How Old is the Moon?

Yesterday, August 2, 2021, I visited Dimitris, the fisherman and hotel owner in the port of Molivos/Lesvos. He asks me: «How old is the Moon today?»

On a fishing trip in 2015, he taught me how to calculate the age of the Moon without a computer. I had not maintained this knowledge. I got a new lesson.

Dimitris gave me paper and pencil, and I wrote: 16 + 6 + 2 = 24 .

Conclusion: The moon is 24 days old.

16 is the standard number for 2021. Number 6: August is the 6th month of the lunar year starting March. Number 2: is the second day in August.

“Next year (2022) the standard number is 16+11 = 27. It is easy, Tarald!”

Fisherman og hotel owner Dimitris with his daughter
The full moon seen from Faliraki on Rhodes July 2021

«Fisken biter ikke når Månen er ny (i starten av en ny måne)
og 14,5 dager gammel (fullmåne).»

Ifølge Dimitris er det best å fiske ved halvmåne (1. og 3. kvarter).