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Upon a knowledge of these simple and few rules depends the safety of a ship; and these constitute all that is necessary to locate the position of a ship with regard to the bearing and movement of the centre, as the direction of the wind gives you at once the hearing of the centre, and several consecutive bearings of the centre will give you, approximately, its movement; while the first change of wind will tell you whether you are in the right or left hand semicircle. Thus located in the storm circle the rest depends on the judgment of the commander.
To demonstrate these rules would require a number of diagrams and more time than, perhaps, the greater portion of this audience would be willing to give to a subject of that kind, which would necessarily be dry, and of little interest to any; but such few as may happen to be connected with the sea, or are otherwise desirous of investigating the matter more fully, I would refer to the works of Reddington, Reid, Redfield, Dove and others for a full and complete discussion of the matter. Yet to the practical seaman, who wants a great deal of substantial information in a concentrated form, I should recommend some of the smaller works written on the subject, all of which are more or less adapted to the wants of the practical sailor, A small work of that kind, entitled “Weather Guides,” is one of a number of other useful books written by Rear-Admiral T. A. Jenkins, U. S. N., while he was doing duty as Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, in Washington, D. C., and is an excellent book for reference and consultation when you wish to get an idea quickly and do not have time to hunt it up in the larger works.
