We are still bouncing around out here in the Atlantic this
morning. The ship was moving quite a bit when we went to bed at 11 and it’s
still happening. This is one of those days when you need to have “one hand for
yourself and one hand for the ship”. In
other words, hold on.
Bill and I love to read the Patrick O’Brian books about
sailing the oceans around the year 1800. Sailing was very technical in those
days and war ships, in particular, were at the leading edge of technology. At
that time, most ships navigated the globe successfully even in rough weather
conditions.
The people we really admire were the ones who first
set sail in galleys around the cape of Africa. We had a lecture on early
mariners. It’s believed that the Phoenicians were the first to travel all the
way around Africa. There is only anecdotal evidence for this but there is proof
that they made it as far as the Canary Islands.
According to our travel guides, the islands were not named
for the canary bird as you might surmise. No one knows for sure but the name
probably had more to do with canines (dogs).
