. This is equal to 1.15 statute miles per hour and 1.852 km per hour. James Smeal sometimes spelled it knott (corrected during editing) and often used the term ‘knots an hour’ (retained during editing).
At the time of the sailing of the Morning Light, the speed of a ship was calculated by throwing overboard a section of wood (the log) tied to a rope that was knotted at regular intervals and attached to a reel at the stern of the vessel. The log was designed to stay where it was in the water. The distance between adjacent knots along the rope was such that the number of knots that were reeled out in 30 sec was equal to the same number of nautical miles per hour. There are 120 periods of 30 seconds in an hour, so the distance between knots needed to be 1/120 of a nautical mile. In practice the distance between knots tended to be approximately 8 fathoms (48 feet) or 50 feet. For example, if after the log is thrown out, one knot appears when 30 seconds has elapsed, the ship has travelled 50 feet in 30 sec = 6000 ft in 1 hour and as there are ~6076 ft in a nautical mile, the ship is travelling at a speed of approximately 1 knot.
29-10-1860: ‘We are now sailing S.W. with all possible sail set, at the rate of 12 knots an hour.’
9-11-1860: ‘Heaved the log at 12½ pm and found the speed to be only 3 knots.’
30-11-1860: ‘In the evening rain fell like a Scotch mist killing the trades almost completely and at 12 o'clock p.m. we were only making 1 knot an hour, going S.W. by S.’
13-12-1860: ‘The storm increased in violence last night till about 4 this morning when we were running 13 knots, but steering E. ½ N.’
One knot indicates a speed of one nautical mile per hour. This is equal to 1.15 statute miles per hour and 1.852 km per hour. James Smeal sometimes spelled it knott (corrected during editing) and often used the term ‘knots an hour’ (retained during editing).
At the time of the sailing of the Morning Light, the speed of a ship was calculated by throwing overboard a section of wood (the log) tied to a rope that was knotted at regular intervals and attached to a reel at the stern of the vessel. The log was designed to stay where it was in the water. The distance between adjacent knots along the rope was such that the number of knots that were reeled out in 30 sec was equal to the same number of nautical miles per hour. There are 120 periods of 30 seconds in an hour, so the distance between knots needed to be 1/120 of a nautical mile. In practice the distance between knots tended to be approximately 8 fathoms (48 feet) or 50 feet. For example, if after the log is thrown out, one knot appears when 30 seconds has elapsed, the ship has travelled 50 feet in 30 sec = 6000 ft in 1 hour and as there are ~6076 ft in a nautical mile, the ship is travelling at a speed of approximately 1 knot.
29-10-1860: ‘We are now sailing S.W. with all possible sail set, at the rate of 12 knots an hour.’
9-11-1860: ‘Heaved the log at 12½ pm and found the speed to be only 3 knots.’
30-11-1860: ‘In the evening rain fell like a Scotch mist killing the trades almost completely and at 12 o'clock p.m. we were only making 1 knot an hour, going S.W. by S.’
13-12-1860: ‘The storm increased in violence last night till about 4 this morning when we were running 13 knots, but steering E. ½ N.’
