June 11th, 2006

Ships Log
June 11th 2006
Departure Location: Saltsjöbaden, Sweden
Departure Time: 19:00 hours
Distance Traveled.7.29 Nautical Miles
Arrival Location: Inlet of Napoleonviken off the island of Ango
Arrival Time: 22:00 hours
Weather: Calm, clear, and sunny

Personal Comments

Today was a day of preparation for our departure. We packed, e-mailed, and made sure that all was in order before we left port. The biggest challenge was shopping in the Swedish supermarket where we had a little difficulty with translation, but seem to have gotten all that we will need for the next few days. Rölf Classon, a kind acquaintance we met in Stockholm was incredibly helpful in not only translating at the supermarket but also in providing transportation for all of our baggage. He was also mentioned in previous posts as the man responsible for ferrying us to the local carvings that exist an hour outside of Stockholm. His help has been wonderful.

Our first night was spent packing the boat (which has been named Trinity), and sailing the short distance to our first anchorage. It was all in all a beautiful first day of sailing, which allowed us time to find our way around the boat.

Research Comments

While planning our route for the next three weeks and looking over the map we were led to think more about Vinci’s argument for the catalogue of ships, one of the most convincing parts of his thesis. There is no visible organization of the twenty-nine cities named in the catalogue of ships when examined in a Mediterranean geography. However, when Vinci places each of the cities in a Baltic context they are organized in a counter clockwise arrangement. This counterclockwise organization runs in accordance with the Greek method of enumerating items in a set. Vinci points out on page 209 that both The Odyssey and Iliad contain passages that illustrate this form of organization.

“The suitors sitting in Ulysses’ hall stand up in turn in counter clockwise order to take part in the archery competition” (to see text from Odyssey see: 21.141-42)

“Hephaestus pours wine to the other gods in Olympus in the same counter clockwise direction” (to see text in the Iliad see: 1.597)

To see a map of this counterclockwise organization of the twenty-nine cities from the catalogue of ships in their Baltic location refer to Vinci pg.210

V-TEAM