: Reprint from Sheet&YardArm.Com chat board, July 1487: Topic: Magnetic needles

: Posted by: The Galloping Genoan
: Jul-10-87 2:57 P.M. (GMT)
: Hi guys! Thinking 'bout sailing west for 6 weeks to reach china,
: wonder if I should buy one of those magnetic needle things. What do
: you guys think about 'em?
: Thanks,
: Cristobal

: Posted by: Old Salt
: Jul-10-87 4:13 P.M. (GMT)
: You damn fool! Sail west, huh? You'll fall off the friggin' earth that
: way, idgit!
: Fernando

: Posted by: Southron
: Jul-10-87 5:31 P.M. (GMT)
: Hey, Cristobal, what's up. Prince Henry was asking about you the other
: day. Yeah, those needles can come in handy, as long as you don't sail
: too near any iron motherlodes, and as long as you don't lose all your
: heavy parchment patches, and as long as some clumsy tar doesn't trip
: over the box and smash it all to smithereens. Better not neglect your
: star charting, odds are you'll need before it's all over.
: SYOTO,
: Bartolomeu

: Posted by: Whale Belly
: Jul-10-87 6:37 P.M. (GMT)
: Cristobal, your obviosly a reel smart guy who can apprecate this so
: let me share a secret with you. Dont tell nobody becuz I dont have
: enough of these for everbody. When you get out there on ye waves whats
: ye biggest thing you got to fear? Falling over, right? Capsizing, they
: call it. Well I've got ye invention that will make that worry a thing
: of ye past – its two specilly treated whale bellys that you
: attach to ye sides of your ship and fill full of air. That way you
: cant tump over! Ye inflated bellys keep you uprite in any see! I call
: them "sponsons" and if you'll just stop by Plymouth on ye way out
: I'll
: get you all fixed up for a very resonabil price.
: Sir John

: Posted by: Coaster
: Jul-10-87 9:14 P.M. (GMT)
: Hey, Gallop, how long you been sailing anyway? I'm guessing you're a
: rank beginner by the way you talk. You sound like a moron. It's pretty
: clear you know nothing of the sea. WTF do you want to go out in the
: middle of the ocean for anyway? It's guys like you that give this
: sport a bad name. I bet you don't even wear a PFD! I ought to let you
: go on and get killed but my conscious won't let me. So let me give you
: a piece of advice – don't go out of sight of land! You can have
: plenty of fun right along the coast there without endangering
: everybody and making people afraid of the sea by going out there and
: getting killed.
: Alfonso

: Posted by: The Galloping Genoan
: Jul-11-87 5:48 A.M. (GMT)
: Thanks for the advice, Bart – sounds like I'd better get some
: spares. And what's the deal with passing iron mountains? What happens
: there, and how close do you have to be?
: What did Prince Henry say? He wasn't very nice last time I saw him.
: And to you other jerks – I'm asking about needles, could you
: please stay on topic?
: Thanks,
: Cristobal

: Posted by: Old Salt
: Jul-11-87 6:24 A.M. (GMT)
: Friggin' dago, you still here? GO AWAY NEWBIE! Portugal rules the
: seas.
: Fernando

: Posted by: Whale Belly
: Jul-11-87 6:36 A.M. (GMT)
: If all I cared about was mysef I wudnt say anoter word after that
: insult but I'm just trying to save a few lives here. Your not ye only
: one reading this tread ya no. So when your drowning there besides your
: capsized ship and thinking, "I wish I had sponsons now" maybe
: somebody
: else will lern from your errors.
: Sir John

: Posted by: Weevilly Biscuits
: Jul-11-87 7:45 A.M. (GMT)
: Ye needle can be an invaluable aide, but don't let it take ye place of
: common sense. Ye sun riseth in ye west, sailing west is easy. But it
: does get dark and ye sky gets covered with cloud, so I always carry a
: needle too.
: On ye question about ye iron, I don't know a lot but I can share my
: experience. In ye north sea there's an iron island. When I pass within
: 3 leagues of it ye needle points to ye island, turning toward it and
: following it as I pass so you would think I was sailing in a circle.
: At 6 leagues ye needle moves in ye island's general direction but only
: a quarter or so. At 12 leagues ye effect is very small. So, in my
: experience, you have to be pretty close for it to matter.
: Francis

: Posted by: Private Land Owner
: Jul-11-87 8:37 A.M. (GMT)
: Cristobal, let me ask you, when you're sailing off in the lonely seas
: and you come up on a beautiful island, are you planning to land and
: traipse about the place? Stealing water and wood and tracking your
: muddy boots everywhere? Is that what you have in mind? Because if it
: is, I just want to point out that you'll be TRESPASSING and you'll
: deserve to be hung from the highest ... (CONTINUED 926
: more lines)

: Posted by: Southron
: Jul-11-87 10:15 A.M. (GMT)
: Prince Henry just asked where you were, said he hadn't seen you in a
: while. What's up? You two have a spat?
: On the motherlodes, Biscuits is right, you have to be pretty close.
: How close depends on the size of the lode. You remember the Saint
: Teresa Mountain on the coast of Africa? That one must have a lot of
: iron, that one bends my needle from 30 leagues off. The main thing is
: don't rely on the needle alone – check the stars and sun and
: moon and make sure they agree.
: SYOTO,
: Bartolomeu

: Posted by: Pequatcha
: Jul-11-87 10:24 A.M. (GMT)
: Any iron nearby will bend the needle. I heard from my father that the
: way Eannes discovered Madeira was that a sailor set a bucket of nails
: beside the box where Eannes set up his float and needle. He thought he
: was sailing to Morocco.

: Posted by: Coaster
: Jul-11-87 10:34 A.M. (GMT)
: Moron, this is on topic – are we not talking about the sea?
: Safety first – think how your irresponsible actions can affect
: others.
: Alfonso

: Posted by: Neptune
: Jul-11-87 10:36 A.M. (GMT)
: Cristobal, what kind of ship are you sailing? I hope it's not a
: Coleman.
: Pedro

: Posted by: Whale Belly
: Jul-11-87 11:31 A.M. (GMT)
: It's not too lait to save your life, Cristobal. Remember: sponsons =
: safty.
: Sir John

: Posted by: The Galloping Genoan
: Jul-11-87 2:57 P.M. (GMT)
: Thanks for the help, guys. Bought two needles today, with four float
: boxes and four big parcels of parchment. Ready to set out as soon as I
: can find some backing. Bart, Prince Henry turned me down flat on this
: westward crossing. Do you know anybody up in Spain I could talk to?
: Thanks,
: Cristobal

That one is too funny, Kurt; original composition?