On Tue, 10 Aug 2004 12:35:57 GMT, "Daniel L. Lieberman"
wrote:

The log is the ships log - not a log in the water.

Actually not. The log referred to was the object (originally rather
like a log) thrown over the stern. It was attached to a string which
had knots in it, and however many knots passed through the navigator's
fingers in a given period of time measured the ship's speed.

Thus log -- and thus knots.

It enabled dead reckoning because it enabled the navigator to know the
ship's speed more or less accurately.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

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