Continuing with the subject of
Lehi’s voyage across the Great Deep, and some of the events that occurred on
that voyage. In fact, there is an interesting series of events in Nephi’s
record that is usually ignored by Theorists who are so interested in proving
their own model that they pay little attention to clues Nephi gave us that help
us understand where he went and where he landed. Take, as an example the event
of the storm not long after they set out in Nephi’s ship.
Once Nephi was tied up, Lehi demanded his sons, Laman and Lemuel and
the sons of Ishmael stop their foolishness, but the renegades “breathed out
much threatenings against anyone that should speak for Nephi” (1 Nephi 18:17).
Also Nephi’s wife and children prayed for his release
“And it came to pass that Laman
and Lemuel did take me and bind me with cords, and they did treat me with much
harshness; nevertheless, the Lord did suffer it that he might show forth his
power, unto the fulfilling of his word which he had spoken concerning the
wicked. And it came to pass that after they had bound me insomuch that I could
not move, the compass, which had been
prepared of the Lord, did cease to work” (1 Nephi 18:11, emphasis mine).
Now at this precise time, two
more events occur: 1) A great storm arose, “yea, a great and terrible tempest,”
and 2) Laman and Lemuel, because of the Liahona ceasing to work, “they knew not
whither they should steer the ship” (1 Nephi 18:13).
The South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season tracks; the colors other
than blue/green represent category 3 to 5 tropical storms (winds from 111 to
156 mph)
Now there is an interesting area
in the Indian Ocean that occurs exactly where the Indian Ocean Gyre would have
begun to swing their ship further out into the current on its swing to the
southeast to where it would eventually pick up the Southern Ocean. However, if
that swing was too tight, that is, to far to the east, then the ship would be claimed
entirely by the gyre and swung east and then back to the north again—“back the way it had come.” Or, as Nephi
worded it, “…and we were driven back upon the
waters for the space of three days” (1 Nephi 18:13).
In
addition, in this area, there is a convergence of mass and a resulting high-pressure
system that forms within the subtropical gyre, which results in many storms of
great magnitude. The Coriolis acceleration sets up a counter-clockwise gyre
circulation around the high pressure, and the gyre flow pattern, based on Henry
Stommel's original wind-driven ocean circulation theory—which showed that the
Coriolis force was responsible for the observed fact that western boundary
currents in the circulating gyre are much narrower and faster than eastern
boundary currents—which causes the western-intensification of this Indian Ocean
current.
That
is, the western side of the gyre (where Nephi’s ship would have been sailing)
is a fast moving current, according to the hydrographic measurements by
Worthington, and would have skirted this inbound counter-clockwise curvature of
the gyre on the outside, or furthest west streamline, with the speed inversely
proportional to the spacing between these streamlines (the flow is fastest
where the streamlines are closest together).
The
Liahona, at this point, would have
been directing a far west course around the gyre, where the ship could be
turned to the southeast, but not be caught up in the powerful flow eastward.
However, with the Liahona
non-functioning, and Laman and Lemuel unaware of where to steer the ship (along
the western edge), the ship became caught in the full gyre swing to the east,
and eventually, over the next three days, swung entirely back in the direction
from which it had come, right into the heart of the cyclonic tropical storm—where
these summer seasonal storms can be quite lengthy and very severe.
Nephi’s ship, as sturdy built as she
was from the Lord’s design, was tossed about in the rough cyclonic storm
waters, so much so that the renegades Laman and Lemuel feared for their lives
At
this point, Nephi said, “And on the fourth day, which we had been driven back,
the tempest began to be exceedingly sore” (1 Nephi 18:14), and so severe was
the storm, that he added, “and it came to pass that we were about to be
swallowed up in the depths of the sea” (1 Nephi 18:15).
These
storms are so severe they register on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale
for cyclones between (Category One) 74-95 mph, which is 64-82 knots to
(Category Five) 157 mph and over, which is 137 knots or more; with two lesser
classifications--Tropical Storm and Tropical Depression. By way of comparison,
when a tropical depression reaches 40 mph, it is given a name and classified as
a tropical storm, at 74 mph, the storm becomes a hurricane, and then falls into
the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. At 110 mph, it becomes a tropical cyclone
and classified as a Category 3 hurricane.
So
when Nephi said the storm became “exceedingly sore,” we can only guess at the
speed of the winds, but can rest assured it fell somewhere on this scale.
Yellow Line: Lehi’s course; Red Line:
Ship gets pulled into the swirling cyclonic storm (moving counter-clockwise
south of the equator); Green Line: Ship pulled into and around the storm vortex
for three days and back the way it had come, and on the fourth day Nephi regains control, and the Liahona
starts working again, guiding him to the outside of the storm track (White
Arrow) and back on course; Blue Arrow: Nephi guides the ship onto its original
course and toward the Southern Ocean
Their
only salvation would be to steer the ship out of this vortex and back onto the
streamlines at the western edges of the gyre. After four days, the ship would
have made that complete circle around the cyclonic center and with aid of the
Liahona, Nephi would have known where to steer the ship--back onto its original course. As he
said, “And it came
to pass after they had loosed me, behold, I took the compass, and it did work
whither I desired it. And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord; and
after I had prayed the winds did cease, and the storm did cease, and there was
a great calm. And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did guide the ship, that we
sailed again towards the promised land” (1 Nephi 18:21-22).
The zigzagging line between 48º and 61º south latitude separates the
Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean, and is called the Antarctic Convergence,
an oceanic boundary 20 to 30 miles wide, where the warm, subtropical waters of
the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic converge with the cold, polar waters off Antarctica.
This area was recognized as a fifth ocean by the International Hydrographic
Organization in 2000
From this point onward, the
voyage is so uneventful, that Nephi provides not a single word about it,
concluding his earlier statement with, “And it came to
pass that after we had sailed for the space of many days we did arrive at the
promised land; and we went forth upon the land, and did pitch our tents; and we
did call it the promised land.” (1 Nephbi 18:23).
Nothing to see but sky, waves, ocean
and fish. As one ancient mariner said of it, “It is the same day after day, day
after day.” Nothing at all for Nephi to write about
The
spin, or rotation, of the storm (as well as winds and ocean currents) is due to
the Coriolis effect, which is a deflection—to the left in a clockwise rotation
north of the equator, and to the right in a counter-clockwise rotation to the
south of the equator. This effect, or force, is caused by the rotation of the
Earth and the inertia of the mass experiencing the effect. Because the Earth
completes only one rotation per day, the Coriolis force is quite small, and its
effects generally become noticeable only for motions occurring over large
distances and long periods of time, such as large-scale movement of air in the
atmosphere or water in the ocean. Thus the effect is zero at the equator, and
builds toward the poles.
A typical cyclonic tropical storm in the Arabian Sea. Top Left: Note how it
starts out to sea, then (top right) moves toward land; and (bottom left) gets
closer to the shore, and finally (bottom right) crosses the coast and moves
inland
As can be seen in the four-image
sequence above, if Lehi was following the trade routes eastward from Arabia, as
ancient traders did in this area, they would have stayed in sight of land most
of the way, as the ancients did, who had to pull in to land for the evening
where they camped every night until dawn the next day before going back out to sea. Any
storm in that area would be blowing into land as the above photos show, not parallel
with the coast; consequently, Nephi's ship, in such an area as these ancient trade routes, would have been blown into the coast
and wrecked.
The only way Nephi’s statements
(1 Nephi 18:12-15, 21-23) can be verified is if they were sailing out to deep
water, far away from shore, and if they were sailing south into the Arabian Sea
and Indian Ocean. In that case, a four-day storm driving them back the way they
had come could fit in with the events described and the location they were in.
It would also suggest, that their ship would have to have been south of the
equator, for the counter-clockwise spin of the cyclonic storm to take them
around into open ocean and back the way they had come, otherwise, north of the
equator, the spin would have been clockwise, driving their vessel to the west, away
from storm area and into land (Madagascar or the east African coast).
Top: Map of cyclonic storm locations. Note the Indian Ocean, north of
the equator, the spin is clockwise and upward (northward) and below the
equator, the spin is counter-clockwise and downward (southward); Bottom Left: A
clockwise rotating cyclonic storm; Bottom Right: A counter-clockwise cyclonic
storm
For those who like to say that
Lehi just sailed this way or that from Arabia to the Land of Promise, simply do
not understand the ocean and its currents, and the winds that drive them. When
Nephi said his ship was “driven forth before the wind,” we need to understand
what that means. When he tells us there was a severe storm that lasted four
days and drove them back the way they had come, we need to understand where
that could have occurred, and what history of oceanography and meteorology can
tell us about the path for his ship we consider. The oceans have been around
since the planet was first organized, gravity never changes, winds and currents
are the same, driven by the same forces, day after day, year after year,
century after century.
Nephi gave us all the clues we
need to understand where he sailed, where the winds and currents took him, and
where he landed. We just have to pay attention to what he wrote and not jump
the gun thinking we know where he ended up before we can find the path he took
to get there.
(See
the next a post on “The Great Southern Ocean-Part III,” for more about
Lehi’s voyage across the ocean to his eventual landing site)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment