Do you have a passion for boats? Are you a seasoned sailor or just someone who dreams of going on a cruise one day? There is something deeply alluring about the ocean, the freedom and the mystery. Battling the waves and discovering new shores. If you love boats, then you’ll love these weird and wonderful boat facts:
- Unlucky with boats
A man who managed to survive a ship burning and sinking in 1871, quite rightly suffered a fear of sailing afterwards until he decided to overcome that fear 41 years later by booking tickets to sail on the Titanic!
- Whistling winds
Did you know that there is a belief in the Royal Navy that if you whistle on deck you will summon strong winds? The only person who is allowed to whistle is the ship’s cook as it means they are not eating the food!
- Ghost ship
Since 2013, a Russian cruise ship has been roaming international waters with not a soul on board! It was on its way to the Dominican Republic to be scrapped when its towing cable snapped. Nobody wants to claim jurisdiction for it so it floats along completely abandoned!
- Perfectly preserved
A Swedish vessel sank in 1638 and was recovered from the ocean bed in 1961 completely intact and preserved. The warship named Vasa is the only ship from this period to be still intact and is currently on display in the Vasa Museum in Stockholm.
- Nudes Ahoy!
In 2004, a party yacht actually capsized and sank when everybody on board moved to one side of the boat as it passed a nudist beach in Texas.
- Clever disguise
During World War Two, a Dutch warship managed to disguise itself as a tropical island! It remained undetected by the Japanese and was the only ship of its kind to survive the war. Ships and boats rely heavily on the sheet metal fabrication industry for their manufacture. Find out more about Bending Machines used in this process by visiting www.cotswold-machinery-sales.co.uk/euromac/horizontal-bending-machines/
- Strange coincidence
During a period of 200 years, 3 boats sank in the same place just off the coast of Wales. All had but one survivor and of the three who survived, all were called Hugh Williams!
- Fear of the plague
Did you know that word ‘quarantine’ comes from the Latin word for 40? This was the number of days a ship had to wait to dock when the plague was ravaging Europe.
- Long return home
In 1784, a Japanese seaman became shipwrecked and sent a message in a bottle in the hope of rescue. It did eventually wash in the very town where he was born but unfortunately not until 1935!
- Sailors not to be trusted?
An American ship rescued British sailors who had been stranded in 1812 on an island. As the American crew went in search of food for the journey and the additional crew they now had, the British sailors stole their ship and left them stranded!
- More abandonment
There is another abandoned ship from 1931 that was set adrift off the coast of Alaska and was spotted again in 1969 floating around in the Arctic!