Keep on Shining

Did you know… the bilge is the lowest point on a ship below the waterline? In the wooden ships of the past, this space was manned continuously to listen for water dripping in. While lying there listening on a bale of spices, falling asleep was quite common. That’s where the Dutch saying "listening to the leak" (go to sleep) comes from.

In the dim and warm bilge, people no longer sleep during working hours. Today’s ships are made of steel and have electricity. As a result, the bilges are continuously monitored with float switches. When such an alarm is triggered, the bilge is sounded manually.

Sounding water by hand

They take a hand sounding to check how much water is in the bilge and assess whether the water is rising quickly. The water is then pumped out of the space, after which the alarm is reset. But what if a float switch breaks and there’s no spare on board? Then it all comes down to improvisation.

Mother's clothespins

Mother's clothespins offer a solution, made of wood and with a galvanized spring. You then push a copper thumb tack through the mouth on both sides from the inside out. Solder a wire to both thumb tacks, which you connect to the plus and minus of the alarm cable. Finally, put a sugar cube in the clothespin's mouth.

When water enters the bilge, the sugar dissolves and the clothespin closes. This causes the thumb tacks to make contact and the circuit is closed. This way, there’s still an alarm signal in case of an emergency. Once you reach the next port, you can have the original float switch repaired and reconnected!

Did you know… the first oil was transported in 1861? It traveled in 159-liter barrels from Pennsylvania to London aboard the sailing ship 'Elisabeth Watts'. Bad weather on the way caused leaking barrels and was the main reason for the development of 'Charles', which, in 1869, was the first iron oil tanker ever. Good for 7,000 barrels of crude oil on board.

'Charles' left the US for Europe on July 30, 1869 and was given Antwerp as its home port. The 7,000 barrels of crude oil were contained in 59 separate iron tanks. These were placed in rows at the bottom of the ship for better stability.

'Novelty'

Four weeks earlier, the trial run for 'Charles' took place. On July 2, 1869, the British brig ‘Novelty’ departed from Matanzas in Cuba for the American Boston. ‘Novelty’ also had iron tanks placed in rows at the bottom of the ship. The content of these, however, was not oil, but 84,075 gallons of molasses. We still owe the unit of measurement of oil to the iron tanks. It is expressed in a barrel of 42 gallons, which is equivalent to 159 liters. The 'Novelty' crossing the ocean gave the captain of 'Charles' enough confidence to also set sail.

‘Vaderland’

From that moment on, the development of the oil tanker went fast. The tanks were integrated into the hull after the Belgian steamship 'Vaderland' successfully experimented with them in 1873. Besides oil, what else was taken from Antwerp to New York? Passengers!

The sailing ship 'Atlantic' also used the approach of 'Vaderland' with success. Partly because of this, the demand for crude oil in the world increased, and the ships that transported the barrels had to get bigger and bigger. It led to the launch of the largest ship ever built on June 25, 1976.

‘Batillus’

Commissioned by Shell, a yard in Saint-Nazaire, France, built the Ultra Large Crude Carrier 'Batillus'. The total length was 414.22 meters, the beam was 63.01 meters and the draft was set at 28.50 meters!!! The propulsion consisted of four 'Stal Laval' turbines, which distributed 65,000 hp over two propellers. It all led to a displacement of 663,000 tons and a carrying capacity of 553,662 tons. 'Batillus' remained in operation for just under ten years. This giant came to its end in December 1985 at a scrap yard in Kaohsiung in Taiwan.

Did you know… the construction of the Panama Canal took no less than 33 years? That's how much time passed between the first shovel in the ground in 1881 and the moment the American steamship Ancon was the first to cross the canal in 1914. Nearly 28,000 workers died in the excavation, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The Panama Canal has a length of 81 kilometers (44 nautical miles) across Panama. It greatly shortens the sea journey from the Atlantic to the Pacific. To get from New York on the east coast of the United States - via San Francisco on the west coast - to Cape Horn, ships had to travel a distance of roughly 21,000 kilometers (11,339 nautical miles). Now, via the Panama Canal, it’s only 8,000 kilometers (4,320 nautical miles).

Exploring

It took blood, sweat and tears to get that done. As early as 1870, two US Navy ships went exploring in Panama. At the time it was still part of Colombia, which was annexed by Spain. On January 1, 1881, so only 11 years after the exploration, the construction of the Panama Canal began. The project was led by Ferdinand de Lesseps (1805-1894), an experienced Frenchman.

He had already built the Suez Canal in Egypt. A 193-kilometer (104 nautical mile) waterway connecting Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea to Suez on the Red Sea. De Lesseps decided to build the Panama Canal at sea level along the Chagres and Rio Grande rivers. The biggest problem was the swamps and pools with stagnant water, and the countless mosquitoes. These were the cause of the deaths of some 22,000 workers and De Lesseps’ bankruptcy in 1889.

Second attempt

As a result, work ground to a halt for a long time. It wasn’t until 1903 that a second attempt was made by the Americans. This time under the leadership of Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), the 26th president of the United States. An important discovery that had already been made at the time was that most of the workers had suffered malaria in the past, a disease transmitted by mosquitoes. The Americans therefore resumed work by first draining the swamps and pools.

The American William Crawford Gorgas (1854-1920) was charged with combating malaria. This 22nd Surgeon General of the US Army was quite successful at this. During the construction, which still took 11 years, a lot fewer workers died. A total of 5,600. Meanwhile, the Panama Canal became a political game. Panama was part of Colombia, but the Colombians did not want to sign a treaty with the United States.

Political game

Theodore Roosevelt therefore encouraged a group of Panamanians to become independent. That call succeeded fairly quickly after the restart of the construction. Panama became independent on November 3, 1903, after which the Americans were quick to recognize that independence. A treaty was signed with the new Republic of Panama under which 1400 square kilometers became available for building the canal.

In 1907, Colonel George Washington Goethals (1858-1928), an engineer from Flemish immigrants, was put in charge of the enormous job. He approached it differently from De Lesseps and wanted to turn it into a canal with locks. The size of the job was evident from the amount of dynamite needed during construction: 30,500 tons.

Official opening

On October 10, 1913, the time had finally come; the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans were connected. This joyous event was celebrated with a push of a button in the White House by President Thomas Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), the 28th President of the United States. The official opening was on August 15, 1914 when the American steamship Ancon was the first ship to pass through the canal.

Even back then, many Panamanians thought that 1400 square kilometers belonged to them. But it wasn’t until 1964 that Panama, led by its students, revolted. It was the impetus for the compromise that was reached in 1979. The Panama Canal became jointly owned by Panama and the US. It wasn’t until 1999 that the Panama Canal was fully transferred to Panama.

Did you know that… until 1747, scurvy was the leading cause of death at sea? That only changed thanks to the Scottish doctor James Lind. He tested six treatments on twelve sailors with scurvy. Two proved effective: a liter of cider daily, or two oranges and a lemon a day. The fact that Vitamin C played a role in this didn’t become clear until 1931.

The disease called scurvy arose during the first voyages of discovery around 1400. Bleeding gums, skin bleeding and internal bleeding were common among crew members. Sometimes as many as 50% of the people on board suffered from the symptoms, which often led to death.

The Port Royal Rule

It was an impediment to the voyages of discovery, but also to naval warfare to conquer distant places. From 1740, that changed by chance. In the small harbor town of Port Royal in Jamaica, Admiral Edward Vernon implemented a new rule.

To combat scurvy, the daily portions of rum on his ship were diluted with water and reduced to two cups a day. The drink was named "Grog" because Vernon loved coats made of the woven fabric Grogram. The number of cases of scurvy on board fell drastically as a result of his decision.

Not bread, but lime

In reality, this was not due to mixing with water. Because the rum tasted less strong, the crew exchanged their daily portion of bread and salt for sugar and lime. The vitamin C that entered the stomach along with that was the ideal defense against scurvy.

The role that fruit played in prevention was also recognized seven years later by Scottish physician James Lind. His tests with a liter of cider or two oranges and a lemon a day prevented and cured scurvy. As a result, the method was widely followed at sea. The English even owe their nickname 'Limeys' to it.

Barrels of sauerkraut

Yet it took until 1931 before it was discovered that the vitamin C in the fruit turned out to be the true medicine. Reason for the Dutch to take barrels of sauerkraut on their ships. Keeps well for a long time and is packed with vitamin C.

Nowadays, vitamin C pills are available. These contain ascorbic acid. A name derived from the Latin word anti-scorbitum, or anti-scurvy.

Did you know… The last link of an anchor chain is called the clench pin? By securing it to the ship with a steel pin, it can easily be released with a sledgehammer if the anchor gets stuck in the seabed. In Dutch, this is called a ‘slampamper’, which has also come to mean someone who does nothing or cuts corners.

The clench pin on ships is particularly useful in case of emergency in a storm. Often the result of an anchor that starts to 'dredge'. The sailor's term for an anchor dragging on the seabed. In heavy seas you’ll never get an anchor in again. The only option left is to release the clench pin.

Riding out the storm

This causes the chain to run overboard, allowing ships to seek out open water to ride out the storm. Yes, you may have lost the anchor and the anchor chain, but nowadays, they can be found quickly thanks to Global Positioning Systems on board.

While the Dutch term ‘slampamper’ has a negative connotation, the English have given it a positive spin. The clench pin is also known as 'the bitter end', words used in England by go-getters who don't want to give up.