Velociworld

SARGASSO SEA

Roughly equivalent to the Horse Latitudes, or the Doldrums. A becalmed two million square mile area of clear sea and sargassum weed in the North Atlantic, surrounded by powerful currents, but an area itself noted for lack of wind, lack of aquatic life, lack of hope for windless sailing vessels.

I've sailed to Europe and back on a square rigger, and plumbed the depths of the Sargasso Sea during a diversion to Bermuda. It is indeed a rather nightmarish area, but nothing like the rudder-choking legends of yore. Although it was very cool Hitler put those Mann diesels in that ship, so we could putter through when the breeze died.

I liken the Sargasso to the angry red eye of Jupiter, a violent, massive storm that has probably raged for centuries, eons, shifting slightly, never going away. So it is with the Sea. It shifts a bit, depending on the currents, but essentially remains intact. Maybe some Bermuda Triangle ponderables arise from the lack of wind power, maybe not. Many a ship found crewless in the Sargasso, only skeletons, but I've seen birds eat worse things than manflesh, so that would explain that.

Why the Horse Latitudes? Because, when becalmed, the Spaniards would throw their war horses overboard to conserve water. I'm sure they kept the slaves. Columbus thought he was about to reach land when he hit the Sargasso, what with the seaweed. Fucking wrong.

Anyway, this is all because I was drifting off on the lanai tonight, and remembered a Jonny Quest episode, the pilot, in fact, from 1964, that took place in the Sargasso Sea. And I can't even remember what I had for lunch Tuesday. Strange, the mind.