bengtsson wrote:...They navigated their boat from the island through the straights of Magellan and all the way to the mouth of the La Plata on Jan. 28 1742. A voyage of 2,500 miles. It took Captain Bligh to out do Lieutenant Bulkeley, but it does tell what the officers of the Royal Navy were made of in those days.
Hi Bob - two and a half thousand miles is pretty good in an open boat - but the advantage they had of "keeping the shore on the left" pales somewhat when compared to Bligh's & Shackleton's open ocean crossings.
The Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz navigated his shipwrecked crew in two small boats out of the arctic where they had spent the winter in a small hut on Nova Zembla, besieged by starvation, scurvy and polar bears, - he died on the way back.
If all else fails, a complete pig-headed refusal to see facts in the face will see us through. - General Melchett
bengtsson wrote:...They navigated their boat from the island through the straights of Magellan and all the way to the mouth of the La Plata on Jan. 28 1742. A voyage of 2,500 miles. It took Captain Bligh to out do Lieutenant Bulkeley, but it does tell what the officers of the Royal Navy were made of in those days.
Hi Bob - two and a half thousand miles is pretty good in an open boat - but the advantage they had of "keeping the shore on the left" pales somewhat when compared to Bligh's & Shackleton's open ocean crossings.
Andy
Indeed. Navigation was not the problem for them. They also were lucky in that it was summer down there at the time. They had reached starvation levels before setting sail. I'de like to read an account of their voyage and find out if they put ashore for food gathering. The territory was all held by a hostile Spain and avoiding them was also a factor. In any case, Hats of to them!
I've read of Bligh's voyage and it really is THE story of the Bounty adventure.
While his expedition may not have been as grandiose as Shackletons, I would have to say my favorite explorer was Theodore Roosevelt, and before you jump on me about his African Safaris not being exploration - i'm talking about The River of Doubt.
It's not who you are, but what you do that defines you.
You should read the history of exploration of Africa in order to put Roosevelt's trip on Rio da Duvida into comparative framework. Also I think it is not too harsh to say where as Shackleton was the captain of men during the greatest adversity, Roosevelt was a dead weight during the greatest adversity on that particular trip.
Boats and polar ice don't mix, I thought we learned this lesson in April of 1912
Am I strange, that every time I see a picture or mention of the Yamato, I hear Starblazers music in my head?
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