Steer Followim Wata, Skae, and Wind

WASWE, iu fraet nogud iu foldaon from spialaen bilong earth? Maet nomoa. Bat longtaem bifor, samfala sailor garem datfala feeling for fraet. Planti sail klosap long land nomoa. Bat olketa nara sailor aotem fraet bilong olketa and sail go aot long open sea.

Samting olsem 3,000 year wea go pas finis, olketa sailor from Phoenicia sail from hom harbor long east saed bilong Mediterranean sea for duim bisnis long Europe and North Africa. Long mek-foa century B.C.E., wanfala Greek man, Pytheas, wea go faendem olketa niu ples, sail raonem Britain and maet hem kasem tu Iceland. And longtaem bifor eni ship from Europe kasem Indian Ocean, olketa sailor from Arabia and China savve gogo akrosim finis. First man from Europe for sail go long India, hem Vasco da Gama, wea arrive sef long there from wanfala captain from Arabia, Ibn Majid, hem directim olketa ship bilong Da Gama for akrosim Indian Ocean insaed 23-fala day. Hao nao olketa man hia savve hao for gogo long sea?

Wei for Iusim Chart Keepim Olketa Laef

Olketa sailor bifor mas depend long spesol wei for iusim olketa chart. Man for steer need for savve long thrifala samting, wea piksa long daon showim: (1) ples hem start, (2) speed, (3) ples wea hem go (direction wea hem bae travel). For savve long ples for start hem isi. Bat hao nao for savve long ples wea hem bae go?

Christopher Columbus iusim wanfala compass long 1492 for faendem wea nao hem bae go long hem. Bat wei wea olketa long Europe iusim compass hem start nomoa long mek-12 century C.E. Taem olketa no garem compass, olketa captain steer followim sun and olketa star. Sapos cloud satem sun and skae, olketa sailor luk followim olketa bigfala wave long midol sea wea wind nao kosim. Olketa recordim wei wea olketa bigfala wave hia muv followim sun and olketa star taem olketa kamap and go daon.

Hao nao olketa markem speed? Wanfala wei hem for markem haomas taem bifor ship go pasim wanfala samting wea olketa torowem long sea front long ship. Bihaen, olketa iusim narafala wei, hem nao for torowem wanfala stik long sea, wea join long rope wea olketa taemap (putim knot) long olketa spes wea olketa markem. Taem ship gogo, stik hia wea insaed sea hem pullim go datfala rope. Bihaen taem wea olketa markem, olketa pullim bak rope and kaontem olketa ples wea olketa taemap. Diswan showim speed bilong ship wea olketa kolem knots—haomas mile bilong sea long wanfala hour—pipol still iusim disfala wei for measure distaem. From hem savve long speed bilong hem, man wea steer savve hao farawe ship travel insaed wanday. Long wanfala chart, wea hem map bilong sea, hem drawim wanfala laen for showim gogo bilong hem followim direction wea hem chusim.

Bat, olketa current and wind savve mekem ship for no followim stret gogo bilong hem. So man for steer evritaem kaontem and recordim olketa change wea kamap for tanem ship followim stretfala gogo bilong hem. Evriday, hem joinim go laen wea hem markem—hem measurem, kaontem, drawim laen long map. Taem ship kasem ples hem go long hem, olketa record bilong hem wea hem raetem long olketa chart hem stap for showimaot hao ship hia kasem datfala ples. Winim 500 year bifor, Colombus iusim wei olsem for wakem olketa chart taem hem travel go and kam from Spain go kasem North America. Olketa chart wea hem drawim long careful wei hem helpem olketa sailor distaem for followim datfala spesol gogo bilong hem.

Sail Followim Skae

Hao nao olketa man for steer bifor iusim olketa samting long skae for directim ship bilong olketa? Ples wea sun kamap and go daon hem showim east and west. Long early morning taem sun start for kamap, olketa sailor savve chekim haomas spes nao sun hem muv, taem olketa markem hem witim olketa star wea showaot yet long skae. Long naet, olketa luksavve wea nao olketa stap taem olketa lukim Polaris—datfala North Star—wea savve showaot antap long North Pole taem hem evening. Long south saed, fofala braet star wea garem nem Southern Cross helpem olketa for savve wea nao South Pole. So long wanfala naet wea klia, nomata wea nao olketa sail, olketa sailor savve chekim direction bilong olketa witim wanfala samting long skae.

Bat samfala difren star tu leadim olketa nara sailor. Olsem example, pipol long Polynesia and olketa nara sailor bilong Pacific, savve readim skae long naet olsem wanfala map. Wanfala teknik olketa iusim hem for markem gogo bilong olketa followim wanfala star wea olketa savve hem kamap or go daon long ples wea olketa laek go long hem. Long full naet, olketa man for steer hia chekim tu olketa nara star for mek sure olketa travel long stretfala wei. Sapos direction hem rong, olketa star bae showim hao for olketa stretem gogo bilong olketa.

Waswe, hem fitim for man depend long disfala wei? Long taem wea olketa sailor bilong Europe fraet for travel farawe from land nogud olketa foldaon from spialaen bilong earth wea olketa tingse hem flat, olketa sailor bilong Pacific go ahed for akrosim big sea midolwan olketa sismol island. Olsem example, winim 1,500 year wea go pas finis, pipol bilong Polynesia lusim Marquesas Islands and go long north akrosim bigfala Pacific Ocean. Taem olketa kasem Hawaii, olketa travel finis for 3,700 kilometer! Kastom story bilong olketa storyim hao pipol bilong Polynesia bifor travel go and kam bak midolwan Hawaii and Tahiti. Samfala man for raetem history sei olketa story hia hem no tru. Nomata olsem, olketa sailor distaem followim datfala sem gogo, long wei for steer followim olketa star, olketa bigfala wave long midol sea, and olketa nara natural samting—olketa no iusim eni compass and map.

Wind Pushim Olketa

Olketa sailing ship depend evribit long wind. Wind wea kam from bihaen savve mekem ship muv fast, bat wind wea blow kam long opposite wei barava slowim daon ship. Sapos nomoa eni wind, wea kamap long doldrums—area wea stap raonem equator—minim ship no savve muv. Gogo, olketa sailor minim hao samfala strongfala wind wea savve kamap evritaem long sea helpem olketa for luksavve long wanfala main wei for olketa sailing ship followim long open sea. Olketa man for steer iusim gud disfala wind.

Bat, sapos wind hem againstim ship, hem savve kosim safa and dae. Olsem example, taem Da Gama sail from Portugal for go long Malabar Coast long India long 1497, wind wea kam long opposite wei tekem hem go aot long South Atlantic and then pushim hem bak long southeast and hem go raonem Cape of Good Hope long Africa. Bat long Indian Ocean, hem kasem olketa monsoon—wea hem wind wea kasem season for tan bak long opposite wei. Long olketa firstfala month long year, moonsoon wea kamap long hot season long southwest part bilong Indian Ocean, hem savve blowim go eniting wea float go long Asia. Klosap long end bilong coldfala season narafala moonsoon start for blow. Hem start strong from northeast, and blow go bak long Africa. Bat Da Gama lusim India long August and so hem feisim wind wea blow long opposite wei. Hem shud travel nomoa for 23-fala day, bat kakam bak bilong hem tekem klosap thrifala month. Bikos hem delay, olketa short long fresh kaikai, and staka man bilong hem dae from sik scurvy.

Olketa wise man for steer long Indian Ocean lane for chekim kalenda and compass tu. Olketa ship wea go east wea go pasim Cape of Good Hope mas start sail for India long start bilong hot season or maet olketa need for weit samfala month kasem taem wea wind hem fitim. Long narasaed, olketa captain wea lusim India for go long Europe mas lusim there klosap long cold season for missim monsoon bilong hot season. So, wei for travel long Indian Ocean hem savve change followim season—olketa ship wea travel midolwan Europe and Malabar Coast long India savve go followim wanfala direction nomoa long semtaem.

Wei for Steer Kamap Moabeta

Taem go pas, and olketa niufala wei for steer kamap. Wei for iusim olketa niu kaen instrument katem daon wei for depend long eye and wei for tingse samting hem stret. Datfala astrolabe and bihaen sextant wea moa stret—olketa instrument wea helpem man luksavve long position bilong sun or star antap long spialaen bilong solwata—helpem olketa sailor for faendem latitude north or south long equator. Datfala marine chronometer—wanfala klok wea waka stret and wea fitim for gogo long sea—mekem olketa fit for savve long longitude, east or west position bilong olketa. Olketa instrument hia moa stret winim wei for iusim olketa chart bifor.

Distaem, olketa gyrocompass savve showim wea nao north nomata olketa no garem magnetic needle. Datfala Global Positioning System helpem man savve long barava ples hem stap taem hem pressim samfala button. Olketa Electronic display planti taem changem olketa pepa chart. Tru nao, wei for steer hem kamap wanfala science wea garem olketa measurement and law wea stret evribit. Bat evriting hia mekem iumi tinghae long olketa sailor bifor wea no fraet and wea iusim savve abaotem wata, skae and wind nomoa for directim olketa ship long big open sea.

[Olketa piksa long page 22, 23]

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Wei for Wakem Olketa Chart

Olketa recordim gud olketa chart mekem olketa savve iusim for directim ship long future

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[Olketa piksa long page 14]

Savve wea moa hae for mekem olketa instrument distaem for steer kamap science wea garem olketa measurement and law wea stret evribit

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Kværner Masa-Yards