Smithsonian
  • Navigating
    at Sea
    • Challenges of Sea Navigation
    • Navigating Without a Clock
    • The Longitude Problem
    • The U.S. Goes to Sea
    • Navigate at Sea! Activity
  • Navigating
    in the Air
    • Challenges of Air Navigation
    • Early Air Navigators
    • Navigation at War
    • Navigate the Skies! Activity
  • Navigating
    in Space
    • Challenges of Space Navigation
    • Reaching for the Moon
    • Navigating in Deep Space
    • Navigate in Space! Activity
  • Satellite Navigation
    • Challenges of Satellite Navigation
    • Reliable Global Navigation
    • Global Positioning System (GPS)
    • Who Uses Satellite Navigation
  • Navigation
    for Everyone
    • Meet a Professional Navigator
    • Personal Navigation Stories
  • Timeline of Innovation
  • Artifacts
  • Learning Resources
  • Multimedia Gallery
  • Research
  • Visit the Exhibition

Search form

Time and Navigation Home
Facebook Twitter YouTube Pinterest
Time and Navigation
The untold story of getting from here to there.
Home

Search form

  • Navigating at Sea
  • Navigating in the Air
  • Navigating in Space
  • Satellite Navigation
  • Navigation for Everyone
  • Timeline of Innovation
  • Artifacts
  • Learning Resources
  • Multimedia Gallery
  • Research Journal
  • Visit the Exhibition
  • Challenges of Sea Navigation
    • Navigation Gone Wrong: A British Fleet is Lost at Sea
    • Navigate at Sea! Activity
  • Navigating Without a Clock
    • Early Voyages
    • Dead Reckoning
    • Celestial Navigation
  • The Longitude Problem
    • Cash for Creativity
    • Early Sea Clock Experiments
    • Innovations in England
    • Innovations in France
    • The Chronometer
    • Observing the Skies
    • Navigation Gone Wrong: Wreck of the Arniston
  • The U.S. Goes to Sea
    • Early Contributions
      • Meet the Clockmaker: William Cranch Bond
      • Meet the Navigator: Eleanor Creesy
    • Wilkes Expedition
      • Meet the Mapmaker: Charles Wilkes
      • Maps and Charts
      • The "Scientifics"
  • Navigate at Sea! Activity

Explore More

Line of Position Navigation »
Sword Made from Shark Teeth »
Galileo’s Pendulum Clock Design Replica »
Page from a Ship's Log »
Dividing Engine »
Navigation Gone Wrong

A British Fleet Runs Aground

While returning from Gibraltar in 1707, a squadron of British Royal Navy ships went badly astray off the coast of England, with disastrous results.

What Happened

The weather had been overcast and stormy for days. On October 22, Admiral Cloudesley Shovell consulted with all his navigators to determine the fleet’s position. Most believed they were sailing on the latitude of Ushant near France. Shovell set a course for home, based on their advice.

The Consequences

They were wrong. Later that night, Shovell’s flagship, the Association, slammed into the rocks off the Scilly Isles and sank within minutes. Three other ships and over 1,000 men, including the admiral, were lost to the sea.

Lessons Learned

The tragedy, the worst maritime disaster in British history to that time, provoked demands for safer navigation. Parliament passed the Longitude Act of 1714, which created a panel of experts to oversee rewards for solving the problem of finding longitude at sea.

2011-006246-att-1.jpg

Longitude Act of 1714
This act authorized prizes—up to £20,000—for solving the longitude problem.
Credit: Library of Congress

230-shipwreck-a16333_f-ol_small-test_rgb.jpg

"Ships in Distress off a Rocky Coast," 1667
This painting by Ludolf Backhuysen depicts three Dutch cargo ships.
Credit: Ludolf Backhuysen, Ships in Distress off a Rocky Coast, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, Image courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Washington
previous pauseresume next
  • Navigating at Sea
    • Challenges of Sea Navigation
      • Navigation Gone Wrong: A British Fleet is Lost at Sea
      • Navigate at Sea! Activity
    • Navigating Without a Clock
    • The Longitude Problem
    • The U.S. Goes to Sea
    • Navigate at Sea! Activity
  • Navigating in the Air
    • Challenges of Air Navigation
    • Early Air Navigators
    • Navigation at War
    • Navigate the Skies! Activity
  • Navigating in Space
    • Challenges of Space Navigation
    • Reaching for the Moon
    • Navigating in Deep Space
    • Navigate in Space! Activity
  • Satellite Navigation
    • Challenges of Satellite Navigation
    • Reliable Global Navigation
    • Global Positioning System (GPS)
    • Who Uses Satellite Navigation
  • Navigation for Everyone
    • Meet a Professional Navigator
    • Personal Navigation Stories
  • Timeline of Innovation
  • Artifacts
  • Learning Resources
  • Multimedia Gallery
  • Research
  • Visit the Exhibition
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Sponsors
  • Press
  • Donate
Smithsonian Logo National Air and Space Museum Home National Air and Space Museum Home National Museum of American History Home
Smithsonian
Home Facebook Twitter Google Plus Pinterest YouTube

This exhibition is a collaboration between the National Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of American History.

Sponsors | Contact | Terms of Use | Privacy