Moving Along on the NB Palmer:
A Look at Knots and other Maritime Measurements

The Nathaniel B. Palmer is 95 meters long with a 12,279 hp engine. It has an ice breaking capacity of 3 feet at 3 knots. The past few days have been cold; we’ve had days with snow, and ice hangs on the deck. When the seas are rough, we can go out on deck in only a few areas (if at all). (See photo). Check our speed on the monitor photo below. The speed listed is in knots.  Many measurement terms, like knots, that originated in the early days of sailing are still used today.

Check position and speed	Check temperature and wind
Dangerous Decks!

The term knot is used to talk about the speed of a ship because, initially, actual knots in a rope were used. Each line was divided into 47 ft. 3 in. sections with a knot dividing one section from the other. The sections came to be known as “knots.” The line was run along the side of the boat, as a 28-second glass was timing it. (You might not have seen an actual timing glass, but most of you have seen the hourglass that is on your computer.)

The length of a knot was determined from the proportion that one hour (3600 seconds) is to 28 seconds as one nautical mile (listed in feet) would be to a knot.

Use your calculator to finish the problem: 3600/28 =6076.115/x

A nautical mile is slightly different from what we normally consider a mile on land. A nautical mile equals 1.151 statute miles (the length of a minute of longitude at the equator).

Another common measurement is the fathom. To measure depth, sailors would throw a line into the water, wait until it hit the bottom, then pull it up while measuring from finger tip to finger tip. The arm span of the average sailor was 6 feet which became the basis for the fathom.

A league is 3 nautical miles. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is a novel by Jules Verne. How far is this distance in miles? Is it possible to travel twenty thousand leagues under the sea?

French writer Jules Verne (1828–1905)	20,000 Leagues Under the Seas (or Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas) is a classic science fiction novel by French writer Jules Verne (1828–1905), published in 1870 under the title Vingt mille lieues sous les mers. The original edition, published by Hetzel, contains a number of illustrations by Alphonse de Neuville and Edouard Riou. The novel is about the fictional Captain Nemo and his submarine, Nautilus, as seen by one of his passengers, Professor Pierre Aronnax.

	Test your knowledge: The deepest point in the ocean is the Marianas Trench at a depth of 35,802 feet. How many leagues under the sea is the bottom of the trench? The bluefin tuna, which weighs up to 1,500 pounds, swims up to 55 miles per hour. How many knots is this?
I thought an island cruise meant Hawaii!