Georgetown, Ascension

Ascension was first discovered in 1501 by Juan da Nova Castella, but the discovery apparently went unrecorded, and the island was re-discovered on Ascension Day 1503 by Alfonso d'Albuquerque. Subsequently, Ascension was little visited; it was too dry and barren to be of any use to the East Indies fleets. Ascension became strategically significant with the exile of Napoleon to Saint Helena; the British were concerned that it could be used in any attempt to rescue Napoleon. Thus a small British naval garrison was established on the island in October 1815. By Napoleon’s death in 1821 Ascension had become a victualling station and sanitarium for ships engaged in suppression of the slave trade from the West African coast. In 1823 the garrison was taken over by the Royal Marines and the island remained a naval possession (HMS Ascension, ‘a Sloop of War of the smaller class’) until 1922 when Ascension became a dependency of Saint Helena. In 1942 US Army Engineers built the airfield, but after World War II the island reverted back to the sole use of cable and wireless. In 1957 the US presence was re-established on Ascension with the extension of the Eastern Test Range followed by the construction of a NASA tracking station in 1965/1966 (which has since closed down). In 1966 the BBC constructed a short wave relay station to serve South America and Africa. Ascension came to brief international notice during the Falklands war when it served as a staging post for the British forces en route to and from the Falklands. Ascension Island does not have its own flag or coat of arms. The Union Flag and Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom are used instead. The main export item is Ascension Island postage stamps, first issued in 1922. Tourism was non-existent until recently because of the inaccessibility of the island however guest cottages and a nice hotel have recently opened. Sport fishing is a main attraction for many visitors and the island also “boasts” what was once officially the worst golf course in the world. The course has 18 holes and the greens are in fact brown due to the sand and oil mix used to make them. The rest of the course is made up of volcanic ash and rock, which can make for some interesting rounds.

Georgetown is the main city on the Island of Ascension. Ascension Island is an isolated island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean, around 994 miles (1,600 km) from the coast of Africa, and 1,398 miles (2,250 km) from the coast of South America. As Ascension Island and St. Helena are desolate islands, the RMS Saint Helena visits Ascension Island approximately once a month linking the island to Walvis Bay (Namibia), St Helena and Cape Town. The US military service their base and facilities with a regular supply ship and air transport.

Celebration of Koninginnedag

In Netherlands (Holland), Koninginnedag is celebrated on April 30 (or on April 29 if April 30 is a Sunday). Even though Queen Beatrix’s birthday is on January 31, April 30 was the birthday of her mother, Queen Juliana. Out of respect for her mother, Queen Beatrix wanted to continue celebrating on that date. The forerunner of this holiday was first celebrated on August 31, 1885, Princess Wilhelmina’s birthday as an initiative of the Liberal Party, which wanted to emphasize national unity. The first real Koninginnedag was held on August 31, 1891, after the death of King Willem III. On August 31 1902, Koninginnedag turned into a full-scale celebration of Queen Wilhelmina’s recovery from a serious illness. During Queen Juliana’s reign, the Dutch people presented her with a floral tribute at Soestdijk Palace. The flower parade has been televised since the 1950s. It gradually became the custom to have a day off on April 30, and it is now an official public holiday celebrating national unity. Each year, the Queen and members of her family visit one or two places, and join in the Queen’s Day celebrations.

Electronic Gyro Compass

Due to the earth’s magnetic field, there is a difference between the actual north and the north which is indicated on the ship’s magnetic compass. The difference can be as big as 13 degrees east. The earth’s magnetic field is also constantly in motion, so small changes occur over the years. The main compass used for navigation on board the Rotterdam is an electronic gyro compass, not affected by the earth’s magnetic field. The working principle of this compass is a fast turning gyroscope that imitates the rotation of the earth. When a gyroscope turns around its axis, it will remain steady and return back to its original position when pushed over. Based on this principle it is possible to define the true north.

Jamestown, St. Helena

Saint Helena is a British Overseas Territory and one of the last relics of the colonies in the South Atlantic Ocean, 1200 miles (1900 km) west of Africa. Saint Helena is of volcanic origin, and its surface is rugged and mountainous, reaching an altitude of 2700 feet, 820 meters, in the High Hills in the southwest. The climate is moderate and healthful, and the mean annual temperature is somewhat over 70°F, 21°C. Potatoes and flax are the chief products. The entire island is 47 square miles, 122 square kilometers, with a population of roughly 6000 people; the main centers of population are Jamestown, the capital and chief port with a population of approximately 1500 people, Half Tree Hollow, and Longwood. The island has a Governor and the upper echelons of the administration mostly are expatriate British. An elected Executive Council (EXCO) and Legislative Council (LEGCO) represent the islanders although these bodies have little real influence on the running of the island. Saint Helena was discovered in 1502 by a Portuguese navigator, João de Nova; it was then uninhabited. In 1659 the English East India Company founded the first permanent settlement. The island was the place of exile for Napoleon (1815-1821), who died there in 1821, in the farmhouse of Longwood, near Jamestown. Saint Helena is one of the most isolated places in the world, located more than 1200 miles (2000 km) from the nearest major landmass. There is currently no airport on Saint Helena and travel to the island is by ship only. Saint Helena has some stunning scenery. The coastline of the island comprises of high vertical cliffs cut by steep-sided v-shaped valleys. The coastal areas are rugged and barren whereas the higher elevations in the center of the island have lush vegetation. A good network of (albeit narrow, winding, and steep) roads make much of the island reasonably accessible. However, the best views of Saint Helena are seen on foot; there are some magnificent walks and hikes to be had on the island.

The ship will anchor between Rupert’s Bay and James Bay. The most singular phenomenon connected with this part of the ocean is the setting in of very heavy continuous swells or rollers from north northwest that are most prevalent during the months of January and February when the waves break on the northwest coast with astonishing grandeur.

The Island Of St. Helena

Some 1200 miles off the coast of Africa, is rarely visited, yet its name appears in countless volumes in nearly all languages because of one man’s reluctant stay there. The story begins with the French Revolution of 1789, one of the cataclysmic political events in human history. It caused such upheaval and disorder that the ground was laid for a dictatorship. Rising to the occasion was the 30 year old Napoleon Bonaparte, already world-famous for his genius and military exploits. In 1799, he seized absolute power in France and in short order extended that power over most of Europe by conquest. In 1804, in the middle of his coronation, Napoleon removed the crown from the hands of Pope Pius VII, placed it upon his own head, and then proceeded to crown his wife, the Empress Josephine. He soon led France to heights of glory unsurpassed in her long history. Only Britain held on locked in a struggle with this most formidable adversary. In the midst of this, a ship bound for England stopped at St. Helena for provisions. Onboard, a British officer named Arthur Wellesley was impressed by the island’s almost eerie remoteness. Meanwhile, Napoleon’s failed Russian campaign, his downfall, his exile to Elba, his dramatic escape and triumphant return to Paris and the resumption of the war saw Napoleon defeated by that same British officer, now called the Duke of Wellington, at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Attempting to escape to the United States, Napoleon found himself blocked by British warships and surrendered. When the British government consulted Wellington as to a place to send Napoleon, he knew exactly to recommend. He reached St. Helena on October 19, 1815 where he remained until his death on May 5, 1821. He was buried on St. Helena until his remains were returned to Paris in 1840.

To Anchor the Ship

When anchoring a ship, the Captain takes the following into consideration: the depth of the water, if the water is too deep the anchor might drag. The type of bottom that will best hold the anchor. Not close to navigation hazards and as far away from other ships as possible. Do not anchor in harbor traffic lanes and choose the area with the weakest winds and currents. Find a place with a lot of navigational aids (landmarks, etc.) to monitor the ship’s position. The Ms Rotterdam has 2 anchors forward and 1 astern. The forward anchors each weigh 8 tons.

The Pink Panther

Contrary to popular belief the “Pink Panther” is not the Inspector Clouseau character made famous by actor Peter Sellers, but a large and valuable fictitious diamond. It bears that name because the flaw at its center, when viewed closely, is said to resemble a leaping pink panther.

Benguela Current

Being pushed in the stern by the Benguela Current after sailing out of Cape Town, we now sail on a northwesterly course, straight to Saint Helena in the Atlantic Ocean, which is, after the Pacific Ocean, the second largest ocean in the world. The Pacific Ocean is 64 million square miles and the Atlantic Ocean 31.8 million square miles. Due to the theory of continental drift, it is believed that the Atlantic Ocean is widening an inch every year while the Pacific Ocean is shrinking. The Atlantic Ocean takes its name either from the lost kingdom of Atlantis or, more probably from the Atlas Mountains in Northwest Africa, which the ancients believed overlooked the entire ocean.

Walvis Bay, Namibia

Walvis Bay has been a haven for sea vessels because of its natural deepwater harbor, protected by the Pelican Point sand spit, being the only natural harbor of any size along the country's coast. Being rich in plankton and marine life, these waters also drew large numbers of whales attracting whalers and fishing vessels. The Dutch referred to it as Walvisch Baye and the English as Whale Bay, and in its eventual proclamation it came to be called Walfish Bay, and eventually Walvis Bay.

The first European visitors were Portuguese mariners seeking a way to the Indies in the late 15th century. In the mid 1800s, Britain annexed Walvis Bay to thwart the Germans as everyone was scrambling for a piece of Africa and Britain needed a safe route around the Cape for British ships. Towards the end of the 19th century Namibia was annexed by Germany, except for the enclave of Walvis Bay, which was taken in 1878 by the British for the Cape Colony. In 1904, the Herero people (Bantu-speaking cattle herders) launched a rebellion which was brutally put down. Diamonds were then discovered east of Lüderitz and the German authorities branded the entire area between Lüderitz and the Orange River a forbidden area. German rule came to an end during WWI when German forces surrendered to a South African expeditionary army fighting for the Allies. South Africa was given a mandate to rule the territory by the League of Nations. Although the mandate was renewed following WWII the United Nations refused to sanction the outright annexation of the country by South Africa. Undeterred, the South African government tightened its grip on the territory and in 1949 granted parliamentary representation to the white population. Most of Namibia's farmland was parceled into 6000 farms owned by white settlers, while black workers and their families were confined by law to ‘reserves’. Walvis Bay’s location, resources and value in relation to the sea route around the Cape of Good Hope has made this area one of intense interest to many world powers. In 1910, Walvis Bay became part of the Union of South Africa. South-West Africa and South Africa wrested control of the area back and forth until 1990 when South-West Africa gained independence as Namibia. Walvis Bay was finally transferred to Namibia in 1994. Attractions in the area include Dune 7 sand dune (one of the largest sand dunes in the world), salt works, birdlife and a museum.

Lüderitz, Namibia

Namibia is on Africa’s southwest coast. The country is largely arid, but encompasses broad geographical variations and is usually divided into four regions: the Namib Desert and Coastal Plains along the coast; the eastward-sloping Central Plateau; the Kalahari sands along the Botswana and South African borders; and the dense bushveld of the northeastern Kavango and Caprivi regions. The northern border is flush with rivers that provide water to most of Namibia.

This harbor town in southern Namibia lies on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. Founded in 1883, the area was purchased from the local Nama chief by Heinrich Vogelsang on behalf of Adolf Lüderitz, a hanseat from Bremen in Germany. Before the discovery of diamonds here in 1909, Lüderitz was mostly a trading post, with some of the economy based on fishing and guano-harvesting. When the diamonds were discovered, the area enjoyed a huge burst of popularity and prosperity but today diamonds are found mostly elsewhere and offshore and the area has returned to a more subdued economic climate. The harbor, with its shallow rock bottom, made it unusable for modern ships and led to Walvis Bay becoming the center of the Namibian shipping industry. Recently, the addition of a new quay has allowed larger fishing vessels to dock at Lüderitz. The town is attempting to lure more tourism to the area with a re-developed waterfront attractive to shoppers. The town’s colonial architecture has long been a draw as well as the wildlife which includes seals, penguins, flamingos and ostriches. The coastline is recognized by global conservation groups as one of the most important coastal seabird breeding areas. Mercury Island, Ichaboe Island, Halifax Island and the Possession Islands support the entire Namibian breeding population of Cape gannets, 96% of the Namibian population of the endangered African penguin, and nearly one quarter of the global breeding population of crowned cormorants. Approximately 80% of the global population of the endangered Bank cormorant breeds on Mercury Island and in the Ichaboe Islands. Outside of Lüderitz lies the ghost town of Kolmanskop, a previously bustling diamond town now abandoned and fighting a constant struggle against being buried under the swirling sands of the Namib Desert.

The Orange River

On our way north to the city of Lüderitz we sail along the west coast of South Africa and Namibia on a northerly heading passing the mouth of South Africa’s largest river, the Orange.

The Flying Dutchman

After leaving the port of Cape Town and the Cape of Storms (Cape of Good Hope) keep a good watch for the mythical ghost ship “The Flying Dutchman”. According to legend, a cargo vessel in the 17th century, under command of Captain van der Decken, was lost at sea during a ferocious storm near the Cape of Good Hope. Ever since, there have been reports of sightings even by renowned persons such as the King of England, George V. These sightings are not limited to the Cape Town area only as the ship is in an eternal search for home. However we hope not to see the vessel as it is seen as a portent of doom in ocean lore.

The Role of Art in African Society

The multiple roles that art plays in African communities are as diverse as their forms of patronage.

Social Role: One of the most important functions of African art is distinctly social. In fulfilling this role, it frequently depicts women as mothers, usually nursing or cradling their young. Men, on the other hand, are often presented both as elders, the traditional community leaders, and as successful warriors.

Political Role: Political control is another major concern displayed through art in Africa. Among the Kota, Pende and others, persons acting as community judges and policemen wear masks. A different type of social control is achieved by certain African architectural motifs. The Dogon of Mali and the Senufo of the Côte d’Ivoire carve elaborate doors that ritually protect the community food supplies.

Economic Role: Art in Africa also fulfills an important economic role. Among the Senufo of Côte d’Ivoire, delicately carved figures are used to encourage farmers in their difficult work. Here, daleu staffs, with bird or female imagery, are secured in the ground at the end of cultivation rows. These staffs serve as goals and trophies for the field-planting competitions.

Historical Role: An important historical role is also fulfilled in African art through its memorialization of important persons and events. In the powerful kingdom of Benin in Nigeria, elaborate relief plaques cast in bronze similarly carried images of important persons and events of the past, including battle scenes and religious ceremonies.

Signal Hill ( Noon Gun )

Signal Hill is a landmark flat-topped hill located in Cape Town, it is known for the Noon Gun that is operated there by the South African Navy and South African Astronomical Observatory. In 1836, a time ball was set up at the Cape Town observatory; however it was not visible to ships in the harbor, so a second time ball was erected on Signal Hill in order to relay the precise moment of 1:00pm Cape Mean Time. In this way ships in the bay were able to check their marine chronometers. The daily practice of dropping of the ball continued until 1934, when it was made redundant by radio signals. The guns on Signal Hill were used to notify the public when a ship was in trouble and there was a possibility of casualties on the coast near Cape Town. Three guns would be fired from Chavonne Battery, followed by a single gun in answer from Imhoff Battery. Up until this day on noon precisely a cannon shot can be heard.

Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town is the third most populous city in South Africa and its legislative capital as well as capital of the Western Cape Province. The city lies at the foot of Table Mountain (3,570 feet, 1,090 meters), so named after its flat top, and on the shore of Table Bay. Cape Town is a commercial and industrial center; oil refining, food, chemical, and fertilizer processing, and the manufacture of automobiles, leather and plastic goods, and clothing are the chief industries. An important port, Cape Town’s exports consist mainly of gold, diamonds, and fruit. With one of the world’s largest dry docks, ship repairing is an important industry. Cape Town is famous for its gorgeous natural harbor, as well as its location near the Cape of Good Hope. Much of the former dock area is now a commercial and tourist waterfront area with museums, craft markets, and restaurants. Because of its location and natural beauty, Cape Town is the tourism capital of South Africa, receiving the largest number of tourists of any South African city. The area is also famous for its unique plant life: fynbos (an Afrikaans word meaning “fine bush”), a shrubby vegetation type similar to other winter rainfall shrublands, in which proteas are prominent and characteristic. Lastly, it is famous for the fine wines produced in the areas of Stellenbosch, Paarl and Robertson.

Cape Town’s docks are in the industrial area “Paardeneilanden (Dutch for Horse Islands)” and are situated on the southwest side of Table Bay. The 1100 meters high Table mountain rises from the port towards the south giving the harbor spectacular scenery. Next to the Table Mountain another conspicuous rock formation can bee seen, called Lion’s Head. In the 17th century the peak was known as Leeuwen Kop (Lion's Head) by the Dutch, and Signal Hill was known as Leeuwen Staart (Lion's Tail), as the shape resembles a crouching lion or a sphinx.

Early Cape Town History

The area known as Cape Town was settled by the San and Khoikhoi tribes, collectively known as the Khoisan, long before the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, or VOC) established a supply depot in Cape Town in 1652. By and large the indigenous people refused to deal with the Dutch, so the VOC imported slaves from Madagascar, India, Ceylon, Malaya, and Indonesia to deal with the colony's chronic labor shortage. There was also a shortage of women in the colony, so the Europeans exploited the female slaves for both labor and sex. In time the slaves also mixed with the Khoisan. The offspring of these unions formed the basis of sections of today's Cape population and also helps explain the unique character of the city’s Cape Malay population. During 150-odd years of Dutch rule, Kaapstad, as the Cape settlement became known, thrived and gained a wider reputation as the “Tavern of the Seas”, a riotous port used by every sailor traveling between Europe and the Orient. But, by the end of the 18th century, the VOC was nearly bankrupt, making Cape Town an easy target for British imperialist interests in the region. Following the British defeat of the Dutch in 1806 at Bloubergstrand, 15.5 miles (25 kilometers) north of Cape Town, the colony was ceded to the Crown on August 13, 1814. The slave trade was abolished in 1808, and all slaves were emancipated in 1833.

Cape Agulhas ( Cape of Needles )

Today we sail on a southwesterly course following the southeast coast of South Africa passing the cities of East London and Port Elizabeth. After passing Cape St. Francis we alter our course more to the west. On this westerly course we will pass Cape Agulhas (or Cape of Needles) which is the southernmost tip of the African Continent and divides the Indian and Atlantic oceans in geographical terms. From Durban and until tonight we sail in the Agulhas current which flows southwest with an average speed of 2 knots, helping us on our way to Cape Town.

Languages of South Africa

South Africa has 11 official languages: Afrikaans, English, Xhosa, Zulu, Swati, Ndebele, Southern Sotho, Northern Sotho, Tsonga, Tswana, and Venda. In this regard it is second only to India in number. As a result, there are many official names for the country. The country also recognizes eight non-official languages: Fanagalo, Lobedu, Northern Ndebele, Phuthi, South African Sign Language, Khoe, Nama and San. These non-official languages may be used in certain official uses in limited areas where it has been determined that these languages are prevalent. Nevertheless, their populations are not as such that they require nationwide recognition. Many of the unofficial languages of the San and Khoikhoi people contain regional dialects stretching northward into Namibia and Botswana and elsewhere. These people, who are a physically distinct population from other Africans, have their own cultural identity based on their hunter-gatherer societies. They have been marginalized to a great extent, and many of their languages are in danger of becoming extinct. Many white South Africans also speak other European languages, such as Portuguese, German, and Greek, while many Asians and Indians in South Africa speak languages such as Gujarati and Telugu. While each language is technically equal to every other, English has emerged recently as the chief-among-peers as it is the most widely spoken language across racial barriers, even though it is not the most widely spoken language by population. Afrikaans has been downgraded in order to accommodate other official languages.

Durban, South Africa

Durban has a long tradition as a port city. The Port of Durban is one of the few natural harbors between Port Elizabeth and Maputo, and is located at the beginning of a particular weather phenomenon which can cause extremely violent seas. This made Durban a busy port of call for ship repairs when the port first opened in the 1840s. Now the busiest port in South Africa, it is also the busiest container port in the Southern Hemisphere. The Port of Durban benefited from the industrial and mining trade from Johannesburg which is not located on any navigable body of water. The Port of Maputo was unavailable until the early 1990s due to civil war and the Port of Durban picked up and ran away with the trade business. There is now an intense rivalry between Durban and Maputo for shipping business. Salisbury Island, joined to the mainland and part of the Port of Durban, was a full naval base until it was downgraded in 2002 and now contains a naval station and other military facilities. The city of Durban itself is the largest city in KwaZulu-Natal and is famous as a major tourism center due to the city's warm climate and beautiful beaches. There is no written history of the area before Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama came to the KwaZulu-Natal coast while searching for a route from Europe to India. He landed on the coast on Christmas in 1497, and thus named the area "Natal", or Christmas in Portuguese. The proliferation of tourism in the area has attracted artists and craftsmen from all over South Africa. Painting, pottery, woodworking, wire sculptures are all popular items that can be found in the areas many handicraft markets. Durban is also famous for its Zulu rickshaw drivers who navigate the city. These colorful characters are famous for their giant hats and colorful costumes. Although they have been a mode of transportation since the early 1900s, they mostly cater to tourists.

What Is Seawater?

Seawater is a dilute solution of several salts resulting from weathering and erosion of rocks. The salinity of seawater is expressed in terms of total dissolved salts in parts per thousand parts of water. Salinity varies from nearly zero in continental waters to about 41 parts per 1,000 in the Red Sea, a region of high evaporation, and more than 150 parts per 1,000 in the Great Salt Lake. In the main ocean, salinity averages about 35 parts per 1,000. The major nutrients, although not abundant, are extremely important in the biological output of the sea. Trace metals are of specific importance for certain organisms, but carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and oxygen are almost universally important to marine life.

Traveling Around the World

Any traveler circling the globe in a westward direction lengthens the day by 1 hour for every 15° of longitude traveled because the traveler is following the apparent motion of the sun; by the time he or she has traveled completely around the world, the traveler is one full day ahead of the people who have remained at the starting place of the trip. Similarly, going eastward, a traveler arrives a day behind. Close to the 180th meridian, nearly in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a place chosen because of the virtual absence

of land and of civilization in the region, navigators going westward add a day to their calendars (for example, the day after February 11 would be February 13), and navigators going eastward drop a day from their calendars to correct for this gain or loss of time. The date line is curved eastward around Siberia, westward around the Aleutian Islands, and eastward around the Fiji Islands and New Zealand; the line is so curved to avoid crossing land.

The Global Positioning System (GPS)

The Global positioning system (GPS) is a navigation system using 24 Earth-orbiting artificial satellites. Satellite navigation, like celestial navigation, works on the principle that if the navigator knows the exact location of a celestial body and can measure a relationship between the craft and the body, the navigator can calculate the craft’s position. In celestial navigation, this relationship takes the form of a celestial body’s altitude above the horizon.

South Africa’s Zulu

The fabled Zulu, the largest South African ethnic group, (10-11 million), live mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and remain the most numerous ethnic group in South Africa. The Zulu formed a powerful state in 1816 under their Zulu King, Shaka, who united what was once a confederation of tribes into an impressive empire. During the Anglo-Zulu War with the British in 1879, the Zulus defeated the British at the Battle of Isandlwana, but the British won the war when they defeated Zulus at the Battle of Ulundi on July 4. The British divided the Zulu Empire into 13 "kinglets", with subkingdoms fighting. Each other until Zululand was absorbed fully into the Cape Colony. Under apartheid, the homeland of KwaZulu (Kwa meaning place of) was created for Zulu people and in 1970, the Bantu Homeland Citizenship Act provided that all Zulus would become citizens of KwaZulu, thus losing their South African citizenship. Hundreds of thousands of Zulus living on privately owned land outside of KwaZulu were forcibly moved and by 1993, approximately 5.2 million Zulu people lived in KwaZulu. Their struggle for freedom and the end of apartheid is well-documented. Zulu is the most widely spoken language in South Africa, while English, Portuguese, Shangaan, Sesotho and others from among South Africa's 11 official languages are also spoken. The rural Zulu economy is based on cattle and agriculture and the main diet consists of cow, corn, yams, vegetables and fruits. Their traditional beer is a staple food and source of nutrition as well as ritually important to their culture. Zulu beadwork is a national source of pride and is a symbolic language that includes warnings, messages of love, and encouragement. Most Zulu claim to be Christian, yet retain ancestor worship along with their Christianity. Offerings and sacrifices are made to the ancestors for protection, good health, and happiness. These ancestral spirits are believed to visit in the form of dreams, illnesses, and sometimes snakes. Happy or angry spirits sometime mean the difference between life and death.

Richards Bay, South Africa

Richards Bay is South Africa’s largest harbor. It is situated on an 11.5 square mile (30 square kilometer) lagoon off the Mhlatuze River on the northern coast of KwaZulu-Natal. It began as a makeshift harbor set up by the Commodore of the Cape, Sir Frederick Richards during the Boer War of 1879. In 1935 the Richards Bay Game Sanctuary was created to protect the ecology around the lagoon and by 1943 it expanded into the Richards Bay Park. The town was laid out on the shores of the lagoon in 1954 and proclaimed a town in 1969. In 1976 Richards Bay harbor was converted into a deep-water harbor with railway and an oil/gas pipeline linking the port to Johannesburg. Later, an aluminum smelter and fertilizer plant was erected at the harbor. Titanium is mined from the sand dunes close to the lagoon. Until about 1870 the economy of South Africa was almost entirely based on agriculture. With the discovery of diamonds and gold in the late 19th century, mining became the foundation for rapid economic development. In the 20th century the country’s economy was diversified, so that by 1945 manufacturing was the leading contributor to the gross national product (GNP). By the 1990s, services contributed almost 60% of the GNP, while industry contributed over 35% and agriculture only about 5%. Tourism now plays an integral part in the local as well as national economy.

The port of Richards Bay consists of a deep-water harbor for bulk carriers which have been developed from the northeast part of Umhlatuzi Lagoon in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. This lagoon is situated in Richards Bay Park which is a nature reserve and sanctuary. It is the closest port to the Witwatersrand, the main industrial area of the Republic of South-Africa and is connected by railway to the coalfields of Transvaal. The Richards Bay Coal Terminal is the largest coal export facility in the world with a planned capacity of 91 million tons per year by the first half of 2009.

The Bulbous Bow of a Ship

The bulbous bow of a ship increases the hull efficiency and reduces fuel costs. The bulb puts the bow wave further forward. The actual beginning of the bow of the ship will be at the trough of the bow wave, thus the bow does not need to push against a ‘wall of water’. The bulb stem also has a favorable effect on the wave system around the ship. The ideal situation is one where the ship cuts through the waves, whilst generating no waves by itself; for every wave that is created by the ship is lost energy.

Speedometer

Accurate speedometers came into popular use in the latter half of the 19th century. Until this time, most sailors estimated their speed with a chip log, a float affixed to a rope knotted at intervals of 47.25 feet, 14.4 meters. Navigators threw the float off the boat and counted the knots as they hit the water. The navigators timed their count, using a 28-second sandglass to ensure consistency. The number of knots that ran out in 28 seconds equaled the boat’s speed in nautical miles.

Sand Waves

A type of ground surface, this is sand which forms a wave type structure on the bottom of the sea or water body due to the tidal and current activity.

Latitude and Longitude

Latitude and Longitude is a system of geometrical coordinates used in designating the location of places on the surface of the earth. Latitude, which gives the location of a place north or south of the equator, is expressed by angular measurements ranging from 0° at the equator to 90° at the poles. Longitude, the location of a place east or west of a north-south line called the prime meridian, is measured in angles ranging from 0° at the prime meridian to 180° at the International Date Line.

Islands in the Pacific Ocean

The Islands in the Pacific Ocean, in total land area, is slightly larger than South Africa, slightly smaller than Peru, and four-fifths the size of Alaska; the total land area covers 0.25 percent of the ocean's surface area. The islands of New Guinea, New Zealand, and Hawaii constitute 93 percent of the land area, while the remaining thousands of islands have a total land area of 34,494 square miles, 89,339 square kilometers, and slightly less than the American state of Indiana. New Guinea, shared by the Indonesian province of Papua (formerly Irian Jaya) and the nation of Papua New Guinea, is the second largest island in the world, after Greenland. New Zealand’s South Island and North Island, Oceania’s next largest islands, are the world’s 12th and 14th largest islands, respectively.

Echo Sounder

This is an electronic depth sounder that sends a signal down and times how long the signal takes to rebound. The longer the delay, the deeper the water. Regular depth soundings help the navigator avoid straying into dangerous, shallow water. They also can help the navigator locate the craft’s position on a chart with relatively good accuracy because many nautical charts show water depth at regular intervals.

Maputo, Mozambique

Formerly known as Lourenço Marques, Maputo is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. Its location on the Indian Ocean has led to an economy centered on the harbor. Coal, cotton, sugar, chromites, sisal, copra, and hardwood are the chief exports. Maputo has a strong South African influence as well as Bantu, Portuguese, Arab, Indian and Chinese cultures. Lourenço Marques was named after the Portuguese navigator sent in 1544 by the governor of Mozambique to explore. The various Portuguese forts and trading stations established, abandoned and reoccupied on the north bank of the river were destroyed by the natives and the existing town dates from about 1850. In 1895, construction of a railroad to Pretoria, South Africa caused the city's population to grow. Served by British, Portuguese and German liners in the early 1900s, the harbor was well equipped and enabled these vessels to discharge their cargo into the railway trucks. Primary and secondary schools followed in the 1940s, along with commercial and industrial trade schools and the first university opened in 1962. The Portuguese, Islamic, Indian and Chinese communities achieved great prosperity, but the largely unskilled African majority did not. In 1962 the formation of the Mozambique Liberation Front fought for independence from Portuguese rule. The Mozambican War of Independence ended in 1974 when the government of Portugal granted independence to all Portuguese overseas territories. The People's Republic of Mozambique was proclaimed on June 25, 1975 and the city’s name changed to Maputo. Over 250,000 ethnic Portuguese left the area, virtually overnight, and the newly-independent country had no skilled professionals to maintain its infrastructure. The economy plummeted. The governing party turned to the communist Soviet Union and East Germany for help, but by the early 1980s the country was bankrupt. The Civil War, which lasted until 1992, further weakened the economy, but with the end of the war growth and stability returned. Today, tourism is certainly playing a part in boosting the economy.

The Afrikaners of South Africa

Afrikaners are South Africans of Dutch or French Huguenot descent that was known primarily as Boers, from the Dutch word for farmer. Afrikaners make up approximately 56 percent of South Africa’s white population. The first Afrikaners were Dutch pioneers who settled in 1652 in what is now Cape Province. Their language, customs and religion were shaped by more than three centuries of harsh frontier life. They intermarried with French Protestant (Huguenot) refugees to create the early Boer population. When the British occupied South Africa in 1795, many Boers refused to live under British occupation. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Afrikaans-speaking frontiersmen pushed into the interior, fighting both their Bantu neighbors and the British. These migrations, known as ‘the Great Trek’, were undertaken from Cape Colony into the interior beginning in 1835 and lasting into the 1840s. The participants moved inland by ox-wagons, settling and establishing two independent states, the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. After the Afrikaner defeat in the Second South African War (1899-1902), the British annexed these territories, and in 1910 the Union of South Africa was formed. Politically, the Afrikaners played a secondary role to the English-speaking South Africans until 1948, when the electoral victory of the Afrikaner National Party institutionalized Afrikaner political supremacy.

Europa Island

During our transit of the Mozambique Channel we will pass 2 small Islands; Bassas da India and Ile Europa. Europa Island is a nature reserve and host to migratory seabirds. It is one of the world's largest nesting sites for green turtles (Chelonia mydas). It is also home to goats introduced by settlers in the late 18th century. The island takes its name from the British ship Europa, which visited it in 1774. It has been a possession of France since 1897, but is also claimed by Madagascar. Ruins and graves on Europa Island attest to several attempts at settlement from the 1860s to the 1920s.

The Mozambique Channel

The Mozambique Channel is a portion of the Indian Ocean between the island of Madagascar and southeast Africa, namely Mozambique. It was a World War II clash point during the Battle of Madagascar. The channel is approximately 460 kilometers across at its narrowest point between Angoche, Mozambique, and Tambohorano, Madagascar. The channel reaches a depth of 3,292 meters about 230 kilometers off the coast of Mozambique. A warm current flows in a southward direction in the channel, leading into the Agulhas Current off the east coast of South Africa. It is around 1000 miles (1600 kilometers) long.

The Waterspout

A waterspout is a whirlwind over the sea, appearing as a funnel-shaped column usually extending from the lower surface of a cumulonimbus cloud to the sea. In traveling over the sea, this column often becomes oblique or bent; it may also become looped. The spout is in rapid rotation and the wind around it follows a circular path. Although very local, this wind is often very violent, causing confused but not high seas.

Flags

Colored flags are used by a ship in accordance with the International Flags Code, the code that enables vessels of any nationality to communicate with each other. It consists of 26 flags, corresponding to the alphabet, ten flags representing numbers, three special flags that mean the duplication of the preceding flag, and one answering pennant. Each flag has its own individual meaning in addition to a letter, which is described below. a – White and blue ‘keep well clear, at slow speed’ b – All red ‘carrying dangerous cargo’ c – Blue, white and red stripes ‘yes or affirmative’ d – Yellow with a blue strip ‘maneuvering with difficulty’ e – Half blue and half red ‘directing course to starboard’ f – White with a red diamond ‘communicate with me’ g – Yellow and blue stripes ‘require a pilot’ h – White and red ‘have a pilot on board’ i – Yellow with a black circle ‘directing course to port’ j – Blue with a white stripe ‘on fire, keep clear’ k – Yellow and blue ‘wish to communicate with you’ l – Yellow and black checks ‘stop your vessel immediately’ m – Blue with a white x ‘my vessel is stopped’ n – Blue and white checks ‘no or negative’ o – Red and yellow ‘man overboard’ p – Blue with a white box ‘personal return to ship’ q – All yellow ‘request clearance into port’ r – Red with a yellow cross ‘no meaning’ s – White with a blue box ‘moving astern’ t – Red, white and blue stripe ‘keep clear, engaged in trawling’ u – Red and white checks ‘you are running into danger’ v – white with a red x ‘require assistance’ w – blue with a white and red box ‘require medical assistance’ x – white with a blue cross ‘stop and watch for my signals’ y – Red and yellow stripes ‘I am dragging anchor’ z – Black, blue, red, yellow triangle ‘require a tug’

History of Holland America Line

In the early part of the 17th Century, Henry Hudson set sail from Holland in a tiny ship called "de Halve Maen." His long voyage across the Atlantic heralded the beginning of Dutch exploration and settlements in the New World. During this century's great era of Trans-Atlantic elegance, Holland America's beloved Nieuw Amsterdam II (1938-1973) came to represent all the luxury, magnificence and splendor of that time. Our emblem shows this famous flagship alongside "de Halve Maen". Together, these two ships symbolize the centuries old seafaring tradition of the Dutch and the long-standing friendship between Holland and America. The Ship Specification: Power: 5 diesel generators: 2 x 16,000HP 3 x 12,000HP Total Power: 66,500 HP Propulsion: 2 x ABB Azipods 2 x 17.5 MW Total Power: 46,000 HP Fuel Consumption: Diesel Generators 120 tons/day (32,000 gallons) Water Production: Potable Water Production 1,400 tons/day (370,000 gallons) Potable Water Consumption 600 tons/day (160,000 gallons) Gross Tonnage 61,000 tons Length 780 feet Width 106 feet Max Speed 24.5 knots Guests 1,380 Crew 590

Flower Power

“Flower Power” was a slogan used in the late 1960s and early 1970s as a symbol of non-violent ideology. “Hippies” also known as flower children, dressed in flowery clothing, wore flower in their hair, and handed out flowers in an effort to promote peace through non-violent means. Their sense on independence and freedom flourished even though it was a turbulent period of history, not only for America, but for many part of the world. The cold war era was fast coming to a close. New conflicts were raging and dissatisfaction with political systems all over the world gave rise to young people flexing their right to protest. The Flower movement was originally based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in a club named Paradiso, chosen specifically because the name evoked the image of a peaceful place, paradise. Art, music and literature flourished in a European atmosphere of “Mini Renaissance” that soon spread to Great Britain, the USA and beyond. Mod art, pop music and a new fashion sense, awash in brilliant colors and new sound found its way into middle class family life. Carnaby Street, Mary Quant, Peter Max, the Brady Bunch, Woodstock, Haight-Ashbury are only a few of the iconic names that evoke that era. Even former US president Richard M. Nixon appeared on the quintessential Flower Power television show “Laugh-In” where he intoned, perhaps prophetically, the show’s most famous catch-phrase “Sock It To Me?”

Happy Easter

Easter is celebrated on a Sunday on varying dates between March 22 and April 25 and is called a ‘moveable feast’. Connected with the observance of Easter are the 40-day penitential season of Lent (beginning on Ash Wednesday and concluding at midnight on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday), Holy Week (commencing on Palm Sunday, including Good Friday, the day of the crucifixion, and terminating with Holy Saturday) and the Octave of Easter (extending from Easter Sunday through the following Sunday). During the Octave of Easter in early Christian times, the newly baptized wore white garments, white being the liturgical color of Easter and signifying light, purity, and joy. Easter also embodies many pre-Christian traditions. The Christian festival of Easter probably embodies a number of converging traditions; most scholars emphasize the original relation of Easter to the Jewish festival of Passover, or Pesach, from which is derived Pasch, another name for Easter. The origin of its name is unknown. Many scholars believe it probably comes from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon name of a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility. Her festival was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox; traditions associated with the festival continue today with the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, and in the coloring of eggs with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring, and used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts. During the Presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes (1877 - 1881), it was Mrs. Hayes who originated the custom of inviting children for egg rolling at Easter on the White House lawn.

The Union of The Comoros

As we make our way towards Mozambique, we will be passing by the Comoros. The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel between northern Madagascar and northeastern Mozambique. The nearest countries to the Comoros are Mozambique, Tanzania, Madagascar, and the Seychelles. At 863 sq miles (1,862 km²) the Comoros is the third smallest African nation by area; and with a population estimated at 798,000 it is the sixth smallest African nation by population (though it has one of the highest population densities in Africa), and is the southernmost member state of the Arab League. Its name derives from the Arabic word qamar ("moon").

Al Jazeera Al Khadra

Tonight we will pass the island of Pemba and Zanzibar. The island of Pemba, known as 'Al Jazeera Al Khadra' (the green island, in Arabic), is an island forming part of the Zanzibar archipelago, lying off the east coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. It is situated about 31 miles (50 kilometers) to the north of the island of Zanzibar. In the 1960s Zanzibar was united with the former colony of Tanganyika to form Tanzania. It lies 31 miles (50 kilometers) east of mainland Tanzania. Together with Mafia Island (south of Zanzibar), they form the Spice Islands (not to be confused with Maluku Islands of Indonesia).

Maasai Mythology

The Maasai people (also spelled Masai), living in Kenya and Tanzania worship two great deities. The supreme being and creator is Enkai (also called Engai and Ngai) whose domain is rain, fertility, the sun and love. While he is a single deity, he has a dual nature: the benevolent Enkai Narok (Black God) and the vengeful Enkai Nanyokie (Red God). In Maasai mythology, Enkai gave the cattle to the Maasai people. Olapa, Goddess of the Moon, is married to Enkai. According to legend, the deities fought one day, and Olapa inflicted a wound on Enkai. To cover up his wound he took to shining brightly so that no one could look straight at him and see his shame. As revenge Enkai struck out one of Olapa’s eyes, which can be seen when the moon is full. The Maasai believe that Enkai was once a human who owned all the cattle in the world. When the sky and earth split he sent all the cattle down from the sky along a bark rope to the Maasai. A jealous group of hunters who did not receive any cattle cut the bark from the sky creating a gap between the heavens and earth, stopping the flow of the cattle to the Maasai. The Maasai believe that Enkai intended all the cattle in the world for them, and as such, they are at the center of the universe as the chosen people of Enkai. The gods created three groups of people; the Torrobo, hunters and gathers to whom Enkai sent honey and wild animals; the Kikuyu, the cultivators blessed with seed and grain; and the Maasai, owners of all the cattle in the world. The Maasai religion stresses the symbolism of cattle and they believe that the cattle possess the qualities of Enkai. The eating of meat and drinking of milk and blood symbolize the union of man and Enkai. The cow used at ceremonies is publicly slaughtered and then blessed by the elders before being eaten. The Maasai also believe that they receive a guardian spirit during the birth ceremony, sent to protect them and ward off danger until the day the person dies. At the time of death the guardian spirit does one of two things; if the deceased was a bad person they are carried off to a desert, with no water and no cattle; if they were a good person they are carried off to a land with many cattle and plentiful pastures.

History of Mombasa, Kenya

Arab traders founded the city in the 11th century and it quickly became the most important trading center of East Africa, mostly exporting ivory and slaves. Vasco da Gama was the first known European to visit Mombasa, receiving a chilly reception in 1498. The town was taken over by the Sultanate of Oman in 1698. In 1840 it was taken by the sultan of Zanzibar who presented the town to the British in 1898. It soon became the capital of the British East Africa Protectorate and is the sea terminal of the Uganda Railway, which was started in 1896. Many workers were brought in from British India to build the railway. Mombasa was part of the state of Zanzibar until 1963 when it was ceded to the newly independent state of Kenya.

Mombasa, The Republic of Kenya

Mombasa is the second largest city in Kenya and the center of the coastal tourism industry. In Kiswahili it is called Kisiwa ya Mvita, which means "Island of War", due to the many changes in its ownership. The city has a population of around 900,000 and is located on Mombasa Island, which is separated from the mainland by two creeks; Tudor Creek and Killindini Harbor. The island is connected to the mainland to the north by a bridge, to the south by ferry and to the west by a causeway along which runs the Uganda Railway. The port serves both Kenya and countries of the interior linking them to the Indian Ocean. The Muslim Miji Kenda/Swahili people mainly occupy the town but over the centuries there have been many immigrants from the countries of the Middle East and Indian sub-continent. More recent immigrants are peoples from the interior of Kenya brought to the area by opportunities to work in the tourist industry. Traditional dress for the Swahili women is a brightly colored, printed cotton sheet called a kanga, which may have inspirational slogans printed on it, and a type of black headdress and veil called a bui bui. Men wear a type of sarong, which is colored in bright bands, called a kikoy. There are several places to visit in Mombasa; Fort Jesus, build by the Portuguese and the Old Town, which is by now in bad need of repair but still shows plenty of examples of the old Arab architecture. The Republic of Kenya is located in east Africa and lies astride the equator. It is bordered by Somalia on the east, the Indian Ocean on the southeast, Tanzania on the south, Lake Victoria (Victoria Nyanza) on the southwest, Uganda on the west, Sudan on the northwest, and Ethiopia on the north. The country is made up of several geographical regions. The first is a narrow, coastal strip that is low lying except for the Taita Hills in the south. The second, an inland region of bush-covered plains, constitutes most of the country’s land area. In the northwest, straddling Lake Turkana and the Kulal Mountains are high-lying scrublands. In the southwest are the fertile grasslands and forests of the Kenya highlands. In the west is the Great Rift Valley, an irregular depression that cuts through west Kenya from north to south in two branches. It is also the location of some of the country’s highest mountains, including Mount Kenya (17,058 feet, 5,199 meters high). People of African descent make up about 97% of the population; they are divided into about 40 ethnic groups, of which the Bantu-speaking Kikuyu, Luhya, Kalenjin, Kamba, and Gusii and the Nilotic-speaking Luo are predominant. Small numbers of persons of Indian, Pakistani, and European descent live in the interior, and there are some Arabs along the coast. The official languages are Swahili and English although many indigenous languages are also spoken. About two-thirds of the population is Christian, while a quarter follows traditional religious beliefs; the remaining are Muslim or Hindu. Mombasa has a warm, tropical climate. Winter months are slightly warmer than summer. The amount of rainfall depends essentially on the season. The rainiest months are April and May, while in January to February the rainfall is minimal. The average precipitation in April is around 4.7 inches (11.9cm). In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena) is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapour that is deposited on the earth's surface. The Bantu language of Kiswahili (abbreviated to Swahili) is the official language of Kenya. There do exist many different verbal dialects of the language, based on the location on the town, but written Swahili is generally universal to that of eastern Africa. It originated on the east coast of Africa over 1,000 years ago and has since incorporated words from Arabic, Portuguese, Indian, German and English.

Passover Celebration

Passover celebrates the Hebrew people’s Exodus from Egypt after years of servitude and disability. Their journey back to the land of Israel lasted forty years. During Passover, Matzo (unleavened bread) is eaten. It is a symbol of freedom, a reminder of the haste in which the Hebrew people left for the land of hopes and promise. The Seder service is read from the Hagadah, which tells the story of Passover and explains the symbolic foods that are eaten at the Seder table. The youngest person present asks the Four Questions, giving the leader the opportunity to tell the Passover story. Passover (Pesach in Hebrew) begins at sundown and lasts for seven or eight days, depending on whether one follows liberal or traditional Judaism.

The Green Flash, What is it about ???

Have you ever been sitting with friends, watching a beautiful, tropical sunset, when one of them said, ‘I wonder if we will see the green flash tonight?’ You do not know what they are talking about, but you play along and like everyone else you stare at the sun until it is gone. There was no flash, and you think you have been had. Well, you have not. There is a green flash, but you have to be very lucky to see it. The green flash was first documented by Captain Black of the H.M.S. Terror while in the Arctic during its expedition of 1836-1837. Referring to a January 17 event he wrote: ‘In the morning however, at a quarter before ten o’clock while standing on an ice hummock about seventeen feet high, and looking toward the sun I had observed the upper limb of the sun, as it filled a triangular on the ridge of the headland, of the most brilliant emerald color, a phenomenon which I had not witnessed before in these regions.’ At first glimpse of a rising sun or final glimpse of a setting sun is when you might see a momentary burst of dazzling green. To understand this one must begin with the fact that air is a refractive medium, it bends light. Although the bending produced by a given layer is very weak, it becomes progressively stronger as light approaches the Earth’s surface and air density increases. Air is also dispersive – it bends light of different frequencies by different amounts. At sunrise and sunset, when oblique rays from the sun travel a longer distance through the atmosphere, the light reaching the Earth has had a considerable portion of its blue content removed. The scarcity of blue light causes the peak stimulus to shift slightly towards the yellow, making a greenish-yellow flash possible!

Radar

Radar is used for precise navigation when near to land and to detect the presence and movement of vessels and objects for navigation and collision avoidance. A radar instrument sends out a radio pulse through a rotating antenna, called a scanner. When the pulse hits a target, it bounces back to the scanner. The instrument calculates the time difference between transmission and reception. It converts this information into a visual display on a monitor, which shows the object as a point of light. The monitor displays the bearing to the target and the distance to it. This information can be used to quickly produce accurate positions and fixes.

Spring Equinox

An equinox in astronomy is the event when the sun is directly above the Earth’s equator, occurring around the end of March and September each year. More technically, the equinox happens when the sun is at one of two opposite points on the celestial sphere where the celestial equator and ecliptic intersect. In a wider sense, the equinoxes are the two days each year when the center of the sun spends an equal amount of time above and below the horizon at every location on Earth. The word equinox derives from the Latin words aequus (equal) and nox (night). It is celebrated by many cultures around the world in various manners. In many Arab countries, Mother’s Day is celebrated by the March equinox. It also marks the first day of various calendars including the Iranian and Bahá’í calendar and is also a holiday for India, Turkey, Zanzibar and other countries of Central Asia. The calculation of Easter in the Christian church (first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the March equinox), uses its own definition for the equinox – it always falls on March 21. The earliest possible Easter date in any year is therefore March 22.

Aldabra Island

Sailing on a westerly course we will pass Aldabra Island, a raised coral atoll in the Aldabra Group of islands in the Indian Ocean that form part of the Seychelles. The island is more than 700 miles from Mahé and is closer to the coast of Africa and Madagascar. The atoll is home to the world's largest population of giant tortoises, numbering some 100,000 individuals. It became a designated World Heritage Site in November 1982.

Ship Christening

Ever wonder why champagne is smashed on the hull of a new ship when it is launched? Religion used to play a large part in the christening of the ship. Jews and Christians customarily used wine and water as they called upon God to safeguard them at sea. Intercession of the saints and the blessing of the church were asked by Christians. Ship launchings in the Ottoman Empire were accompanied by prayers to Allah, the sacrifice of sheep, and appropriate feasting. The Vikings are said to have offered human sacrifice to appease the angry gods of the northern seas. As related in Icelandic sagas, human sacrifices were offered. Humans were tied to the ground between the launching rollers. These humans were originally virgin maidens, which were sometimes immortalized by having their carved likeness grafted onto the hull of the ship. As the ship made its way down the rollers and into the sea, the blood of the victims would be smeared on the ship's hull. Later, humans were replaced by animal sacrifices. In medieval times, animal blood came to be replaced with red wine. In the 1600s British navy ships were christened with the "standing cup", a large cup fashioned of precious metal. As the ship began to slide down toward the water, the presiding official took a ceremonial sip of wine from the cup, and poured the rest over the bow. In the late 17th century, the standing-cup was replaced by the practice of breaking a bottle across the bow. Whisky, brandy, holy water, sea water, or water collected from a symbolic lake or river was used until the end of the 19th century when, because of its elegance as the “aristocrat of wines”, champagne became the preferred liquid of choice to christen a ship.

Group of Islands of Farquhar

Today we sail on a southwesterly course in the Somali Basin passing south of Les Amirantes until we pass the Farquhar group. From this group of islands we will sail in a more westerly direction. In most parts of this area the depths are greater than 13,123 feet (4000 meters). There are 3 main currents acting in this area and most of the time we will be under the influence of the Equatorial Current which flows eastward 0,5 to 2 knots.

Admiral Islands

Tonight will travel south to depart from the island group of the Seychelles. After leaving the narrow buoyed channel behind us we turn to the west. On this course we will pass by the island group of Les Amirantes, discovered by Vasco da Gama on his second voyage of exploration in 1502, and named "Ilhas do Almirante" (Admiral Islands). Les Amirantes are a group of coral islands and atolls, belonging to the Outer Islands of the Seychelles.

Victoria, Seychelles

The Seychelles is a group of about 115 islands that lie 990 miles (1600 kilometers) off the coast of east Africa. The three central islands - Mahé, Praslin and La Digue - are granite, while the outlying islands are coral atolls. Unlike most similar islands, the Seychelles are not volcanic - they seem to be the peaks of a huge underwater plateau that fell off the edge of India about 65 million years ago. The islands are rich in vegetation, but most of it is either coconut palms or casuarinas. The Seychelles is home to the extremely rare giant coco de mer palm. In high, remote areas you might also find the insect-eating pitcher plant, as well as a veritable bouquet of orchids, bougainvilleas, hibiscuses, gardenias and frangipani. Victoria, on the island of Mahé, is one of the smallest capital cities in the world and the only major port in the Seychelles. It is also the only town in the country - every other settlement is a village. The courthouse and main post office in the center of town have been untouched since colonial times, but the streets emanating from the center have been rebuilt over the past 20 years, giving the town a clean and modern look. There are a few old houses and shops in the city center, giving the town a unique character. Victoria’s Botanical Gardens are highly recommended for short and shady walks among a variety of native and introduced trees. The Seychelles are known for their beautiful beaches and serene waters, perfect for snorkeling or a relaxing day on the sand. Nobody lived on the Seychelles until the 17th century. In 1609, a British East India ship made landfall, and in the next few years, shiploads of pirates moved their operations to the Indian Ocean from the Caribbean and used the islands as their base. In 1742 the governor of Mauritius sent a ship to check out the islands. The ship’s captain named the main island after his governor and laid the way for the French to claim the islands 12 years later. In 1770 the first load of French settlers and slaves arrived on the island and started growing spices, cassava, sugar cane, coffee, sweet potatoes and maize, as well as harvesting the giant tortoise. By the end of the 18th century, the islands were looking pretty choice and the British were taking an interest. The governor at the time lowered the French flag and gave in when attack looked imminent, but the British sailed on and the flag was raised again. This happened 12 times until 1814, when Britain took charge of the Seychelles after the Napoleonic Wars. French, however, remained the main language and French culture lived on. English and French are the two official languages of the Seychelles; however, Creole (a dialect of French) was made a semi-official language in 1981. Most Seychellois will conduct business in French, speak English to the tourists and Creole at home.

Ocean“Wind Waves”

The great majority of waves one sees on an ocean beach result from distant winds. Three factors influence the formation of "wind waves": wind speed; distance of open water that the wind has blown over; geometry of the area of wave generation by the wind; and length of time the wind has blown over a given area. All of these factors work together to determine the size and shape of ocean waves. The greater each of the variables, the larger the waves. There are three different types of wind waves that develop over time: ripples, seas, and swells. Ripples appear on smooth water when the wind is light, but die if the wind stops. Seas are created when the wind has blown for a while at a given velocity. They tend to last much longer, even after the wind has died. Swells are waves that moved away from their area of origin and are unrelated to the local wind conditions. They may be thought of as seas that persist long after the wind that produced them has stopped. Some waves undergo a phenomenon called "breaking". A breaking wave is one whose base can no longer support its top, causing it to collapse. A wave breaks when it runs into shallow water, or when two wave systems oppose and combine forces. Waves can also break if the wind grows strong enough to blow the crest off the base of the wave.

The Owen Fracture Zone

During the crossing of the Arabian Sea we will sail over the Owen Fracture zone, a transform fault which runs along the eastern boundary of the Arabian Plate, separating it from the Indo-Australian Plate for most of its length, and from the African Plate for a much shorter distance. We will sail along this fraction zone for most of the day as it spreads out in a north- south direction.

The Archipelago of Socotra

Today we will pass the island of Suqutra (Socotra), one of the most isolated landforms on earth of non-volcanic origin. The archipelago of Socotra became a UNESCO world heritage site in July, 2008. Socotra is known for its exquisite flora and fauna which developed due to its isolated nature with a large diversity in trees and bird species. One of the most striking of Socotra's plants is the dragon's blood tree (Dracaena cinnabari), which is a strange-looking, umbrella-shaped tree.

Happy April Fools’ Day

Unlike most non-foolish holidays, the history of April Fools’ Day, sometimes called All Fools’ Day, is not totally clear. The closest point in time that can be identified as the beginning of this tradition was in 1582, in France. Prior to that, the New Year was celebrated for eight days, beginning on March 25. The celebration culminated on April 1. With the reform of the calendar under Charles IX, the Gregorian Calendar was introduced, and New Year's Day was moved to January 1. Because news traveled by foot, many people did not receive the news for several years. The more obstinate crowd refused to accept the new calendar and continued to celebrate the New Year on April 1. The general populace labeled these folk as ‘fools’. This evolved, over time, into a tradition of prank playing on the first day of April.

The Island Of Masirah

After rounding the most western tip of Oman we will pass the island of Masirah on our starboard side. This island is known for its fishing industry and traditional ship building. On June 5 & 6, 2007, 7000 people on the island were forced to temporarily leave their homes due to the high storm waves produced by the powerful Cyclone Gonu, the strongest to hit the Persian Gulf region in 60 years.

Early History of Oman

By the middle of the 8th century, Omanis were practicing a unique brand of Islam, Ibadhism, which remains a majority sect only in Oman. Ibadhism has been characterized as “moderate conservatism,” with tenets that are a mixture of both austerity and peace. The Portuguese occupied Muscat for a 140-year period (1508–1648), arriving a decade after Vasco da Gama discovered the seaway to India. In need of an outpost to protect their sea lanes, the Europeans built up and fortified the city, where remnants of their colonial architectural style still remain. The Ottomans drove out the Portuguese, but were pushed out themselves about a century later, in 1741, by the leader of a Yemeni tribe leading a massive army from varying other tribes, who began the current line of ruling sultans. A brief Persian invasion a few years later was the final time Oman would be ruled by a foreign power. Oman has been self governing ever since. The British slowly brought about a collapse of Muscat and Oman’s empire by the end of the 19th century without use of force. Through gradual encroachment on its overseas holdings economically and politically, they caused Oman to retreat to its homeland. In time, Britain held such sway in Muscat and Oman itself that it became in effect, and later in fact, a British protectorate.

Muscat, Oman

An important trading port between the east and west since the 1st century CE, Muscat is both the capital and largest city of the Sultanate of Oman. Located on the Arabian Sea it was ruled by various factions including both the Persians and the Portuguese Empire. Its power as a regional military force extends back to the 18th century. Since the ascension of its current Sultan, Qaboos bin Said, in 1970 Muscat has developed rapidly leading to a stimulated economy and a diverse, multi-ethnic population. The landscape is dominated by the Western Al Hajar Mountains and the economy is driven mostly by petroleum, trade and its port facilities. Ethnically, Muscat has always been a hybrid of people not native to the Arabian Peninsula. Hindu temples existed in Muscat as far back as 1760 and Christianity is thought to have been spread by the Portuguese as early as the beginning of the 16th century. Although Arabic is the predominant language of the city, English, Balochi, Swahili and South Asian languages such as Hindi and Urdu are spoken. Islam is the predominant religion in the city and while non-Muslims are allowed to practice their religion, they are discouraged from proselytizing publicly or distributing religious literature. This religious tolerance is indicated by the presence of two Hindu temples, several Christian churches located in a multi-denominational compound in Ruwi, including the Catholic church of Saints Peter and Paul. On July 23, 1970, Sultan Qaboos bin Said staged a bloodless coup in the Salalah palace with the assistance of the British, took over from his father as ruler, and put an end to the Dhofar uprising which had threatened the area since 1962. He consolidated the differing tribal territories in an attempt to end to the interior's isolation from Muscat. Port Sultan is located on the coast of the Gulf of Oman, on the Tropic of Cancer, 250km S of the Strait of Hormuz on the Indian Ocean coast of the Arabian Peninsula. The city lies on the Arabian Sea along the Gulf of Oman and is in the proximity of the strategic Straits of Hormuz. Low-lying white buildings typify most of Muscat's urban landscape, while the port-district of Muttrah, with its corniche (Arabic: cliff) and harbor, form the north-eastern periphery of the city. Muscat's economy is dominated by trade, petroleum and porting. Salalah, Oman Modern Oman is home to the Port of Salalah; its location makes it a major entry point to India, the Middle East, and Africa. Salalah is the capital and seat of the governor or Wali of the southern Omani province of Dhofar. It is the second largest town in the Sultanate of Oman and a traditional stronghold and birthplace of the Sultan Qaboos bin Said. The Sultan traditionally lives in Salalah rather than in Muscat, the capital and largest city in Oman. Salalah, despite lying in the Arabian desert, enjoys a temperate climate through most of the year. The town is also subjected to the southeast monsoons between late June and early September. Visitors from across the Persian Gulf flock to Salalah to enjoy the monsoons and avoid the harsh heat faced by the rest of the region during the same period. Also in this period, the town’s population nearly doubles. The town has a large expatriate community, mainly from India, as well as a private Indian school, known as Indian School Salalah. The city of Salalah is known as the perfume capital of Arabia. The city is a popular destination for tourism due to the natural attractions of the Jabal al Qar mountains and abundant stands of frankincense trees lining mountain stream courses. Around the city and into the mountains the countryside is lush and green with the vegetation supporting herds of cattle. Salalah is a city of antiquity, boasting the ruins of a palace reputed to have belonged to the Queen of Sheba and the resting place of the biblical prophet Job in the nearby Jabal al Qar. It is also the alleged resting place of Nabi Imran, father of the Virgin Mary.