What Does a Cross-Staff Have to do with a Pirate's Eye Patch?

Any pirate worth his salt would never be caught dead without his eye patch. It is a major part of a pirate?s wardrobe, stereotypical and a unique identifier to be sure.

But why is this? Why would anyone choose to do without half his sight? Not mention the negative effect on depth perception that may be caused by covering up a perfectly good eye?

One theory says that pirates would cover one eye to allow for better viewing in dark areas below deck. A switch of the patch was more convenient than being temporarily blinded and suffering from night blindness when going from outside on the brightly lit deck to the darkness of down below.

Another possibility involves the development of navigational tools used by sailors to cross the open seas. It is believed by some that Columbus used dead reckoning navigation and that his main navigational aid was only a compass.

It was not until the sixteenth century that the cross staff first came into use to help determine the ship's latitude by making solar observations. To use a cross-staff a navigator would place one end of the cross-staff against his eye, and slide the horizontal stick along the staff until one end lined up with the horizon and the other end with the sun.

A big problem with the cross-staff was that it required squinting into the sun for long periods of time. So now you know why pirates had to wear an eye patch. They went nearly blind looking into the sun!

This and other interesting facts are part of my workshop about old-time worldwide navigation and the modern day Global Position System (GPS). Together we?ll retrace the footsteps and sea passages of prior explorers. We?ll take a look at the history of navigation and explore the Global Positioning System (GPS). Then we?ll use GPS receivers to locate our exact position on the Earth. Finally, we?ll go geocaching, which is a high-tech treasure hunt in the woods using GPS.

For more information, contact me or see the links below.