A Sea Story

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

GREAT SEA STORY (Trivia)

The passenger steamer SS Warrimoo was quietly knifing its way through the waters of the mid-Pacific on its way from Vancouver to Australia. The navigator had just finished working out a star fix and brought Captain John DS. Phillips, the result. The Warrimoo's position was LAT 0º 31' N and LONG 179 30' W. The date was 31 December 1899. "Know what this means?" First Mate Payton broke in, "We're only a few miles from the intersection of the Equator and the International Date Line". Captain Phillips was prankish enough to take full advantage of the opportunity to achieve the navigational freak of a lifetime.

He called his navigators to the bridge to check & double check the ship's position. He changed course slightly so as to bear directly on his mark. Then he adjusted the engine speed.

The calm weather & clear night worked in his favor. At midnight the SS Warrimoo lay on the Equator at exactly the point where it crossed the International Date Line! The consequences of this bizarre position were many:

The forward part (bow) of the ship was in the Southern Hemisphere & in the middle of summer.

The rear (stern) was in the Northern Hemisphere & in the middle of winter.

The date in the aft part of the ship was 31 December 1899.

In the bow (forward) part it was 1 January 1900.

This ship was therefore not only in:

Two different days,

Two different months,

Two different years,

Two different seasons

But in two different centuries - all at the same time!

[Pat Riot]

That’s really cool Marshal. Thanks. 

[watab kid]

now that was a really cool post 

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

The ship in the diagram has a SE heading, should be SW.

[Barry Sloe]

My first time crossing was at the Equator and Date Line, Golden Shellback. Oh the memories. 

 

BS

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

1 hour ago, Barry Sloe said:

My first time crossing was at the Equator and Date Line, Golden Shellback. Oh the memories. 

 

BS

I’ve been wondering, if one of our subs crosses the equator, do they surface and do the shellback ritual?

[Blackwater 53393]

That ship was also in four distinct hemispheres at the same time!

[Pat Riot]

53 minutes ago, Barry Sloe said:

My first time crossing was at the Equator and Date Line, Golden Shellback. Oh the memories. 

 

BS

When we crossed the equator there was talk aboard ship that the Captain might take us across at the Int’l Date Line and the equator. It seemed like a done deal but orders changed. We crossed at the 26° 48.0’  W. Only 1500 miles from the date line. 
That’s okay. It was a day I will never forget. 

[Pat Riot]

43 minutes ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said:

I’ve been wondering, if one of our subs crosses the equator, do they surface and do the shellback ritual?

I recall talking to a Fast Attack Submariner about it and he said they had theirs partially inside the sub and also on the deck outside, but I do not recall details. 
I doubt the Boomers surface for this. 

[Alpo]

It's a good story. Except, he was not in two different centuries. The 20th century started in 1901. The last year of the 19th century was 1900. That's the way it works. Those people that was going crazy back for Y2K - yaaaay, a new millennium --- not until 2001.

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

19 minutes ago, Alpo said:

It's a good story. Except, he was not in two different centuries. The 20th century started in 1901. The last year of the 19th century was 1900. That's the way it works. Those people that was going crazy back for Y2K - yaaaay, a new millennium --- not until