The ocean as a health-resort : a handbook of practical information as to sea-voyages for the use of tourists and invalids / by William S. Wilson ; with a chart showing the ocean-routes and illustrating the physical geography of the sea.

Date:
1880
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The ocean as a health-resort : a handbook of practical information as to sea-voyages for the use of tourists and invalids / by William S. Wilson ; with a chart showing the ocean-routes and illustrating the physical geography of the sea. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    will be sighted; but the Azores, which lie almost directly in the track of homeward-bound vessels, are very frequently seen. The Azores, or Western Islands, are a cluster of nine islands in the North Atlantic, and are situated between 37° and 40° N. lat., and 25° and 30° W. long. The names of the islands are St. Maria, St. Michael, Terceira, St. George, Gracioso, Fayal, Pico, Flores, and Corvo. They belong to Portugal, and produce large quantities of fruit, especially oranges and lemons. St, Michael is the largest of the group, but the governor resides at Angra, in Terceira. The total population of the islands is about 214,000. Unless very contrary Mdnds should be encountered, it is not likely that after passing the Azores land will be sighted until the English coast comes into view, somewhere in the neighbourhood of Start Point (the most southerly portion of Devonshire), which is generally looked upon as the point of departure of outward-bound, and the point of arrival of homeward-bound ships. Of other objects of interest that are special to the home- ward voyage, it will only be necessary to mention the following :— Passing Ships.—Between Australia and the Cape of Good Hope passing ships are rare. Those that are met with will most likely be either Chinese or Indian traders, which, after passing well to the south of the Cape, in order to take advantage of the westerly winds, are now bearing up into the south-east trades ; or else small vessels bound from the Mauritius to the Australian ports with a cargo of sugar. After leaving the Cape the passing ships met with by a homeward-bound vessel will be much more numerous, especially in the tropics, where the usual tracks of the outward-bound and homeward-bound ships intersect each