Talk:Straits of Magellan

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Contents 1 Disputed text 2 Fixed link across? 3 Chinese Voyage of Discovery? 4 Second most used 5 Relative merits of Straits of Magellan and Drake Passage 6 Circumnavigation claim 7 Supertankers? 8 territorial waters of Chile?

[edit] Disputed text

See RC Patrol. I'm not sure if the man-made comment is true, but if it is, that's a fascinating piece of trivia. However, I'm sticking the {{dispute}} tag because there are no sources cited for this piece of information, and I couldn't find anything either. --Deathphoenix 21:40, 7 May 2005 (UTC)

Who might have carved out the Straight of Magellen? Magellen himself? The native peoples prior to his traverse? This is simply stupid. Note that the same anon who added this went on (two minutes later) to add an unverifiable and unlikely "fact" about warthogs. I've removed the claim and the disputed tag.-gadfium 06:07, 8 May 2005 (UTC)

Now I feel like an idiot for leaving it in. I thought maybe a part of it might have been man-made, but yeah, I should know better. Thanks for your help. --Deathphoenix 15:40, 8 May 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Fixed link across?

Can anyone add more info on the possible plans of contructing a tunnel and/or bridge across to Porvenir on the other side? I am also quite curious as to whether any steps have been taken to decide to build infrastructure links across the:

• Strait of Messina
• Fehmarn Belt
• Cook Strait
• Palk Strait
• Strait of Tartary
• Irish Sea
• Strait of Bonifacio
• Surigao and San Bernardino Straits
• Hainan Strait
• Strait of Georgia
• Kvarken
• Chacao Channel bridge
• Bering Strait

Anyone with inside knowledge on any of these? I've posted similar requests elsewhere. Gruesome Twosome! 8v] //Big Adamsky 20:52, 15 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Chinese Voyage of Discovery?

There is no evidence that the Chinese or any other Asians discovered the Americas prior to the European explorers. Charles Menzie's book "1421:.." is not accepted in academia and is widely criticized. Let's let the real archaeologists do their jobs and keep the PC speculation out of Wikipedia. --Roberticvs 19:09, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

Agreed. I'll remove it. --209.128.81.201 19:17, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Second most used

Until the Panama Canal was finished, the strait was the second-most used route for ships crossing between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans (the Drake Passage was the most used route).

Is there any other route? Which one? If not, this paragraph, while correct, makes no sense... --193.86.75.124 11:29, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

It makes perfect sense to me. It's saying that before the Panama canal, the Drake passage was the most used route, followed by the Straight of Magellan. Since the Panama canal, the positions have been altered. (Presumably to #1 Panama Canal, #2 Drake passage & #3 Straight of Magellan, but I'm just guessing there.) RupertMillard (Talk) 17:01, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

Of course there is another way : thru the artic ocean. But this one is really suicidal. madlozoz--213.56.150.217 08:58, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Relative merits of Straits of Magellan and Drake Passage

It think that the article is incorrect in claiming that the straits provide a safer passage than the Drake Passage. For sailing vessels, this is not true because of a) the very limited searoom in the Straits and b) the very unpredictable and rapidly changing winds in the Straits. I am told that highly destructive squalls can drop off the mountains with very little warning. Although the Drake Passage has very high winds and seas, there is plenty of sea-room and the winds tend to be relatively steady. Given a well-found ship, the preference would clearly be for the Drake Passage, and most of the clipper ships followd this route.--APRCooper 12:48, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

Logic would appear to be on your side: if it were safer, it would have been the preferred route, since it is also shorter than Drake's Passage. But it was less often used than Drake's. --mglg_(talk) 23:28, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

When you say that it was less used than the drakes passage, its not totaly correct because steam ships prefered to use Magellan strait, while clippers and other sailing ships prefered drakes passage. 200.126.70.124 18:48, 10 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Circumnavigation claim

It was my understanding that F Magellan did not circumnavigate the globe. He died in the Philippines, and that the first person to circumnavigate the globe was Juan Sebastian Elcano.Gianfranco unali

Ferdinand Magellan had made previous voyages to the far east. If he died after reaching his easternmost point from his early voyages, then he would have circumnavigated the globe. -- Geo Swan 17:58, 22 November 2006 (UTC)

Surely circumnavigation (i.e. to travel all the way round) of the globe involves returning to the point of departure rather than only going half-way (or just over half-way). In fact the wikipedia entry for J S Elcano goes as far as claiming that not even Elcano, but one of Magellan's servants, returning home in the east, was the first person to actually complete a round the world trip by boat (this too appears to be in dispute). Your point, though, is interesting: "if" one travels eastwards half-way round the globe and then westwards half-way round the globe on a separate trip will they have circumnavigated the globe? I don't think so. They will have been round the world, but they won't have circumnavigated it. Gianfranco unali 08:58, 23 November 2006 (UTC)

The RCMP St. Roch is described as the first vessel to circumnavigate North America. She completed the first West to East passage of the Northwest Passage during World War II in 1942. She made the second East to West passage during 1944. And in 1950, a passage of the Panama Canal made her the first vessel to circumnavigate North America. -- Geo Swan 10:29, 23 November 2006 (UTC)

If you count the start from where they had sailed half-way round the globe eastwards, they would have sailed half around the globe westwards when they returned to Europe from that journey, then completed the circumnavigation upon sailing another half-way round the globe from Europe. That is a whole lap, in one direction. Lejman 21:58, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Supertankers?

Do the big ships of today use it?

No as far as I know, they prefer the Panama Canal first (not supertankers) and the around Cape Horn second. The Strait of Magellan is too narrow to navigate. -- BIL 19:58, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] territorial waters of Chile?

When the article states that Chile took possession of the straits does it mean that the straits are now part of the internal territorial waters of Chile such that ships have no right of innocent passage?Zebulin 20:35, 28 September 2007 (UTC)