The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-04-15
RIDDLES OF THE SEA

/ I'LL JkA
panses are peopled in fancy with
mariners bold and COLLINS of old which
frolic at night over the phantom masts
of ships that have sailed into it rud-
derless 1t has been described as
the eddy of the Atlantic which gath
ers all manner of things that are left
to the mercy of the currents.
AS matter of fact, most of this
is purely fiction. Recently the Nor
wegian bark Crown, lumber laden,
waterlogged, and deserted drifted
straight through the Sargasso Sea
without meeting enough resistance to
counteract the weight of the wind
blowing her westward. The develop
ment of trade toward Panama and
the ability of present day boats to
carry enough coal for the entire trip,
is sending them more and more
through the mythical sea. It's wastes
are now being plowed by many keel,
and the fiction of it is taking it's place
with the things of the past.
sidesteppine a Hurricane.
A hurricane is a much agitated
aggregation of winds playing ring
around the rosy. They circle merrily
about the storm center. Strange to
say, they always circle in the same
direction-contrary to the hands of
the clock.
Now, if you are in the outskirts of
hurricane and want to know where
the center of it is, you have only to
"look in the eye of the wind" and the
storm center is to your right. If you
draw little jigger like a watch
spring, you will have a diagram of
a hurricane But be careful to draw
in the direction opposite the hands
of the watch if you are north Of the
equator, and with the hands of the
watch if you are south of it. Now
place yourself, in imagination, at any
point on one of these lines. It's direc
ton at that point will represent the
direction of the wind. Face the wind.
The storm center is on your right.
with this diagram of a watch spring
any landlubber can tell where the
storm center is. The knowledge OF
the savants is not necessary to con-
vince him in what directio he should
steer. flee, set sail, and beat it.
The direction in which the storm
center is moving may be determined
by taking successive observations. AS
you turn to face the changing wind,
YOU have only to observe in what
direction a point would move to be
still on your right. 1t is the sim
plest thing in the world thus to de-
termine whether the storm center is
cutting in ahead of you or behind you
and to turn tail or steam ahead ac-
cordingly.
When Icebergs Are Near.
Icebergs indicate their presence by
blink" in the sky long before they
may be seen. This blink is a path
of sky above them lighter than that
surrounding. 1t is caused by their
capacity of refracting the sunlight or
moonlight. An iceberg in fog looks
black If of any height, it will send
back an echo when the whistle is
blown. by noting the time between
the blast the whistle and the
reflected sound" say the men of
the photographic office, "the distance
of the object in feet may be approx
imately found by multiplying by five
hundred and fifty"
Recalling Yesterdays.
The Fiji Islands and the Samoan
Islands are about a quarter of an inch
apart, according to the map. But
the Fiji Islands are on the western
side of the 18Oth meridian, and Sa-
moa is on the eastern side. There
fore, it is always Saturday in Samoa
when it is Sunday in Fiji If you
lived in Fiji, you might celebrate
Christmas or the Fourth of July or