Lowtide Clear the decks, used to describe


preparation for action, stems from naval vessels going into action. Before a battle, the crew would tie down or remove all movable articles on the decks so that they wouldn’t knock around and injure sailors during battle.


Seagulls were used to hunt German U-boats during World War II.


Sea turtle eggs have a 1 in 10,000


chance of reaching maturity. One species of sea snake produces


100 times more venom than any other snake.


The annual migration of red crabs


across Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean involves so many individuals that it is impossible to walk anywhere without stepping on them.


The Galapagos Islands are the only


locale in the world where fur seals and penguins are found on the equator.


Jellyfish can be as small as a pea or as big as a patio umbrella.


Seventy-five percent of ocean


pollution comes from human activities on land; the rest comes from - you guessed it - humans on the sea.


Waterskiing was pioneered at Lake


Annecy, Haute Savoie, France, in 1920. The first transatlantic telegraph


cable was completed by the USS Niagara and the English ship Agamemnon on August 4, 1858.


Caviar came into English in the


sixteenth century by way of French and Italian, which borrowed it from the Turkish havyar, which in turn is from the Persian khayah. Incidentally, the native Russian word for caviar is ikra.


The inaugural edition of Fox’s


Yachting Annual, the first register of American yachts, was published in 1872.


MARITIME TRIVIA It spite of its great mass, a blue whale


BY BRYAN HENRY


can reach speeds of 10 to 15 knots. The male elephant seal’s giant snout


resembles an elephant’s trunk, which gave the seal its name. During mating season the bull inflates his snout to attract females.


Until 1860, when a telegraph cable


was retrieved from a depth of 6,000 feet and covered with a variety of marine life, no one believed there was life in the oceans below 1,800 feet.


The first gyrocompass on an


American naval vessel was installed aboard the USS Delaware, August 28, 1911.


The first nuclear-powered aircraft


carrier, the USS Enterprise, was launched in Newport News, Virginia on September 24, 1960.


Solid… Serving Northwest sailors since 1961


Local… Fully staffed service facility


with convenient hours - Contact: Angus, Ann, Brian, Jack, Jeff or Kerry.


Value… One year FREE sail care available


(ask for details).


Call About Free Pickup/Delivery on Fall Sail Repairs.


Mariners Square above Fisheries Supply Hours: M-F 9am - 6pm


www.northsails.com • (206) 632-5753 48° NORTH, SEPTEMBER 2010 PAGE 34


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