I was wearing a t-shirt that said, “I am introverting!”and skipped my way to the pile of books by my bedside table. Maritime adventures awaited.
I was reading the book, The Sea Chart – By John Blake
The book is fascinating to thumb through. Maps in varying degrees of intrigue, complexity and use over the years is there, along with plenty of information about maritime cartography. It also contains interesting anecdotes such as the one about the junior hydrographer’s revenge.
The Junior Hydrographer’s Revenge
A lieutenant in the Royal Navy of England served under one of the hardest captains of maritime history at the time: Captain Alvin Coote Corry. The man had more officers court-martialed than all the other captains of the time put together. Naturally, he was not a beloved leader.
His discipline led to being obeyed, but the last laugh is still reverberating through the ages.
It was a beautiful day in the Aegean Sea near modern day Greece. The year was 1903. The ship, HMS Hydra, and crew had just docked at Port Mudros for a rare day off, and the pleasant conditions on the island beckoned. Much like his fellows, a junior hydrographer, Captain Lockyer, was looking forward to shooting partridges and dreaming about being reunited with his girlfriend back home. He had a special name for her too, Nulma. Dreams about Nulma, and a day loping after partridges looking out in the Aegean Sea – what more could he ask for?
The joy must have shown on his crew’s face, for the disciplinarian in Captain Alvin Coote Corry could not permit it. He ordered them to survey the island, and each of them were tasked with a hard day’s labor. Cartography, in the absence of modern technology is a demanding routine, and the hydrographers were miffed.
Lieutenant Lockyer seeing that he had no option but to obey the irascible Captain got his revenge though: He named four hills on the chart which was then sold world-wide: Yam, Yrroc, Eb, and Denmad. Read backwards, the import is clear.
He also named a hill he liked after his girlfriend, Nulma.
Maritime Stories
Maritime adventures over the past 2000 years have been fantastic at times (ex: the creation of Carta Marina. It is a fascinating geological map showing the mythical monsters in the oceans and where they are to be found. )
Completed by Olaus Magnus in Italy in the mid sixteenth century, it attempts to outline all the monsters known at the time in the Nordic regions from various accounts.
With modern technology, the seas have been explored much more, but still retain an allure and a mystery that beckons humanity.
Nourish-n-Cherish 