Scientifically speaking this is bullshit.

Especially for ocean. What did you thjink captains wrote into the log books every day? Mostly how the weather was. And that included temperature. The English Empire did a lot of bad things, but their ship's captains did their duty around the world.

It may surprise you, but the Navy(ies) with all their sailships were quite interested in the weather, especially in predictions, for which you need accurate measurements.