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Re: Bermuda

From: Ernest Sjogren <esjogren~at~nc.rr.com>
Date: Sun, 20 Apr 2008 08:37:25 -0400
To: "Jules Verne Forum" <jvf~at~gilead.org.il>, <njanelle~at~ufl.edu>

Ms. Janelle,

Thanks very much for your corrections of the description of Bermuda, translated from a Russian version of BOURSES DE VOYAGE.

A couple words in defense of JV (in "Bourses"). First of all, this is a translation of a translation; errors may have slipped in either time. As I translated from Russian into English, here are a couple of points.

> "Latitude/Longitude 32° 20'N, 64° 45'W" [There is alway a degree or two +/- in Verne's text.]

That degree of difference can probably be chalked up to me: the word I translated as "under" can also mean "about" or "around"; "About" would have been better.

> Highest point: Town Hill 76 m.

Unless the original translator was far from the mark, which is possible, I don't see how JV can be let off here. Where I translated, "mountainous shores," we might say "hilly shores" (either word would do for the Russian), but the little conversation about the mountains cutting through the clouds, seen from 60 miles away, would seem to indicate it is mountains JV intended.

However, as I'm not a professional translator, nor a native Russian speaker, more corrections would of course be welcome, especially in regard to the Russian itself.

When I read JV's books as a boy, the "travelogue" passages were favorites of mine. It was only as an adult that I realized he obtained most of them purely from books... although I must admit that I still enjoy them.

Ernie Sjogren

P.S. > A virtual treasure trove of Verne in multilingual format

Yes it is a good link. Don't miss this one, if you don't know it: <http://jv.gilead.org.il/works.html>


  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Nancy Janelle
  To: Jules Verne Forum ; E.C. BARKSDALE
  Sent: Sunday, April 20, 2008 2:33 AM
  Subject: Re: Bermuda


  Gentlemen,

  I lived in Bermuda and there are some errors in the descriptions herein. I hope that you won't mind a few links and personal experiences to add to the discussion.

  Where Verne is concerned, he could easily have made a case for a landing in a cliff wall that was hollow, although it is likely that only a superhero like Nemo and his Nautilus might try to pull off such approach, as the south shore of the island is the 'cliff side' that is continually pounded by the sea, not to mention reef laden close to the island [3-10m in some south shore areas] and off shore on the S/SW shore... very sketchy and ill advised to try an approach on this side of the island.

  There is only one seaway into Bermuda due to the reefs which, is St. George's Cut, where every visiting yacht, cruise ship and trawler enter and exit from and they are led in by the Bermuda Port Authorities. This due to the island being an archipelago.

  Here is a description of the undersea terrain:

  "The Bermuda Mountain is longer - 32 miles - than the land area width and much wider - 16 miles wide - than the maximum land width of 1.5 miles."

  There are also two seamounts to the South-West of Bermuda, forming Argus Banks, and Challenger Banks. Neither of these breaks the surface of the ocean, but both support coral reefs and are popular fishing gounds.
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Bermuda

  At sea, the Argus and Challenger Banks are round and about 6 miles across." Land Area 53.3 sq km (20.5 sq miles) [not much room to romp and island wide speed limit is 25 km/h 15 mph - 35 km/h 22 mph...mopeds galore.
  http://www.bermuda-online.org/basics.htm
  "Latitude/Longitude 32° 20'N, 64° 45'W" [There is alway a degree or two +/- in Verne's text.]

    Geography - note
    Consists of about 360 small coral islands [???] with ample rainfall, but no rivers or freshwater lakes; some land, reclaimed and otherwise, was leased by US Government from 1941 to 1995
  Much of the data in this article is adapted from the CIA World Factbook 2000.

  http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/bm.htm
  I was the Marine & Fabrication Manager ~at~ St. Georges', Meyer Industries. The port authority tugboats were maintained in my care; we dry-docked these vessels on one of the oldest "Steam-operated railway marine travel-lifts" left in operation in modernity. I will agree that I repaired many boats that had limped into this lonely ocean bound wayside for help & provisioning. [personal experience NRJ]

  "Landforms generally flat land rising to low hills. It includes about 140 offshore coral islands and/or islets. There! are no rivers or lakes."

  The information varies greatly in regard to the amount of islets that surround Bermuda, but having spent much of my time on the water while living there, I would have to say that the most I would profess is 140 "islands" and the rest, more likely islets that disappear and reappear during the tides...although the CIA website claims 360 islands & islets.

  As you can see here, there are no mountains that could cut through the clouds and rise above, Gibbs Lighthouse is the highest point above sea and it is hardly a mountain; it is a hill:
    a.. Highest point: Town Hill 76 m.

  This link is a good place to look up all the remote islands globally:

  http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/io.htm

  Thank you for allowing me to stroll back through memory lane!
  Nancy Janelle
  p.s. I followed someone's link to:

  http://manybooks.net

  A big thank you to the person that posted this link! A virtual treasure trove of Verne in multilingual format and many other authors also... the "Anonymous" section is fascinating! Found some rare Pushkin, Gogol and Tolstoy among others... check it out!

  Ernest Sjogren wrote:
    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 Sun 20 Apr 2008 - 15:42:33 IDT

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