I always like quirky facts and events. I remember reading once that people from northern Britain and northern Scandinavia have minutely largely brains, something like .003% bigger. Whilst I am happy to reach for any compliments going, it isn’t something that makes us extra brainy. Apparently the light levels are so poor for much of the year our brains need extra capabilities to process what we see in the gloomy winter days.
In the midst of our never ending summer heatwave I remember reading how every hundred feet up you live, then you gain a brief period of extra daylight compared to people at sea level. I remember looking out at the sunset on midsummer day and at 500 feet up enjoying the day a good 3 or 4 seconds longer than people at the bottom of the hill. Conversely I guess my daylight period in the winter is likely similarly shorter, good job I come from up north so I can see what I am doing.
I’m sure that 123 years or so ago, the senior officers of the SS Warrimoo would have swapped some similar far-fetched facts as they plied their trade across the seven seas.S
The passenger steamer SS Warrimoo was built in the U.K. for use in Australia and one was one of countless similar ships making passage between the continents at the end of the Victorian era.
The SS Warrimoo was making one such journey across the mid-Pacific on its way from Canada to Australia when the navigator finished working out a star fix and brought Captain John DS. Phillips, the result.
The Warrimoo’s position was LAT 0º 31’ N and LONG 179 30’ W. The date was 31 December 1899.
“Know what this means?” First Mate Payton broke in, “We’re only a few miles from the intersection of the Equator and the International Date Line”. Captain Phillips was prankish enough to take full advantage of the opportunity for achieving the navigational freak of a lifetime.
He called his navigators to the bridge to check & double check the ship’s position. He changed course slightly so as to bear directly on his mark. Then he adjusted the engine speed.
The calm weather & clear night worked in his favor. At mid-night the SS Warrimoo lay on the Equator at exactly the point where it crossed the International Date Line. The consequences of this bizarre position were many:
The bow of the ship was in the Southern Hemisphere & in the middle of summer.
The stern was in the Northern Hemisphere & in the middle of winter.
The date in the aft part of the ship was December 31, 1899.
The date in the forward part of the ship was January 1, 1900.
The ship was therefore concurrently in:
two different days,
two different months,
two different years,
two different seasons
and in two different centuries… though of course many would state the 20th century doesn’t start until 1901 but lets not live the whole Millennium thing again.
For a completely different take on sailing in the Pacific Ocean then check out Captain Bligh, Fletcher Christian and The Mutiny on The Bounty
Stephen Liddell 