NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Master & Commander
From: Trevor Kenchington
Date: 2003 Dec 10, 08:46 +0000
From: Trevor Kenchington
Date: 2003 Dec 10, 08:46 +0000
Rodney wrote: > I take it you have not seen the movie. When Surprise is anchored in the > Galapagos, crewmembers row ashore and gather cactus and chop it in > pieces. WIth some understood delaty, we see them operating an alembic > (pot still) of larger size than would fit on a galley stove. They have > moved it ashore and are running it over a fire on the beach. The pot is > about a meter in diameter, big enough to be a stowage problem. No, I have not seen the movie. (Aside from a passing interest in seeing the "Rose" in her new guise, after sailing in her when she was in the sail-training role, I can't say that it has much attraction for me.) I can say that no such still as you describe was part of the standard equipment on a frigate. However, a naval captain of the time had a fair amount of latitude in what he might choose to take to sea, so one cannot entirely dismiss the notion of such a thing being carried. Trevor Kenchington -- Trevor J. Kenchington PhD Gadus@iStar.ca Gadus Associates, Office(902) 889-9250 R.R.#1, Musquodoboit Harbour, Fax (902) 889-9251 Nova Scotia B0J 2L0, CANADA Home (902) 889-3555 Science Serving the Fisheries http://home.istar.ca/~gadus