Something About Sailing the Oceans

Many years ago, I  saw a movie called :1492 Conquest of Paradise.

Although I have forgotten details of the movie,  I  still remember its theme song "SAILING".

I am so touched by this song that i will cry when listen to it.

I read a passage named""SAILING THE OCEANS" which makes me recall this movie.

This passage mainly talks about some experience about sailing the oceans.

The most important point is how seamen explored the oceans before latitude and longitude made it possible to plot a.ship's position on a map.

After reading it, I got the answer.

They used nature to help keeping alongside the coastline .

First, they used celestial bodies like North  Star, Sun, Clouds to navigate by.

Then, they often saw the seaweed in the sea and could tell the colour and smell how long it had been there.If it was fresh and smelled strongly, then the ship was close to land.

Besides, Seabirds could be used it show the way to land when it was nowhere to be seen.

What's more, they used the weather like fog, winds to direct their sailing.

At last, certain tides and currents could be used by skillful sailors to carry ships to their destination.

Sailors depended on these skills to explore the seas and discover new lands.

They devloped their ability to navigate new seas when they used instruments such as the Astolabe, the Quadrant, and the sextant.