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June 8, 2008

A Nautical Mile

BY: Keith Ellenbogen

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©OCEANA/ Keith Ellenbogen

 

After approximately 36 hours of rough seas and traveling 400 nautical miles we entered the unusually calm Sicilian Sea.

A sailors trivia: a nautical mile referrers to one minute of latitude (1/60) of arch, along the Earth’s meridian (line of longitude). One nautical mile = 1,852 meters or 1.15 miles.

Of equal interest the speed at which a ship is traveling is referred to as a ‘knot’. The term ‘knot’ originated as sailors used to tie a knotted rope to a “log”. The ‘log’ was then thrown into the ocean and the numbers of knots on the rope were counted as they passed into the ocean over a given time.

Our ship continues to sail through the night.