Meldrum’s 14 Factors Claiming Proof of an Apalachicola, Florida, landing site for Lehi – Part III

 Continued from the previous post regarding an evaluation of Meldrum’s 14 factors, and why a voyage around Africa for Lehi and a landing in Florida is ill-founded. The first factor was begun in the previous posts and continued below:

5. Wind Currents: Leaving Oman in Sept (honey & fruit ripe), wind currents flow toward horn of Africa.

On the contrary, had Lehi left Oman (The fertile southern province along the coast of the Sea of Arabia) in September, his ship that sailed only downwind, would have been blown into the coast of India and not downward past Africa.

Left: The direction of winds and sea currents from November to March; Right: May to September (Maps by Robert Simmon, based on data provided by the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences)

 

The Northern Indian Ocean, referred to as the Sea of Arabia is a unique region of the ocean, where the circulation switches direction annually under the influence of strong monsoon winds. During the boreal summer, or southwest monsoon, the northward advection of Southern Hemisphere waters along the western boundary, together with strong coastal upwelling, offshore flow, and mechanical wind mixing, all affect the sea surface, which in turn, feeds back on the winds inland and on rainfall over India.

With an annual change in the direction of winds, the currents in the region have two very distinct periods where the cross-equatorial winds move from the north to the south (southerly) during the southwest monsoon and blow from the south to the north (northerly) during the northeast monsoon. Thus, over the Arabian Sea, monsoon winds alternately blow from the northeast and the southwest, reversing their dominant direction with the seasons. In the winter, the winds blow southward from Southwest Asia out over the sea. During the summer, the winds blow toward the northeast off the sea and inland across southeast Asia.

Left: The direction of winds and sea currents in October and April; neither of which would blow Lehi’s ship southward

 

Nor would they have left in October, since the winds blow eastward, not southward. In addition, off the coast of Africa, the currents blow northward in the opposite direction Lehi would have had to sail. To a lesser degree, the flow of currents in April are very similar to those of October.

It should be remembered that the winds and currents prevalent in the Sea of Arabia creates this seasonal cycle and affects weather patterns on land, and also across the Arabian Sea itself. This is because the Sea is landlocked in the north, and largely cut off from better known large-scale ocean circulation patterns—thus allowing local winds to play a significant role in ocean movement and temperatures.

Consequently, Meldrum’s claim that Lehi left Oman in September is totally inaccurate, since the winds and currents flow northward that entire month, which would have blown the ship Nephi built into the west coast of India. Even October would not have allowed Lehi to sail southward past Somalia (beyond the Horn of Africa). The earliest time they could have left Oman would have been November—long after the fruit would have been harvested—and the most ideal time would have been January.

This area of Oman along the coast attracts many people from other parts of the country and the Persian Gulf region during the monsoon season, locally called the khareef season (the monsoon rains are locally called Khareef) which spans from June to September.

The Salalah Plain along the coast of Oman has a group of valleys that start from the slopes of the mountains and run in the direction of the plain to pour rivers and streams into the Arabian Sea. In addition to some small tributaries—these waters are what watered the natural and feral fruit trees and vegetables as well as the later-planted crops. In fact, with a sub-mediterranean climate, the seeds Lehi brought from Jerusalem would have grown there for the two or so seasons they spent building their ship.

Pomegranates were an important fruit in Jerusalem and the entire Mediterranean

 

In this fertile land and climate, pomegranates grow abundantly, and is the most significant crop in the region, along with apples, peaches, plums, apricots, almonds, walnuts, grapes, pears, cherries, figs and olives, along with an assortment of vegetables. The pomegranate is mentioned or alluded to in the Bible many times, including coinage and various types of ancient and modern cultural works (Ronald H. Isaacs, Why Hebrew Goes from Right to Left: 201 Things You Never Knew about Judaism, KTAV Publishing House, Brooklyn New York, 2008, p129).

For example, pomegranates were known in Ancient Israel as the fruits that the scouts brought to Moses “They also brought back samples of the pomegranates and figs, fruit to demonstrate the fertility of the promised land” (Numbers 13:23,26). The pomegranate was known throughout the Mediterranean region, and in general do not have a synchronized single spring bloom and can have shoot flushes that bear flowers throughout the warmer parts of the year. Early cultivars will begin to ripen near the end of August. In fact, in the Salalah agricultural plain, some harvests occur as early as June and July.

In fact, Meldrum’s comment that the honey and fruit would have been ripe and harvested in time for a September embarkation date, is also flawed. First of all, it was the Jaredites that introduced bees into the Land of Promise: “And they did also carry with them deseret, which, by interpretation, is a honey bee; and thus they did carry with them swarms of bees” (Ether 2:3).

Bees multiply quite quickly, as the process of laying one egg takes only a few seconds, and a queen is capable of laying up to 2,000 honey bee eggs within a single day. Development from egg to emerging bee varies among queens, workers, and drones. Queens emerge from their cells in 15–16 days—there is only one in a hive—workers in 21 days, and drones in 24 days. 

A temporary swarm of honeybees while scout bees are out looking for a place for the hive

 

At such a rate, the amount of swarms would have created an abundance of bees during the Jaredites four-year stay at the shore before embarking in their barges to the new world and their promised land.

This swarming, which is a honey bee colony's natural means of reproduction, in which process results in a single colony splitting into two or more distinct colonies (Peter Miller, “Swarm Theory,” National Geographic. July 2007).

Swarming is mainly a spring phenomenon, usually within a two- or three-week period depending on the locale, but occasional swarms can happen throughout the producing season.

Feral or wild honey bees make hives in rock crevices, hollow trees and other areas that scout bees believe are appropriate for their colony. Similar to the habits of domesticated honey bees, they construct hives that are composed of many Honeycombs, with each placed parallel to the other and is equally spaced. The beehive is placed a few meters above the ground and has a single entry point which is generally below the beehive.

Most nectar flows by the end of summer, and before September. If the honey sits until early or mid-Fall, it will become cold and thick, and it will be much harder to extract. The honey that is not harvested generally goes to feed the colony during the cold winter months, with an amount left in the hive to feed the bees which stay inside their hive during the chilly weather until it warms back up in the Spring.

One hive can produce 60 lb or more in a good season, however an average hive would be around 25 lb.

In order for the Jaredites to harvest enough honey for their sea voyage, they would have been doing so all year long—there would have been no time more important than another for the Jaredites to leave their temporary coastal home and set to sea. Obviously, then, Meldrum’s first five points have no value in proving his factors to be correct.

(See the next post, “Meldrum’s 14 Factors Claiming Proof of an Apalachicola, Florida, landing site for Lehi – Part IV,” regarding an evaluation of Meldrum’s 14 factors, and why a voyage around Africa for Lehi and a landing in Florida is ill-founded)