Time Zones Aboard Starr

08 Jun Time Zones Aboard Starr

Written by Clay Hutchinson

As we steamed our way across the Bering Sea towards Dutch Harbor, Unalaska Island
we had a hard time determining the local time. During this time of year in the higher
latitudes, as the calendar approaches the June 21 Summer Solstice, daylight can last
almost the entire day. That messes with one’s internal clock making it challenging to
adjust to the watch schedule and mealtimes. Each of us had our iPhones set to “Set
Automatically” as we moved into a new time zone. But the iPhones didn’t necessarily
agree with each other. This became a somewhat confusing but fun discussion topic and
wasn’t resolved until we were docked at Dutch Harbor. We were secure alongside at
what we thought was 2400 on May 29. It was still twilight. Fortunately, the Night Harbor
Master confirmed the time. He said he was accustomed to answering that question.
Take a look at this time zone map and note the vast area covered by the Alaska time
zone. Dutch Harbor is on “America/Anchorage time” and is located at 53-53 North, 166-
33 West. By contrast, Honolulu is located at 21-20 North, 157-55 West, well East of
Dutch Harbor but Dutch Harbor is 1 hour ahead of Honolulu. That should explain our
confusion. The purpose of the weird time zone is to have most of Alaska on the same
time.

Here is the logical solution— The whole planet and its inhabitants should be on the
same time, whether that be Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or some other meridian
designated as the prime meridian. GMT makes sense because all of the current maps
and charts already show Greenwich at 0 degrees Longitude. Humans are the only
species that worry about this stuff anyway and we should easily become accustomed to
the different time of day for meals, start/finish work, texting, sending emails, writing
blogs——. Taking this a step further, we need to change our time keeping to a 24-hour
clock. Much simpler than the 12 hour clock—no confusion.

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