<img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Sloop_Alborak-4.jpg/286px-Sloop_Alborak-4.jpg" class="right">
It is now the month of *Wikumkewiku's* or *waatebagaa-giizis* in Ojibwemowin.
The sagamaw has asked you to come and talk to him. "You have shown your skill in building a *gwitn* and finding routes. Now your people need to see your skills in handling the shallop."
<hr>
[[next]]<img src="https://i.imgur.com/ZwSlFxY.jpg" class="right">
Pay attention to the lessons you can learn from Micmaw, Ojibwe, Basque and Portuguese navigators. You will need skill to cross from Gespeg to Natigôsteg and then to Sinalk, in Ktaqmkuk. If you are ready, you will make the transit back from Sinalk to Gespeg.
<hr>
[[next|lore1]]
(set: $score to 0, $compass to false, $rutter to false, $landmark to false, $ples to false, $leadLine to false, $whiteCaps to false)Natigôsteg is over the horizon from Gespeg so you must be able to keep to your heading until you can see the mountains of the island. Skilled navigators can know which direction to go, even when they cannot see their destination.
<hr>
[[Box the compass]] | [[Keep a rutter]] | [[Know landmarks]] | [[Watch ples]]<div class="left"><div class="box"></div></div>
Your Basque friend shows you a little box. Opening it you see a shifting circle inside with a diagram and little European letters on it. "Why does it rotate back when you turn it?" you ask.
"This is an *iparrorratz* or compass. It has a magnetic needle under the round card that wants to point north, I think you say *oqwatnug*."
"I see N for the Portuguese *norte* but what are all the other letters?"
"Ah, when we go to sea, we learn the 32 directions of the wind or compass. It starts north, then north by east, north northeast, northeast by north, northeast, northeast by east, east northeast, east by north, east ..."
You stop him and ask him to start over. You eventually start making sense of it. "Once you memorize these directions, how does that help you keep your heading at sea?" you ask.
"For example, if your course is to the <u>east northeast</u> and you see that the compass tells you that you have shifted to the heading <u>east by north</u>, then you have to go for awhile <u>northeast by east</u> before going back to <u>east northeast</u>."
<hr>
[[next|lore2]]
(set: $compass to true)<img src="https://www.english.cam.ac.uk/cmt/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/coast3.png" class="right">
Your Portuguese friend hears that you are interested in learning more about navigation. "You really need years of experience sailing around to learn about how the coastlines look. To help you keep track, you can keep a *roteiro*, sometimes called a rutter or sea book. Draw the coast and put down notes."
You know the Europeans value their few books greatly. You recall Mikmaw pictures drawn on birch bark and petroglyphs. "How do you use the picture of the coastline to keep you on course when you are heading away from it?" you ask.
"If you are at the tiller at the back of the boat or stern, then you need the help of someone sitting in the front or bow. When you set off on your intended course, the person in the bow lines the stern up with a landmark. If the boat moves so that the landmark shifts left of the stern, then the person keeping watch should signal you to steer right until the landmark is lined up again."
<hr>
[[next|lore2]]
(set: $rutter to true)You ask your Ojibwe friend to help you learn navigation. "There is an important connection with what is above in the stars and what is below. Look towards *Giiwedinong* (north) and look *Zhaawanong* (south) a little after sunset and you will see the stars slowly appear. Look for landmarks below the stars near the horizon. For that month, you know those are connected, even if you can't see them. Stars to the north change more slowly than stars to the south."
"How can I use this to keep on course?" you ask.
"Study the stars to help you know the landmarks around you. If you are at the tiller at the back of the boat or stern, then you need the help of someone sitting in the front or bow. When you set off on your intended course, the person in the bow lines the stern up with a clear landmark. If the boat moves so that the landmark shifts left of the stern, then the person keeping watch should signal you to steer right until the landmark is lined up again."
<hr>
[[next|lore2]]
(set: $landmark to true)You ask a Mikmaw elder to help you learn navigation. "You should look for clues in the world all around you. The movement of the wind, the waves, and animals," she says. "For this month of Wikumkewiku's, you can look for migration patterns. For example, think of the story of Muin and the Seven Hunters."
You remember how *Muin*, the bear wakes up in the spring and then is chased across the night sky by seven birds. Looking north two hours before dawn, the position of Muin, what you have learned some Europeans call the Great Bear and others the Starry Plow, this group of stars now would be pointing up with the Seven Hunters trailing below.
"Only three birds remain now in the hunt. *Ples* (passenger pigeon) and the others have gone out of view. This is also the time that Ples will leave the forest and travel across the water to the southwest in great numbers."
"How will this help me keep a course?" you ask.
"When you see ples crossing the water, steer a little to right of the direction they are coming from to reach Natigôsteg."
<hr>
[[next|lore2]]
(set: $ples to true)The coast of Natigôsteg is mostly surrounded by dangerous shoals, places where a boat can get stranded in shallow water. You will need to carefully judge your approach.
<hr>
[[Sounding]] | [[Waves]]<img src="https://i.imgur.com/G2FzhAR.jpg" class="right">
Your Basque friend shows you the cord he uses to measure the depth of water under the boat. "You drop this lead weight over the side and count the bits of ribbon tied into it every six feet as they go through your fingers. This tells you how deep it is."
"So you can stay in deep water but eventually you need to find a way into a safe anchorage," you say.
"Ah, that's where you look at the end of this piece of lead. It has a hollow spot to put some tallow in and when it hits the sea bottom, it grabs a bit of it. Looking at it after you pull it back up tells you a lot."
"What am I looking for?" you ask.
"Well, grit and gravel in shallow waters could mean rocks are near and fine sand means calmer water, less rocks."
<hr>
[[next|first leg]]
(set: $leadLine to true)You ask your Abenaki friend to help you learn how to navigate a rocky shore. "Pay attention to all the clues in the water. The waves shift direction as the wind shifts but there's a pattern to how waves look based on how much water is below. Where the sea is deep, waves can be long and tall. When those waves hit shallow water, they change shape and become shorter. You can see the white caps."
"How can I use that to find a safe route to shore?" you ask.
"Steer clear of white caps appearing close to shore or far from shore. The first means your boat could get pushed onto rocks and the second means shallow water sooner than you expect."
<hr>
[[next|first leg]]
(set: $whiteCaps to true){(if: $compass is true)[You set off from Gespeg on a course to the east northeast. As you get further out to sea, you notice the current pick up. Checking, the compass tells you that you have shifted to the heading east by north.
<hr>
To correct your course, should you steer [[northeast|fail1]] or [[northeast by east|right1]]? ]
(else-if: $ples is true)[You set off from Gespeg. As it disappears behind you, you see the migration of thousands of passenger pigeons.
<hr>
To correct your course, should you steer in the direction they [[come from|fail1]], a bit [[to the left|fail1]] or a bit [[to the right|right1]] of where they come from?]
(else:)[
You set off from Gespeg and you have a friend watch the landmark behind the stern of the boat. As you get further out to sea, you notice the current pick up. Your friend watching calls out that it has shifted to the right.
<hr>
Should you steer [[left|right1]] or [[right|fail1]]? ]
}Your mentor sees your mistake and intervenes to avoid disaster.
<hr>
[[next|first leg pt2]]
<br>Score: $scoreYour mentor notices your skillful choice.
<hr>
[[next|first leg pt2]]
(set: $score to it + 1)
Score: $scoreYou see Natigôsteg and approach the shore.
{(if: $leadLine is true)[You begin using the lead line and measure shallower depths. Looking at the tallow at the end, you see gravel sticking to it.
<hr>
Do you [[keep approaching|fail2]] or [[move down the coast|right2]]?]
(else:) [You start looking for where the waves are breaking. They seem to be far from shore.
<hr>
Do you [[keep approaching|fail2]] or [[move down the coast|right2]]?]}Your mentor sees your mistake and intervenes to avoid disaster.
<hr>
[[next|lore3]]
<br>Score: $scoreYour mentor notices your skillful choice.
<hr>
[[next|lore3]]
(set: $score to it + 1)
Score: $scoreTraveling from Natigôsteg to Ktaqmkuk, you will have to make a longer crossing. You will need to check your course carefully before you lose sight of land because a small inital error could mean you miss Sinalk entirely.
<hr>
[[Winds]] | [[Star map]] | [[Currents]]<img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/Sj%C3%B6astrolabium_Skoklosters_slott.jpg/193px-Sj%C3%B6astrolabium_Skoklosters_slott.jpg" class="right">
Your Basque friend shows you a prized posession, an intricate device. "It's called an astrolabe. You look through these holes here and find *Polaris*, the North Star. Then you look at where this indicates the latitude. That's a measure of how far north or south you are," he says.
"So you can only use it at night?" you ask. "No, you can also carefully point it to find the height of the Sun when it reaches its highest point in the sky, we call that local noon."
"But that can't tell you the same thing as looking at *Tatapn*, what you call Polaris, because the Sun is higher and lower as the months change," you say. "True, most of the time you need an almanac and some math. But twice a year, including late September, the height of the Sun at noon equals your latitude."
"How do you now when the Sun is at its highest point?" you ask. "On land, you can set a stake in the ground and watch for when the shadow points straight north. At sea, it's more difficult, of course. You want to get the boat as calm as possible."
<hr>
[[next|second leg]]
(set: $astrolabe to true)<img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/Orion_constellation_PP3_map_PL.svg/194px-Orion_constellation_PP3_map_PL.svg.png" class="right" style="border:4px solid white">
You talk to an Ojibwe elder about the stars. "The stars tell us many stories. But they also show us where we are where we are going," he says. "When you look up at night and watch, you see all the stars but one circle from east to west. The star in *Maang*, that stays in the north, *Giiweding Anang* can give you a direction on any clear night."
"But the other stars too, they each rise and set in the same place. When you see the rightmost star in the belt of *Biboonikeomini*, Wintermaker, that star rises almost due east and sets almost due west. I'm told the Arab star namers call it *Mintaka*."
"For about an hour after rising and and an hour before setting, you can aim for a star and know your direction, if you know where it rises" he says. You ask "What if I want to head east southeast?" "You have to learn the stars for different times and differnt months. Sometimes the best star will be setting or rising directly behind your course."
<hr>
[[next|lore4]]
(set: $star to true)A Portuguese fisherman shows a curious little book. You have been learning to read some Portuguese but this book doesn't have many words. Instead it has page after page of numbers. "What are these for?" you ask. "This is an almanac. It has entries for the Sun, Moon and planets. It gives the declination, which you can use to find your latitude."
"For a given day, you can look up the solar declination, find the height of the sun at noon and then use a formula. For instance, on the last day of September, the value is -2.40."
<b>Latitude = 90 - height + solar declination<b>
<hr>
[[next|second leg]](set: $almanac to true)<img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Wind_Tree_Clouds.jpg/320px-Wind_Tree_Clouds.jpg" class="right">
A sailboat relies on the wind to move. The shallop can take the wind and head in almost any direction that a skilled mariner directs it. You must also read the wind to guide you. The force, temperature and even smell of the wind can give you a direction.
When the wind comes from the north or northwest, it will be cold and have some smell of the pine forests. Winds from the east and southeast will have more sea salt in them, and warmer, especially from the southeast. Winds from the west and southwest will often be the strongest and might have the smells of the mixed forests and bogs.
<hr>
[[next|lore4]]
(set: $winds to true)<img src="https://i.imgur.com/QlFiBhv.jpg" class="right">
The great river that flows from Kebbec to the northeast brings a large amount of freshwater to the sea. This freshwater, flowing from all the inland seas (the Great Lakes), forms a current of fresh water that rides above the saltier water for hundreds of miles. The current turns and flows southeast, between Gespeg and Natigôsteg. It weakens but can be felt to the strait between U’nama’kik and Ktaqmkuk.
A counter current from the sea flows up the west coast of Ktaqmkuk. To know the waters around Mi'kmaki, it helps to even taste them.
<hr>
[[next|lore4]]
(set: $currents to true)Your transit will take you out of sight of land. So you will need a way to determine where you are.
<hr>
[[Astrolabe]] | [[Almanac]] | [[Distance to horizon]]{(if: $winds is true)[You set off from Natigôsteg and as you get further out to sea, you notice the wind pick up. You notice a bog-like smell in the wind.
<hr>
You judge this wind is coming from the [[northwest|fail3]] or [[southeast|fail3]] or [[southwest|right3]]? ]
(else-if: $star is true)[You set off from Natigôsteg, heading east southeast. Night falls and you are out of sight of land. You see two bright stars that will set soon behind you.
<hr>
Should you steer by the star to the west northwest, [[Alphekka|right3]], in the constellation *Mskegwǒm*, the den of the celestial bear, or by the star to the west southwest, [[Antares|fail3]], known by some as one of the two dog stars?]
(else:)[
You set off from Natigôsteg, heading southeast. Night falls and you are out of sight of land. You think you maybe drifted out of the current that was helping you.
<hr>
Tasting the water to check, would it be [[saltier|right3]] or [[less salty|fail3]]? ]
}Your mentor notices your skillful choice.
<hr>
[[next|second leg pt2]]
(set: $score to it + 1)
Score: $score{(if: $astrolabe is true)[You are getting closer to Sinalk and want to use the astrolabe to check your latitude. The sun is approaching its highest point of the day and you begin watching its shadow to determine noon time.
<hr>
Should you keep sailing [[across the current|fail4]] or drop sail and [[drift with the current|right4]]? ]
(else-if: $almanac is true)[Making a careful reading of the height of the sun at noon, you get a reading of 40 degrees. Looking up the declination for the last day of September you see -2.40.
<hr>
Do your calculations mean that your present latitude is [[37.6 degrees N|fail4]] or [[42.4 degrees N|fail4]] or [[47.6 degrees N|right4]]?]
(else:)[
You climb up the mast to see a mountain top coming just over the horizon. This mountain in Sinalk you know is 900 feet high and your eyes are 9 feet above the water.
<hr>
Is the distance to Sinalk [[3.5 nautical mile|fail4]] or [[35 nautical miles|fail4]] or [[38.5 nautical miles|right4]]? ]
}You will make the longest transit, back from Sinalk to Gespeg. Expect clouds or fog and watch for sandbars and the islands of Menagoesengo just south of your course.
<hr>
[[Walruses]] | [[Sunstone]] | [[Rule of 12]]<img src="https://www.cactus2000.de/js/img_hor.png" class="right">
From experience, you know that what seems like a large flat body of water is actually curved. So you start to see the top of a large mountain on the horizon before the rest of it comes to view.
A Portuguese friend has shown you how to calculate how far away you can see something, if you know its height. Using feet and nautical miles, this is the formula for how far away is the horizon: the square root of the height of your eye times 1.17. For instance, if you climb up the mast to get your eyes 9 feet above the water, the quare root of 9 is 3 and multiply by 1.17 gives about 3.5 nautical miles to the horizon.
If you want to calculate the distance at which an object becomes visible, you must know your height of eye and the height of the object. You then do the same calculation for your distance to the horizon and the object’s distance to the horizon and add the distances together.
<hr>
[[next|second leg]]
(set: $horizon to true)Your mentor sees your mistake and intervenes to avoid disaster.
<hr>
[[next|second leg pt2]]
<br>Score: $scoreYour mentor sees your mistake and intervenes to avoid disaster.
<hr>
[[next|lore5]]
<br>Score: $scoreYour mentor notices your skillful choice.
<hr>
[[next|lore5]]
(set: $score to it + 1)
Score: $scoreYou estimate that you are approaching *Menagoesengo*, islands and sandbars just south of your course. The Mi'kmaq know that the *gisguàgw* (walrus) come to these islands in large numbers.
If you can observe gisguàgw going out to feed or going in to haul out on the beach, then you can judge the direction to Menagoesengo and steer away from the dangerous sandbars.
<hr>
[[next|lore 6]](set: $walrus to true)<img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Silfurberg.jpg/293px-Silfurberg.jpg" class="right">
Clouds have covered up the sun as you try to keep on course. Fortunately, you remember what you have been taught about the sunstone and how to use it to determine where the sun is when it's cloudy or even a bit below the horizon. The sunstone is a polished crystal, obtained in trade from far to the north. It is said that the *Kavdlunait* (Inuit for Norse), used sunstones.
Looking through the crystal, you see double images. If you scan the cloudy sky, the sun will create two bright spots in the crystal. Keep moving the sunstone until the two spots are equally bright. The sun will be halfway between the two bright spots.
<hr>
[[next|lore 6]](set: $sunstone to true)You are watching the tide and know that there are, in most places, about six hours between high tide and low tide. The tide falls slowly, then faster, then again slowly. To calculate how much the tide has fallen, skilled navigators use the Rule of Twelve.
Divide the total drop from high to low tide by 12. In the first hour after high tide, the sea will drop one part of the twelve. In the second hour, the sea will drop two parts. In the third and fourth hours, the sea will drop 3 parts each hour. Then the pattern reverses with the sea dropping two parts in the fifth hour and one part in the sixth hour.
<b>1/12, 2/12, 3/12, 3/12, 2/12, 1/12<b>
<hr>
[[next|lore 6]](set: $twelve to true){(if: $walrus is true)[Out of the fog, you see a walrus. It looks like it has been feeding.
<hr>
Do you steer to [[follow|fail5]] the walrus or [[away from|right5]] the walrus? ]
(else-if: $sunstone is true)[You can't see the sun so you start scanning with your sunstone.
<hr>
Are you looking for [[two equally bright|right5]] images, or [[one bright|fail5]] image?]
(else:)[
You know there should be a sandbar ahead. At high tide, it is covered with 4 feet of water. Today, there's six feet between the low and high tide.
<hr>
Now, two hours after high tide, will the sandbar be covered with [[one foot|right5]] or [[two feet|fail5]] or [[three feet|fail5]] of water? ]
}Your mentor sees your mistake and intervenes to avoid disaster.
<hr>
[[next|third leg pt2]]
<br>Score: $scoreYour mentor notices your skillful choice.
<hr>
[[next|third leg pt2]]
(set: $score to it + 1)
Score: $score{(if: $chiplog is true)[To determine your speed, you can use a chip log. You try to figure out how far apart the knots should be by first converting nautical miles per hour to feet per second and then muliplying that by the 30 seconds of the timer.
<b>6076 feet / 3600 seconds = feet/sec when going 1 nautical mile per hour</b>
<hr>
Should the knots be [[30 feet|fail6]] apart or [[40 feet|fail6]] apart or [[50 feet|right6]] apart? ]
(else:)[To determine your speed, you drop a stick over the side and begin chanting. In 6 seconds, the stick makes it from the front of the shallop to the back.
<hr>
Is the speed of the boat [[2|fail6]] nautical miles per hour or [[3|right6]] nautical miles per hour or [[4|fail6]] nautical miles per hour? ]
}One way to stay on course is to estimate your speed and then calculate your distance traveled by this formula:
<b>distance = rate X time</b>
<hr>
[[Chip log]] | [[Passing debris]]<img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/Loch_%C3%A0_plateau.jpg/296px-Loch_%C3%A0_plateau.jpg" class="right">
A Basque sailor shows you a small device. Turning it over you see the sand inside fall from one glass chamber to another. "That takes half a minute or 30 seconds from start to finish," he tells you. You know the Europeans are fascinated with time but you're not sure why they want to measure this short time. "To measure your boat's speed, you can turn this glass and throw this overboard. You count how many knots you see go through your fingers as the chip trails behind. That gives you your speed in nautical miles per hour."
You wonder about the math needed to calculate how far apart the knots should be. Your Basque friend told you there are 6076 feet in a nautical mile.
<b>1 hour = 60 minutes, 1 minute = 60 seconds, 1 nautical mile = 6076 feet</b>
<hr>
[[next|third leg]]
(set: $chiplog to true)You drop a small piece of wood into the sea and watch it drift along towards the back of the boat. "That's one way to calculate our speed," your Portuguese friend says. "Since the length of this shallop is about 30 feet and there are 6076 feet in a nautical mile, if you drop something overboard at the bow of the boat and count the seconds until the stem of the boat passes it, then you can do some math to determine your speed."
You ask how to count seconds. "Traditianally, sailors used rhythmic singing. You could also chant the same thing as you count. Like *um feijoada, dois feijoada, tres feijoada*, and so on." That's a Portuguese word you haven't heard before. "Oh, feijoada is a stew, lot's of different recipes."
You do some unit conversions, a new kind of math you learned. "So about 18 seconds would mean about 1 nautical mile per hour," you say.
<b>60 x 60 x 30/6076</b>
<hr>
[[next|third leg]]
(set: $debris to true)Your mentor sees your mistake and intervenes to avoid disaster.
<hr>
[[next|final]]
<br>Score: $scoreYour mentor notices your skillful choice.
<hr>
[[next|final]]
(set: $score to it + 1)
Score: $scoreFinal Score: $score
(if: $score > 4) [(set: $code to (random: 50, 350) * 23 + 5)Congratulations! You have shown your navigation skills well.
<h5>Completion code: $code</h5> ]
(else:) [Your mentor thinks you need more practice.]