THE SARGASSO SEA.

Northern Advocate, 27 August 1913, Page 3

THE SARGASSO SEA.

A CAPTAIN'S EXPERIENCE A report of a passage through a mysterious sea of weeds and flying fish during its time of growth has been sent by Captain S. A. Beauchant commanding the Albyn Line steamship Thistletor, to the Imperial Merchant Servic Guild This tract of water is called the Sargasso Sea, and is almost in a line with the Gulf of Mexico, about 800 miles south-east of the Bermudas. It is said to have been discovered by Columbus, who was involved in it for a fortnight. "1 sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, for Rio de Janerio, South America, on May T. " runs The captain's report. "On the next day we fell in with the gulf weed, and day after day we passed through large patcnes that were spread all over the ocean as far as the eye could see. At about f> p.m. on May 7, the temperature of the sea water suddenly rose 20deg. and 1 noticed that small objects were floating round the different patches of weeds, and with the binoculars I found them to be red-brown berries. "I collected some of them in different stages of growth. The first I stase appeared to be the shells of the pods, then other leaves followed until the plant was well out of the pod, having on the end a thick stem of a pinkiiih colour, the leaves of the young plants being a light straw colour. Some of the growths were four or five inches long. "The sea at these places was covered with millions of small jellyI fish and Portuguese men-of-war (a tropical fish with stinging tentacles) some just appearing like huge bubbles with their sails set reflecting all the hues of the rainbow. Flying fish were there in great number, and it Jseemed to be the 'proper 'breeding ground for them, as the patches between the weeds were full of young fish. It was not until May 10 that we got clear of the weed."