David Bianculli

Oh, it is among the worst, if not the worst, seas in the world. And the reason is that the seas travel automatically. uninterrupted, unblocked by any land around the globe. And so they travel about 13,000 miles without having anything to slow them down. And then they funnel around Cape Horn. A 90-foot wave can dwarf a ship's mast. The currents are the strongest on Earth.

Oh, it is among the worst, if not the worst, seas in the world. And the reason is that the seas travel automatically. uninterrupted, unblocked by any land around the globe. And so they travel about 13,000 miles without having anything to slow them down. And then they funnel around Cape Horn. A 90-foot wave can dwarf a ship's mast. The currents are the strongest on Earth.

And then there are the winds which can accelerate to as much as 200 miles per hour. Herman Melville, who later made the trek around the horn, compared it to a descent into hell in Dante's Inferno.

And then there are the winds which can accelerate to as much as 200 miles per hour. Herman Melville, who later made the trek around the horn, compared it to a descent into hell in Dante's Inferno.

And then there are the winds which can accelerate to as much as 200 miles per hour. Herman Melville, who later made the trek around the horn, compared it to a descent into hell in Dante's Inferno.

One of the things I found fascinating was that this is before the Panama Canal, obviously, but the Spanish would prefer to just cross Panama rather than sail around the Cape.

One of the things I found fascinating was that this is before the Panama Canal, obviously, but the Spanish would prefer to just cross Panama rather than sail around the Cape.

One of the things I found fascinating was that this is before the Panama Canal, obviously, but the Spanish would prefer to just cross Panama rather than sail around the Cape.

That is how terrifying Cape Horn was to seamen, that the Spanish decided that for their trade, they would take their cargo ship, sail to Panama, and then haul the goods across the jungle, suffering malaria. Yeah. and yellow fever and then load the goods on the other side of Panama onto ships into the Pacific. So that was just a testament to how terrifying these seas really were.

That is how terrifying Cape Horn was to seamen, that the Spanish decided that for their trade, they would take their cargo ship, sail to Panama, and then haul the goods across the jungle, suffering malaria. Yeah. and yellow fever and then load the goods on the other side of Panama onto ships into the Pacific. So that was just a testament to how terrifying these seas really were.

That is how terrifying Cape Horn was to seamen, that the Spanish decided that for their trade, they would take their cargo ship, sail to Panama, and then haul the goods across the jungle, suffering malaria. Yeah. and yellow fever and then load the goods on the other side of Panama onto ships into the Pacific. So that was just a testament to how terrifying these seas really were.

Let's talk a little bit about these ships. You call them buoyant wooden castles. The flagship of this mission was the Centurion. Can you describe it for us?

Let's talk a little bit about these ships. You call them buoyant wooden castles. The flagship of this mission was the Centurion. Can you describe it for us?

Let's talk a little bit about these ships. You call them buoyant wooden castles. The flagship of this mission was the Centurion. Can you describe it for us?

Yeah, so these ships really were these kind of engineering marvels. They were more than 120 feet long. They had three masts. They were propelled by sails. They could fly as many as 12 to 18 sails, depending on the size of the warship at a time. But again, they were also very susceptible to the elements of sea and storm because they were made of wood.

Yeah, so these ships really were these kind of engineering marvels. They were more than 120 feet long. They had three masts. They were propelled by sails. They could fly as many as 12 to 18 sails, depending on the size of the warship at a time. But again, they were also very susceptible to the elements of sea and storm because they were made of wood.

Yeah, so these ships really were these kind of engineering marvels. They were more than 120 feet long. They had three masts. They were propelled by sails. They could fly as many as 12 to 18 sails, depending on the size of the warship at a time. But again, they were also very susceptible to the elements of sea and storm because they were made of wood.

One of the facts that astonished me when researching this book was that about 4,000 trees could be used to build one of these warships. And I even found accounts of people complaining about a kind of deforestation at the time.

One of the facts that astonished me when researching this book was that about 4,000 trees could be used to build one of these warships. And I even found accounts of people complaining about a kind of deforestation at the time.

One of the facts that astonished me when researching this book was that about 4,000 trees could be used to build one of these warships. And I even found accounts of people complaining about a kind of deforestation at the time.