24. Episode 24: The Mary Celeste
Nautical Nonsense
Episode 24: The Mary Celeste The sea is full of mysteries We’ve all heard about the well known fact that we know less about our oceans than we do about outer space. Most mysteries at sea can be debunked to superstition and folklore, but there are some stories that remain a enigma, puzzling the brightest of minds. In episode 19 we talked about the Bermuda Triangle, and while it is still an odd cluster of tragic events, we can look at the science behind it and understand that the phenomena surrounding that area might not actually be so confounding. Other mysteries include tales of...
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23. Episode 23 The Hurricane Lady of St. Augustine
Nautical Nonsense
If you’re from the coastal American south, the days of June 1 to November 30th sit a little differently than the rest. For over 60 million Americans, they live in an area that is vulnerable to one of the greatest forces of mother nature, the hurricane. The end of November marks the end of hurricane season in the South East United States and the Carribbean. The recent hurricane Nichole is among the latest in the season of hurricanes to touch land in Florida, the next one closest being hurricane Kate in 1985. And though it may be time to put away the storm shutters - the towns breathe a sigh...
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22. Episode 22: Liminal Lighthouses
Nautical Nonsense
EPISODE 22: LIMINAL LIGHTHOUSES By all intents and purposes, a lighthouse should represent hope. They light the way to safety, and present a safe harbour. But they also are reaped in solitude and often lie at the edge of danger. Even that though, could bring hope. So what is it about lighthouses, then, that makes them such macabre places? Lighthouses occupy the liminal spaces between land and the sea. The rest often in the harshest of environments where humans shouldn’t really exist, and where normal rules of society do not prevail. There is no sense of start and stop in a lighthouse,...
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21. Episode 21: The Sinking of the Wilhelm Gustlaff
Nautical Nonsense
Episode 21: The Sinking of the Wilhelm Gustlaff In the icy cold January of 1945, all was quiet in the Baltic Sea. The Wilhelm Gustlaff floated silently along. Later that evening a national broadcast from Hitler blared through the boats speakers, echoing across the water. A man named Aleksander took his shot. In a loss of life that accounted to nearly 9000 people, the tragedy of the Wilhelm Gustlaff is that of the largest loss of human life at sea. Listen to the podcast to learn more! SHOW NOTES: 0:10 Peter’s Youth 2:00 The Encroachment of the Russians 2:56 The History...
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20. Episode 20: Shackleton
Nautical Nonsense
Episode 20: Shackleton If there was ever a man with a sense of adventure and a roaming spirit, it was Earnest Shackleton. Earnest left school at the age of 16 to join the Merchant Navy. After that, he spent four years learning his trade as an apprentice on a square-rigged sailing ship. He then trained to be an officer, working his way up through the ranks. In 1898 he earned his master mariner certificate and got a job as an officer on the Union Castle line. He primarily did the sailing route between London and South Africa. Shackleton was a man of resolute character....
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19. Episode 19: The Bermuda Triangle
Nautical Nonsense
In 1950 the Sandra departed from Savannah Georgia with 300 tons of insecticide on board. The Sandra’s destination was Venezuala, but she never completed her journey. As the ship passed the Florida coast the ship lost complete radio contact and disappeared without trace. No one ever heard from the Sandra again. SHOW NOTES: :40 Flight 19 1:00 SS Cotopaxi 2:10 The Bermuda Triangle 2:35 Vincent Gaddis 4:30 Charles Berlitz’s The Bermuda Triangle 9:10 The Reality of the Bermuda Triangle Connect with Sydney Zaruba:
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18. Episode 18: Horatio
Nautical Nonsense
Everyone loves the story of an underdog. A tale of someone with all the odds stacked against them, and manages to come back and surprise the world with their amazing feats. The type of person who has Islands named after them and can inspire a nation Someone who is so impressive at what they have accomplished, you can almost forget and forgive their flaws. Horatio always had a poor disposition. His stomach afflicted him in ways he barely handled. When he was born, his mother didn’t believe he would survive infancy, and in fact he nearly died. As a child Horatio suffered many illnesses...
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17. Episode 17: Sailors' Tattoos
Nautical Nonsense
Sailors in particular are known for their decorated canvases of bodies. It is often said tattooing was first introduced to sailors after Captain Cook’s voyages to the South Seas. Here the men encountered the islanders with extensive tattoo designs, and the sailors were smitten. Captain Cook himself undertook a systematic study of these designs and several of the sailors on his the voyages had themselves tattooed. Everything about the first sailor tattoos were simple. They were marks of identification or affection. But gradually, and as things do with sailors, a superstition began to grow...
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16. Episode 16: Ship Talk
Nautical Nonsense
EPISODE 16 - SHIP TALK The way a person speaks says a lot about their background. Even setting the topic of conversation aside the accents, colloquialisms, and vocabulary of an individual are all indicators of geographic origins, regional and parental influences, and education. The way someone phrases their sentences, certain jargon they might use, and the way they place certain inflections on words and syntax can also provide huge clues to the profession of the speaker. Salesmen tend to posses the earnest capability of carrying a conversation with a wall, using everyday language, but in a way...
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15. Episode 15: Sea Monsters
Nautical Nonsense
Fear of anything is often misplaced for what is truly fear of the unknown. Are you scared of the dark, or maybe what lay hidden in the darkness? From the first time a human dipped their toes in the ocean, we have been fearful of what lies beneath that glimmering surface. From Greek myths to Icelandic sagas and in Chinese folklore. stories from around the world tell tales of terrible monsters in the sea. These creatures continue to hold a fascination over us today and appear in movies such as Pirates of the Caribbean and The Meg. The Kraken is one of the most infamous of all sea creatures...
info_outlineEveryone loves the story of an underdog.
A tale of someone with all the odds stacked against them, and manages to come back and surprise the world with their amazing feats. The type of person who has Islands named after them and can inspire a nation
Someone who is so impressive at what they have accomplished, you can almost forget and forgive their flaws.
Horatio always had a poor disposition. His stomach afflicted him in ways he barely handled.
When he was born, his mother didn’t believe he would survive infancy, and in fact he nearly died. As a child Horatio suffered many illnesses such as measles and marsh fever.
He was afflicted constantly by coughs and colds. Being born in 1758 and the sixth of eleven children, Horatio knew that his only chance of leading a successful life was to join the military.
Horatio had an uncle in the navy who was a captain, and at the age of twelve he went to his uncle and told him of his intent to enlist. In response, Horatio’s uncle, the Naval Captain Maurice Suckling, was surprised and remarked: ‘what has poor Horatio done, who is so weak, that he above all the rest should be sent to rough it out at sea?’
They might not have known it at the time, but was a premonition of what was yet to come.
SHOW NOTES:
Sickly Seadog
While life at sea made Horatio much more robust than in his childhood, he was still extremely susceptible to illness.
Over his years of service Horatio suffered from malaria, yellow fever, scurvy, tuberculosis and dysentery.
All of which he bore stoically.
Nelson Fights a Polar Bear
One of Horatio’s first voyages was on the bomb vessel HMS Carcass as a coxswain on a voyage of exploration in the Arctic to try and reach the North Pole. He was only 15 years old at the time.
When they set sail on their expedition in 1773 there was a theory circulating around the world there was an open sea near the North Pole. Inevitably the two ships in the expedition quickly became stuck in the ice.
While stranded, young Horatio spotted a polar bear in the distance. He set off across the ice with his musket, intending to run the creature down.
Coming to a halt, Horatio paused and studied his hand, then pulled the trigger. Unfortunately his gun misfired.
Nelson Fights the Walrus
While in the arctic, two of the ships’ boats were sent off to try and find a passage out of the ice. During their expedition, one of the boats decided on a little bit of sport with a walrus.
They managed to shoot and wound one, but the beast dived down into the sea, escaping from his hunters. When the walrus resurfaced, he came with reinforcements. Several of the walruses proceeded to attack the boat putting it at risk of being overturned.
Horatio, in the other boat, raced to their rescue and chased the walruses away.
Promoted to Captain
Just 5 years after the arctic expedition, Horatio was promoted to Captain. The now captain was given command of a frigate and took part in operations against Spanish settlements in Nicaragua at just 20 years of age. After the American Revolution Captain Horatio Nelson returned to England, but was soon dispatched to the West Indies again. It was in the West Indies where he met his future wife, Frances and her son, Josiah.
No Eyes, No Arms
Not only was Horatio Nelson sickly, but he ws rather prone to injury as well. In 1794 he Horatio lost partial sight in right eye. The incident occurred while he was engaged in an operation to capture the island of Sardinia. While on shore a cannon ball landed nearby.
The shot showered his face with debris. There was no wound on the eye and it is likely that he suffered from a detached retina. He would never properly see from his right eye again.
Just a few years later he was stuck by a musket ball in the arm during the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Who was Nelson?
Horatio Nelson, Viscount Nelson of the Nile and Burnham Thorpe, in full, is one of Britain’s greatest heroes. He sits atop his column revered as a national icon. Many stories have been written about him; many true, many false and most embellished in some way. He was a flawed and controversial hero.
He possessed the moxie and the leadership, but lacked the constitution. He was weak and sickly and he disobeyed orders. But he was charismatic, lucky, and a tactical genius who inspired great loyalty.
Nelson’s Love Life
While Horatio was a hero on the battlefield, he didn’t uphold quite the same reputation in his personal affairs. His love life was spectacular but it was hardly was a gentleman or lady would call honourable. He met his wife Frances, or ‘dearest Fanny’ as he called her, at the age of 27 when he was stationed in the West Indies.
While The Agamemnon was in the Mediterranean, Horatio met the British Ambassador to Naples, Sir William Hamilton, and his wife Emma.
Emma struck a cord with Horatio, and he was smitten. After the battle of the Nile Nelson returned to Naples and immediately took up relations with Emma Hamilton. The two became inseparable as he once again fell head over heels in love.
Their affair quickly became public knowledge and it both outraged and fascinated polite society.
When they returned to England in 1800 Emma his mistress, and Fanny, his wife met for the first time.
It is safe to say that they did not hit it off. Emma called Fanny a 'vile Tom Tit', and 'a very wicked, artful woman’. During the argument Horatio sided with Emma. He never saw Fanny again.
Before setting off for the battle of Trafalgar Nelson and Emma attended communion together and in an informal ceremony they exchanged betrothal rings. They were as good as married, except in the eyes of the law.
Things did not turn out well. Nelson was killed at the battle on October 21st, 1905 from a gunshot wound.
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