After a long way which started the 21st of May 1966, date of its creation, the Real Club Náutico Torrevieja (RCNT) has inaugurated its Sundial precisely the 21st of June coinciding with the summer solstice. The Sundial is a an object named ‘Ecuatorial Armilar’ because it has a stripe that shows the time parallel to the Earth’s equator and also it is similar to a simple armilar sphere. It has been installed by calculating the exact location of the RCNT, which coincides with that one of the church, because both buildings are in the same meridian, and it shows the local solar time of the city.
This design has been chosen due to its easy reading of the time, adding a graph with the Time Equation recorded on one side of the Sundial, where is shown the minutes that we have to add or deduct from the time shown, for us to obtain the oficial time. We also have to add one or two hours depending on the season, Autumn-Winter or Spring-Summer.
The Sundial of the RCNT has been made from stainless steel with the highest quality to prevent corrosion, due to its proximity to the sea, and with mate completion to subdue the reflection of the sun. It is 160 cm high and it weighs approximately 130 kg.
As a curiosity, during clear nights, following the stripe which shows the time, named “gnomon”, the Polaris can be found and seen.
He has made almost 80 sundials of every kind and size possible: portable, puzzle, very high located in public areas, educational for schools, for gardens….
In the inauguration ceremony fo the RCNT Sundial, and coinciding with the solar noon, the rays of sunlight discharged a little cannon which was a part of other sundial of his collection.