93. The Holyhead Pier light and the Poolbeg lighthouse at a heights of 44 and 68 feet should not be visible from a ship 30 miles away on a spherical Earth

"The St. George’s Channel between Holyhead and Kingstown Harbor near Dublin is 60 miles across. When half-way across a ferry passenger will notice behind them the light on Holyhead pier as well as in front of them the Poolbeg light in Dublin Bay. The Holyhead Pier light is 44 feet high, while the Poolbeg lighthouse 68 feet, therefore a vessel in the middle of the channel, 30 miles from either side standing on a deck 24 feet above the water, can clearly see both lights. On a ball Earth 25,000 miles in circumference, however, both lights should be hidden well below both horizons by over 300 feet!" 

Another dubious historical quote that I can prove is a lie

Dubay has copied this account from Samuel Rowbotham's Zetetic Astronomy and Rowbotham gives no source other than to say "It is well known".

However rather than going on hearsay, how about going to an official document issued by the British Admiralty to aid the captains navigating the seas around the world?

This extract was taken from "Sailing directions for the coast of Ireland. Part I." published in 1877 and compiled by Staff Commander Richard Hoskin of the Royal Navy from various Admiralty surveys.

https://archive.org/details/sailingdirectio01deptgoog 

"Poolbeg Light. - A white tower on the east end of the south wall at the entrance of the river Liffey, exhibits one fixed white light at an elevation of 68 feet above high water, visible 12 miles." 

Surprise surprise, using the correct calculations for a spherical Earth, an observer on a ship 12 miles distant would have to be at an elevation of 2 feet above the horizon.  It appears that the Admiralty were being a little conservative, but the observation is obviously entirely compatible with a spherical Earth.

As to the accuracy of this publication, the following is a quote from the Wikipedia entry on "Sailing Directions" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailing_Directions

"Many nations publish Sailing Directions for their home waters, where they are the International Hydrographic Organization's (IHO) primary charting authority. However, the most widely used Sailing Directions product is the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office's, 'Admiralty Sailing directions'"

Whist this quote refers to modern sailing directions I believe we can assume that they were also the most trusted source of coastal information at a time when Great Britain's sea power was unrivalled in the world.

In this case, it is Rowbotham that is shown to be the unreliable witness.  He may have been deliberately lying, or maybe he was just willing to give credit to any tall story as long as it supported his belief in a flat Earth.  My belief is that there are too many similar examples for this to have been an innocent mistake.  Dubay as usual just repeats any old nonsense without question.

There is also good reason to believe that all these observations of distant lighthouse sightings are bogus.
For details click the link below.

Why Dubay's lighthouse quotes are bogus



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