Current verbiage:
...there will exist a curvature or declination of 8 inches in the first statute mile. In the second mile the fall will be 32 inches; in the third mile, 72 inches, or 6 feet, as shown in this chart. Ergo; looking at the opposite beach over 23 miles away there should be a bulge of water over 350 feet tall blocking my view. There isn't.
Proposed verbiage:
...there will exist a curvature or declination of 8 inches over the first statute mile. Over two miles the fall will be 32 inches; by the end of the third mile, 72 inches, or 6 feet, as shown in this chart. Ergo; looking at the opposite beach over 23 miles away there should be a bulge of water obscuring objects up to 350 feet above the far beach. There isn't.
Two problems corrected here:
- The fall isn't 32 inches over the second mile and 72 inches over the third mile - it's a total fall of 32 inches after 2 miles, and a total fall of 72 inches after 3 miles.
- The bulge of water isn't 350 feet high, but the height of objects it obscures is 350 feet.
I haven't confirmed the 350 foot figure, but the wording makes more sense to me.