*Strange Place in the Middle of the Pacific Ocean* The date was 31 December 1899. 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 the master, Captain John Phillips, the result. The Warrimoo’s position was latitude 0 degrees, 31 minutes North and longitude 179 degrees, 30 minutes West. First Mate Payton broke in, “Know what this means? We’re only about 35 nautical miles from the intersection of the Equator and the International Date Line!”. Captain Phillips was prankish enough to take full advantage of the opportunity for achieving the navigational freak of a lifetime. He called his navigators to the bridge to check and double check the ships position. He changed course slightly so as to bear directly on his mark. Then he adjusted the engine speed. The calm weather and clear night worked in his favour. At midnight the “Warrimoo” lay on the Equator at an angle of 45 degrees, but at exactly the point where it crossed the International Date Line. The consequences of this exact position were many: For just an instant the SS Warrimoo was not only in two different days, two different months, two different seasons and two different years but in two different centuries - all at the same time! How? The forward part of the ship was in the Southern Hemisphere and the middle of the Southern Summer. The stern was in the Northern Hemisphere and in the middle of Winter. The date in the aft part of the ship was 31December *1899*. Forward it was 1 January *1900*. [image: alt] * If the ship on reverse trip, it would have gone from New Year New century to Last day of old century...* __._,_.___ 1 of 1 Photo(s) [image: moz-screenshot.png] <http://undefined/neo/groups/iafhistory/attachments/2041425249;_ylc=X3oDMTJtaHQxaXFoBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzYwNzk5MTkEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA2MDE2MDMyBHNlYwNhdHRhY2htZW50BHNsawNwaG90bwRzdGltZQMxNDYwOTUxNzM3?itemid=777583168&soc_src=mail&soc_trk=ma> moz-screenshot.png <http://undefined/neo/groups/iafhistory/attachments/2041425249;_ylc=X3oDMTJtaHQxaXFoBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzYwNzk5MTkEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA2MDE2MDMyBHNlYwNhdHRhY2htZW50BHNsawNwaG90bwRzdGltZQMxNDYwOTUxNzM3?itemid=777583168&soc_src=mail&soc_trk=ma> ------------------------------ -- With best wishes S Chander -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
