ANCIENT NAVIGATORS: FERDINAND MAGELLAN ( 1480-1521)

A Portuguese nobleman, Ferdinand Magellan belonged to the romantic era of sea exploration characterized by Columbus and Vasco a Gama.

History books tell of his navigational prowess, ambition and courage in battle, describing his circumnavigation of the world as “the greatest”

single human achievement on the seas.

 In 1519 Magellan, under Spanish patronage, led an expedition of five ships to seek a westward passage to the Moluccas Islands. He discovered the Strait of Magellan (at the southern tip of South America) and gave the name "Pacific" to the Pacific Ocean based on its supposed calmness.

It was also a brutal three-year voyage that cost Magellan four ships 237 crew, and his own life. On route he killed several of his captains for mutiny and burned the villages of natives refusing to be Christianized.

His own down fall came in the Philippines while attacking a village that had failed to provide him with provisions.

Panama Canal

Gates of the Gatun locks open for a cruise ship making its way down to the Caribbean end of the canal. The gates at both ends of the upper chamber are doubled for safety.

The history of the Panama Canal goes back almost to the earliest explorers of the Americas. The narrow land bridge between North and South America offers a unique opportunity to create a water passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The earliest European colonists of Central America recognized this potential, and schemes for such a canal were floated several times in the subsequent years.

By the late 19th century, technological advances and commercial pressure advanced to the point where construction started in earnest. An initial attempt by France to build a sea-level canal failed, but only after a great amount of excavation was carried out. This was of use to the United States, which completed the present Panama Canal in 1913 and officially opened it in 1914. Along the way, the state of Panama was created through its separation from Colombia in 1903.

Today, the canal continues to be not only a viable commercial venture, but also a vital link in world shipping.

The canal has three sets of locks. A two-step flight at Miraflores, and a single flight at Pedro Miguel, lift ships from the Pacific up to Gatun Lake; then a triple flight at Gatun lowers them to the Atlantic side. All three sets of locks are paired; that is, there are two parallel flights of locks at each of the three lock sites. This, in principle, allows ships to pass in opposite directions simultaneously; however, large ships cannot cross safely at speed in the Culebra Cut, so in practice ships pass in one direction for a time, then in the other, using both "lanes" of the locks in one direction at a time.


24 hour time-lapse of the upper chamber of the Miraflores Locks

Titanic 100: We survived

Just over 700 people escaped from the Titanic after it struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic on the night of 14 April 1912. More than 1,500 others were not so fortunate.

The survivors scrambled into lifeboats or plunged into the icy water. In the years after the disaster, some of them spoke publicly about the Titanic's ill-fated maiden voyage.

Here, with the help of archive images and audio, listen to what happened through the voices of crew members Charles Lightoller and Frank Prentice and passengers Eva Hart and Edith Russell.

Images courtesy Getty Images, PA, Library of Congress, Southampton City Council and BBC South. Music by Sidney Torch and the New Century Orchestra - and courtesy KPM Music. Slideshow production by Paul Kerley. Publication date 10 April 2012.

Reposted From BBC News

Sinking A Boat

Scientist try to solve one of the biggest mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle: How and why boats have disappeared.

Withstanding A Rogue Wave

Do you think a boat can withstand the power of a rogue wave in the middle of the ocean?

Check out this experiment.

Day in the Life of Mission to Seafarers

Volunteers at the Geraldton Mission to Seafarers give their time to provide refuge and a friendly face to those who live and work at sea.

Day in the life of Mission to Seafarers from ABC Open Mid West WA on Vimeo.

BEYOND THE SUNSET by Red Foley

In remembrance of my Dad. 
To us he was everything! But God called him in April , 1989 and he was just 68 +

He liked the Tony Brent version of this beautiful song.

Beyond the sunset oh blisful morning
When with our Saviour heaven is begun
Earth stroll is ending oh glorious dawning
Beyond the sunset when day is done

Should you go first and I remain to walk the road alone
I'll live in memory's garden dear with happy days we've known
In spring I'll watch for roses red when fades of lilac's blue
In early fall when the brown leaves call I'll catch a glimpse of you

Should you go first and I remain to finish with the scroll
No lenghtening shadows shall creep in to make this life seem droll
We've known so much of happiness yes we've had our cup of joy
And memory is one gift of God that death cannot destroy

Should you go first and I remain one thing I'd have you do
Walk slowly down that long path for soon I'll follow you
I want to know each step you take that I may walk the same
For someday down that lonely road you'll hear me call
Yes you'll hear me call your name

Beyond the sunset oh glad reunion
With our dear loved ones who've gone before
In that fair homeland we'll know no parting
Beyond the sunset for evermore
(For evermore)

New Zealand Charges Owner of Grounded Ship Rena

Greek owner of NZ oil spill ship to pay up to USD 31mln The Greek owners of the ship at the centre of New Zealand's worst maritime environmental disaster agreed to pay up to USD 31 million towards the cost of the clean-up.

Although damage from the toxic oil spill and recovery of shipping containers has so far cost New Zealand nearly NZD 50 million, Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee said the offer from Daina Shipping was "the best possible outcome".

The ship Rena, carrying 1,368 containers, ploughed into an offshore reef 12 months ago spewing more than 300 tonnes of toxic fuel oil that killed thousands of sea birds and fouled beaches in the North Island's pristine Bay of Plenty.

Daina Shipping is to pay NZD 27.6 million to settle the claims of the government and several public bodies, and will pay a further NZD 10.4 million if it decides to leave part of the wreck on the reef.

"These agreements allow both New Zealand as a whole, and the Bay of Plenty region, to move on from what was, from an environmental standpoint, the worst maritime disaster in our history," Brownlee said.

Konstantinos Zacharatos, a director of Daina Shipping which is part of Costamare Inc., said the company wanted to "address all aspects of this serious incident. (AFP)

Marco Polo - An Amazing Tale

 

Marco Polo was an adventurer and merchant from Italy who eventually left Italy and served under the Chinese ruler Kubla Khan for 20 years. When he returned to his homeland, Marco Polo brought the first taste of Asian culture to Europe.    See Full Video Here

ANCIENT NAVIGATORS: FERDINAND MAGELLAN ( 1480-1521)

A Portuguese nobleman, Ferdinand Magellan belonged to the romantic era of sea exploration characterized by Columbus and Vasco a Gama.

History books tell of his navigational prowess, ambition and courage in battle, describing his circumnavigation of the world as “the greatest”

single human achievement on the seas.

 In 1519 Magellan, under Spanish patronage, led an expedition of five ships to seek a westward passage to the Moluccas Islands. He discovered the Strait of Magellan (at the southern tip of South America) and gave the name "Pacific" to the Pacific Ocean based on its supposed calmness.

It was also a brutal three-year voyage that cost Magellan four ships 237 crew, and his own life. On route he killed several of his captains for mutiny and burned the villages of natives refusing to be Christianized.

His own down fall came in the Philippines while attacking a village that had failed to provide him with provisions.