Plying Ocean Highways
By “Awake!” correspondent in Hawaii
FOR thousands of years vessels that ply the world’s waterways have served numerous purposes, including transportation of people, food and property.
The sight of a huge ship, sailboat or other vessel atop the waters often stirs our imagination. Each of the seven seas has its own distinct ships and they differ from one another as much as the various peoples who built them. A brief look at the history of boats and ships brings to light some interesting facts.
Ancient Types Still in Use
The oldest representations of boats known today come from Egypt. They include pictures of the boatlike papyrus raft, a mode of transportation that has survived into modern times. Today these rafts, paddled by hands and feet, can be seen on the Nile River as well as the bay of Lake Chad in Africa.
Another ancient method of plying the waterways appears on a relief from Nineveh dating to about 700 before the Common Era. Passengers and goods were kept afloat by means of inflated animal skins. The counterpart of these Assyrian vessels can be seen today in Tibet. Another Tibetan boat consists of hides stretched over wooden ribs.
Perhaps one of the best known ancient boats is the hollowed-out tree trunk, known as the dugout. This, too, is still in use in parts of Africa, South America, Australia and remote districts of Scandinavia.
Larger Ships of Antiquity
In the valley of Deir el-Bahri, Egypt, is a temple containing an interesting row of reliefs. They represent an expedition of Queen Hatshepsut that took place perhaps in 1500 B.C.E. The relief depicts a ship carrying two huge obelisks. One of these obelisks has been found and, judging from its height and weight, a ship capable of carrying two of these must have been about 200 feet (60 meters) in length and 80 feet (24 meters) across at its greatest breadth. Unloaded, such a ship would weigh 800 tons and, with a full load, 1,500 tons! This would make it the most remarkable vessel ever built in Egypt.
A prominent trading and seafaring people of the ancient world were the Phoenicians, who inhabited the Mediterranean seacoast. They were renowned for their ability as sailors and navigators. The Phoenicians not only conducted trade throughout the Mediterranean, but circled the tip of Africa to the south and reached as far north as England.
The Phoenicians left no description of their ships. However, in picturing the Phoenician city of Tyre as a pretty ship, the prophet Ezekiel gave details that evidently provide a description of a Phoenician ship. It had planks of durable juniper, a single mast of cedar from Lebanon and oars of “massive trees” from Bashan, probably oak. The prow, likely high and curved, was made of cypress wood inlaid with ivory. The sail was of colored Egyptian linen, and the deck covering (perhaps an awning above the deck to provide shade) was of dyed wool. The ship’s seams were caulked.—Ezek. 27:3-7, 27.
Vases and dishes from the sixth century B.C.E. bear pictures of Greek warships. Of all the craft known from classical times, these were the lightest and most elegant. Some of them were so light that crews could haul them ashore for an overnight stay. The Greeks also built galley ships with three, four and five banks of oars.
A discussion of ancient ships would not be complete without mention of the Orient. The oldest known description of a merchant ship from the Orient was given in the thirteenth century of the Common Era by Marco Polo. He describes a Chinese junk as follows:
“[It has] a single deck and under this space is divided into 60 small cabins. . . . each furnished as a small living quarters for a merchant. . . . some vessels of the larger sort have their hulls fitted with 13 partitions which are made of thick planks joined together. The purpose of these is to protect the vessel if she springs a leak. . . . or if hit by a hungry whale—an occurrence which is by no means infrequent.”
The Chinese still carry goods and passengers along coasts and on rivers by means of junks. These are sturdy wooden vessels that have their sails parallel to the length of the boat.
Sailing Ships Further Developed
The fifteenth century C.E. began a period known as the ‘Age of Discovery.’ This was a time when ships set out on vast bodies of water in search of new lands. A person deeply interested in that activity was the Portuguese prince who came to be called Henry the Navigator. He sent expeditions of ships south along the coast of Africa in hopes of eventually finding a sea route to India. Thereafter many other nations and individuals became interested in reaching the “Indies,” which at that time included India, China, the East Indies and Japan. They desired quicker access to the gold, gems, drugs and spices, which hitherto had reached Europe only by long and costly overland caravans.
Because of this interest, between the years 1400 and 1514 C.E. the sailing ship underwent more profound development than it had for several thousands of years. In time ships with two masts began to appear; then ones with three and even four masts. As ships became more complex, the number of their sails increased, some having more than 30.
According to the book Ships (part of the Life Science Library), during the fifteenth century, ship designers “in a burst of inventiveness and creativity . . . produced the first, classic full-rigged ship: three masts, with large square sails on foremast and mainmast; a lateen [triangular] sail set on the mizzen [mast furthest back]; and, frequently, a rather large spritsail set forward of the stem, below the bowsprit.”
Concerning ships that traveled to America under the leadership of Christopher Columbus, the same publication states: “Though no drawings or specifications survive, we know that Columbus’ flagship, the Santa Maria, was such a ship. So was the Pinta, and so, after her rerigging from a three-masted lateener, was the Admiral’s favorite, the Niña, except that she carried no topsail or spritsail.”
It was Columbus’ contemporary, Vasco da Gama, who found the long-sought sea route to India. Thereafter Portugal held a monopoly on Indian waters for a century. Eventually this monopoly was broken by the Dutch, the French and the British. The costly cargoes carried on this sea route brought about widespread piracy. This made it necessary to outfit ships with weapons. These combination merchant ships and warships became known throughout the world as “Indiamen.”
Shipbuilding in America
The discovery of America and the “New World” created further needs for shipping. A lively trade was established between Europe and America. Also, there was trading up and down the coast of America, between the northern and southern colonies. This called for an American merchant fleet. Shipbuilding became a leading industry in the new American colonies.
Among the most famous of all American merchant vessels was the “clipper ship.” It was the ship of the middle and later 1800’s. The clippers won praise for being the most beautiful and fastest of all ships. They cut in half the time formerly required for voyages to China and Australia. The swiftness of these vessels led to their name “clipper,” from the word clip, meaning “to move swiftly.” Most famous among the clipper ships was the Cutty Sark. It was 212 feet (65 meters) long and 36 feet (11 meters) wide, and had three masts and 34 sails.
It was in the year 1807 that New York’s Hudson River became the scene of action for the first truly successful steamship. This was the Clermont, a long, slender vessel about 140 feet (43 meters) in length and 15 feet (4.5 meters) wide. It had side paddle wheels that measured some four feet in width and 15 feet in diameter. Later, seagoing steamships went into operation. Eventually a propeller at the stern replaced paddle wheels.
Then came iron vessels, which proved to be stronger, safer and more economical than wooden ones. Twentieth-century advancements have produced massive cargo ships, luxury passenger liners, tankers, refrigerated ships and nuclear-powered vessels.
Many have been the benefits that mankind has derived from ships. Not to be overlooked is the fact that in 1961 the first transoceanic multipurpose cable between Canada and Great Britain was laid from a ship. During the last two decades ships have been involved in laying numerous transoceanic telephone cables connecting the United States mainland with Hawaii and other parts of the Pacific. Similar cables reach the Orient, parts of South America and islands of both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Though aircraft handle much passenger and cargo service today, ships are and will continue to be a lifeline to many areas inaccessible by air. Plying ocean highways evidently is here to stay.
[Pictures on page 24]
CHINESE JUNK
GREEK WARSHIP
CLIPPER SHIP
“SANTA MARIA”