> […] for that to matter very much. Life and death at times: > The Scilly naval disaster of 1707 was the loss of four warships of a Royal Navy fleet off the I

> […] for that to matter very much. Life and death at times: > The Scilly naval disaster of 1707 was the loss of four warships of a Royal Navy fleet off the Isles of Scilly in severe weather on 22 October 1707.[a] Between 1,400 and 2,000 sailors lost their lives aboard the wrecked vessels, making the incident one of the worst maritime disasters in British naval history.[2] The disaster has been attributed to a combination of factors, including the navigators' inability to accurately calculate their positions, errors in the available charts and pilot books, and inadequate compasses.[3] * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scilly_naval_disaster_of_1707 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scilly_naval_disaster_of_1707 When you're trying to find a tiny speck of an island (Pitcairn, Saint Helena, etc) in the middle of an ocean it's also important.