This is a method of finding your direction using an analog watch. In other words a watch with hands. Hold your watch in a horizontal position and point the hour of the day towards the sun.
In this diagram the time is 15 minutes to 4 so point the hour hand (the 4:00 o’clock marker) towards the sun. The point midway between 4:00 o’clock and 12:00 o’clock is pointing South.
Why take the mid-point between the hour and 12:00 o’clock? You have to cut the time in 2 because it takes the hour hand on a watch 2 rotations to equal the time it takes the sun to circle the earth once.
The reading must be in Standard Time not Daylight Savings Time (Summer Time). If you are on Summer Time take the mid-point between the hour pointing towards the sun and 1:00 o’clock to compensate for the 1 hour difference.
This method only works in the Northern Hemisphere. If you are South of the Equator point the 12:00 o’clock marker towards the sun. (The 1:00 o’clock marker if it is Summer Time). The mid-point between 12:00 o’clock (or 1:00 o’clock if Summer Time) and the hour hand is North.
If the time is before 6:00 a.m. or after 6:00 p.m. South is midway between the hour hand and the 12:00 o’clock position that indicates noon.
This method is of no use if you are standing on the equator and of little use in the tropics when the sun is almost overhead. The farther you are away from the Equator the more accurate the reading.
If you are not sure if the mid-point is pointing North or South remember that the sun is in the East before noon and in the West after noon.
If you are using a digital watch, without hands, just take a piece of paper and draw a crude, round watch face. Mark the current hour on the paper drawing, taking the time from your digital watch. Now just point the hour that you have drawn on the paper towards the sun and take your mid-point between the hour and 12:00 o’clock.
On a cloudy day when you are not sure where the sun is just hold a pen (or stick) upright over a piece of paper. Even on a cloudy day some type of shadow will be cast. The direction opposite the shadow is the direction of the sun.
