ABSTRACT
ON my Gothic map, 1 or delineation of the northern regions, are engraved certain bights of the Ocean off the shores of Norway; I refer to Rost and Lofoten, between which there is in the sea such a great chasm, or whirlpool, that, when mariners approach it carelessly, their helmsman is deprived of his strength and resourcefulness and they are swallowed up in an instant by the sudden swirl of water. 2 These are chiefly sailors who do not know the temper of the sea in that area, those driven there by the force of a storm, or those who despise and belittle the peril that looms. For this reason men wishing to sail thither from the shores of Germany hire the most skilful captains or helmsmen who have learnt from long experience how they may safely avoid these dangers by steering a devious course. Here they are in the habit of directing their voyage on varying routes over a long sea passage by the guidance of a gnomon, 3 so that they will not plunge into a whirlpool.
Röst Lofoten Whirlpool
Highly skilled captains are needed
Gnomon, compass
