First, how does Amelia know the precise latitude of the northern tip of the fringing reef? It's not on any chart that existed at that time. Did Noonan go out there and take an observation with his octant?
Perhaps.
Even at low tide, nobody in their right mind would go there.
To someone with prior knowledge of the island, that may be obvious. But picture the scene. You land on an uncharted island. You don’t know anything about it, other than what you’ve seen from the air. You scout around for areas where you suppose rescue might come and you bring along the octant. You head north from the ship, but you’re injured and feeling unwell. You stop at some point and take a sighting while still physically able to do that, thinking it, along with the ship name, will be sufficient to guide rescuers to your location.
Second, why would that be an important coordinate to report versus the location of the airplane (4° 39' 25.85")?
The difference between the supposed location of the airplane and 4º 39’ 10.65” is 15.2 seconds, just 1,535 feet by my calculation, little more than a lap of the track. I’ve walked Niku south of Tatiman almost to the LORAN station and estimate I could cover 1535 feet on Nikumaroro in about 4 minutes, tops. How accurate does Noonan need to be? (I’ll admit I’ve never been to the Norwich City.)
Third, let's say Betty heard "South 391065 degrees." The latitude for the northern tip can be said as "south four degrees three nine minutes ten point six five seconds." If you selectively fade out the right words you can get "south four degrees three nine minutes ten point six five seconds" but I can't think of a way to say it starting with the word south and ending with the word degrees.
That’s because you’re calmly stating your case. But let’s presume you’re panicked on the island and you have something like the ship’s log from my last trip to Nikumaroro in front of you (attached). Which numbers do you read off? How do you say them, knowing every number and every word could mean the difference between life and death? Would you make any mistakes? Think of the last time you called 9-1-1. Did the operator need to ask you any clarifying questions or did he or she simply say ‘I understand. We’ll send someone right over.’
I’m getting tied up in the weeds, as is often my wont, but to my mind this observation of Wealleans echoes an esteemed board member of TIGHAR, who once stated his 3 laws of coincidences:
1) I don’t believe in coincidences.
2) That’s quite a coincidence.
3) See #1.
I’ll also add two observations that a very nice woman once said to me over the phone.
1) They knew where they were.
2) They knew the route went south.
That woman’s name happened to be Betty Klenck.
Joe Cerniglia
TIGHAR #3078ECR