Historians can be called "the scientists of hindsight." Hindsight can
be
focused on a single event or a chain of events. Much of Keys history is
chained to the great quantity of ships passing, or trying to pass,
their
shores since they were discovered. Why are thousands of ships lying
sunken
on and off our reefs? The primary answer is the flow of the Gulf
Stream,
bad weather and poor judgment.
The Gulf Stream exerted a tremendous influence on the colonization of
North
America. Most all colonization from Virginia to the south chose the
southern
route across the Atlantic even though it was 2,000-3,000 miles farther.
Few return voyages to Europe failed to utilize at least part of the
Gulf
Stream.
Cortez was perhaps the first to send large numbers of ships from Mexico
northward through the Florida Straits, then eastward following the
clockwise
motion of the Gulf Stream to return to Spain. A visit with any of the
shipwreck
museums will reveal the results of the unsuccessful voyages.
A notation in the Herrera's summary of the log of Ponce de Leon's
voyage
log, on April 22, 1513, noted, "A current such that, although they had
great wind, they could not proceed forward, but backward and it seems
that
they were proceeding well; at the end it was known that the current was
more powerful than the wind." This is probably the first written
evidence
of the Gulf Stream and Ponce de Leon is considered its discoverer.
It was not until six years later that one Anton de Alaminos set sail
for
Spain from Vera Cruz, Mexico following the Florida coastline northward
before turning eastward to Europe. This same Anton de Alaminos was the
chief pilot aboard Ponce de Leon's ship on his earlier trip and had
also
sailed with Columbus on his last voyage. Some historians credit
Alaminos
with the discovery of the Gulf Stream, since he was the first to take
advantage
of it.
The use of the Gulf Stream resulted in many treasure-laden ships
traveling
northward along the Keys, many of which wrecked upon its reefs. The
indigenous
Indians were the first to take advantage of these unfortunate
shipwrecks.
Soon an industry followed known as "wrecking," or salvaging goods from
wrecked ships. The Bahamians perfected the wrecking industry. When
Florida
became a U.S. territory, Key West and Indian Key became the Keys'
primary
headquarters for this industry. A captain Ben Baker, known as "King of
the Wreckers," settled on Key Largo in 1866 and grew pineapples between
shipwrecks.
Years followed Ponce de Leon's discovery and not much was written about
this ocean river. Perhaps they were keeping it as secret as possible.
Charts
in the 1800s labeled the general area as the 'Gulf of Florida',
'Straits
of Florida' and 'Canal de Bahama.' I have a 1842 Sidney Morris and
Samuel
Breese map using the label Gulf Stream. See the maps page or click
here then "Back." Alexander Dallas Bache of the U.S. Coast Survey
began
detailed observations of the phenomenon in 1845. Matthew Maury in 1855
wrote, "There is a river in the ocean. In the severest droughts it
never
fails, and in the mightiest floods it never overflows. Its banks and
its
bottoms are of cold water, while its currents are warm. The Gulf of
Mexico
is its fountain and its mouth is in the Arctic Seas. It is the Gulf
Stream.
There is in the world no other such majestic flow of waters. Its
current
is more rapid than the Mississippi or the Amazon."
The Gulf Stream generally flows northward between the Keys and Cuba up
the northeast coast toward Cape Hatteras and then turns eastward across
the north Atlantic. The temperature of the stream differs from its
surrounding
water. In fact, the temperature at the surface may be around 80 degrees
while 400 fathoms down it may be 45 degrees.
Years before the above quotations, Benjamin Franklin while in England
in
1769 was told of complaints that westward mail from Europe to America
took
weeks longer than the east-bound ships from America. Franklin was the
U.S.
Deputy Postmaster General, so he was interested in the alleged
complaint.
A Nantucket whaler by the name of Timothy Folger said that the English
ships had to buck the Gulf Stream.
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There are early
maps, really charts, depicting the Gulf Stream, but Benjamin Franklin
and Timothy Folger printed the first map of the Gulf Stream in
1769-1770. Copies remained lost for nearly 200 years until found in
France. The map shown at the left was made by James Pousard
but I have never accurately dated it. One clue is that it shows Florida
as East and West Florida, something that the British did in 1773. The
Franklin map shows only "Florida" therefore his one was later. The path
of the stream is more or less the same.
Additional info can be found in "SCIENCE" 8
February 1980, volume 207, pp. 643-645.
Franklin, being the scientist that he was, took water temperature
measurements
on three more North Atlantic crossings, and scientifically recorded the
readings. From his readings, he could determine whether a vessel was in
or out of the stream, and even approximately how close or distant a
ship
was from America. Franklin postulated that, "This Stream is probably
generated
by the accumulation of water on the eastern coast of America between
the
tropics, by the trade winds that constantly blow there . . ." He also
recorded
that the western bank of the stream is significantly cooler (shallower
water) than the eastern bank. He reasoned that the velocity of the
stream
gradually slowed as it flowed north, but could maintain its relative
warmth
to the colder North Atlantic.
In typical Franklin style, his observations were quite extensive and
resulted
in a relatively accurate engraved chart accompanied with scientific
observations
of the stream. He published a chart in 1770 to assist the mail ships in
avoiding it on their westward journeys. Franklin is generally given
credit
for correctly explaining the stream's cause.
Franklin even suggested the name "Gulf Stream," even though it is a
huge,
circular motion in the Atlantic Ocean and has little to do with the
Gulf
of Mexico.
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Later, corrections to Franklin's postulates were made for ocean bottom
changes, declinations of the moon and surface wind effects. Most agree,
though, when all the temporary changes are accounted for, the Gulf
Stream
is accurately predictable and over a great period of time is
immutable.
Today, northbound ships choose the maximum velocity stream current
while
southbound ships hug the outer edges to conserve fuel. One problem is
that
the stream does not have definitive banks and meanders back and forth
as
well as in width as it proceeds north. The maximum current off the
coast
of Florida ranges from two to four knots, although speeds of eight
knots
have been reported. Its width varies, but generally is 40 to 50 miles
in
width.
The Gulf Stream was probably the vehicle that carried the strange woods
and fruits found on the shores of Europe long before Columbus
sailed.
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