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Re: Bermuda

From: Ernest Sjogren <esjogren~at~nc.rr.com>
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:38:03 -0400
To: "Jules Verne Forum" <jvf~at~gilead.org.il>

Richard Gombert > Question for the forum. Are there any JGV references to (or in) Bermuda?

The young voyagers of BOURSES DE VOYAGE (1903) almost reach there in Chapter 12 of Part 1 ("In the Atlantic Ocean"). However, within site of Bermuda a storm arises and they are driven past.

"On the course that the 'Frisky' was following, the Bermuda islands would be the first to show themselves on the horizon.

"These islands lie under the 64th degree of western longitude and the 31st of northern latitude. They belong to England and are on the route that ships take heading from Europe to the Gulf of Mexico. There are about 400 of them, and the largest of these are Bermuda, Saint George, Cooper, and Somerset. There are many anchorages on these islands, and vessels willingly stop here to repair damaged parts of a ship or take on provisions--both one and the other being extremely important in this part of the Atlantic ocean, where storms and squalls are rather frequent occurrences.

"On July 12 the 'Frisky' was still perhaps sixty miles from the islands, but the passengers were already beginning to direct their spyglasses to the west. For an unaccustomed eye it was difficult to distinguish the mountainous shores form the dark clouds at the border of sea and sky.

"However, already in the morning John Carpenter, Tony Reno, and Magnus Anders, having descried from afar the Bermuda islands, were exchanging the following sentences:

"'Look towards starboard,' said Tony.

"'Do you see, do you see the tops of the mountains?' asked Magnus Anders.

"'I do, mister. These summits cut through the clouds and rise above them!'

"Before sundown the round contours of the shore cliffs were vaguely taking shape to the west, and in the morning the 'Frisky" passed Saint David's Island, the easternmost of the whole archipelago.

Meanwhile, however, strong squalls were making themselves felt. The squalls were interrupted by lightning bolts splitting the sky towards the southeast, and the 'Frisky' had to run before the wind. For a whole day the sea was disturbed. In order not to be swamped by the waves, the ship sailed under topsails" (starting on p. 53 of the electronic copy I have).

It looks like, from a quick search for references in the rest of the book, the youthful voyagers do not return.

However, take this with a large grain of salt. My source is a Russian translation, titled YOUNG VOYAGERS [Junye puteshestvenniki], from http://lib.aldebaran.ru/author/vern_zhyul/vern_zhyul_yunye_puteshestvenniki/ and elsewhere; I have no access to the French. Russian translations, just like the older English ones, can often be rather free with the original, and that's putting it mildly (I do apologize for the over-literalness of my translation). I haven't read the whole book, having just searched the text for mentions of Bermuda. Nevertheless, I hope this is what you're looking for.

Actually, this has whetted my appetite; JV's sailing stories are always enjoyable. If anyone knows where the French text can be obtained, either electronically or in print for a reasonable price, please let me know. I hear that there will be an English translation out soon.

Ernie Sjogren
Received on Thu 17 Apr 2008 - 04:42:59 IDT

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