From 215275e987e907eefd5e4b5fd448bdee88b76b0f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Arthur David Olson Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2005 09:43:49 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] Eggert mods SCCS-file: australasia SCCS-SID: 7.74 --- australasia | 20 +++++++++++++++----- 1 file changed, 15 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-) diff --git a/australasia b/australasia index 87bcd34..62eec8d 100644 --- a/australasia +++ b/australasia @@ -1375,16 +1375,26 @@ Zone Pacific/Wallis 12:15:20 - LMT 1901 # mapmakers redrew the IDL following the boundary of Kiribati. Even that line # has a rather arbitrary nature. The straight-line boundaries between Pacific # island nations that are shown on many maps are based on an international -# convention, but are not legally binding national borders. -# -# An Anglo-French Conference on Time-Keeping at Sea (June, 1917) agreed that -# legal time on the high seas would be zone time, i.e., the standard time at -# the nearest meridian that is a multiple of fifteen degrees. The date is +# convention, but are not legally binding national borders.... The date is # governed by the IDL; therefore, even on the high seas, there may be some # places as late as fourteen hours later than UTC. And, since the IDL is not # an international standard, there are some places on the high seas where the # correct date is ambiguous. +# From Wikipedia (2005-08-31): +# Before 1920, all ships kept local apparent time on the high seas by setting +# their clocks at night or at the morning sight so that, given the ship's +# speed and direction, it would be 12 o'clock when the Sun crossed the ship's +# meridian (12 o'clock = local apparent noon). During 1917, at the +# Anglo-French Conference on Time-keeping at Sea, it was recommended that all +# ships, both military and civilian, should adopt hourly standard time zones +# on the high seas. Whenever a ship was within the territorial waters of any +# nation it would use that nation's standard time. The captain was permitted +# to change his ship's clocks at a time of his choice following his ship's +# entry into another zone time--he often chose midnight. These zones were +# adopted by all major fleets between 1920 and 1925 but not by many +# independent merchant ships until World War II. + # From Paul Eggert, using references suggested by Oscar van Vlijmen # (2005-03-20): #