Onboard
“At this rate, it will take a century before we get to Cape Town,” sighs Jens Dolmer, standing on the bow of Team Brunel in the VOR. He is trying in vain to push the flapping foresail outwards. There is hardly a breath of wind. In the distance, the sun is sinking into the ocean. “Cape Town is still 4,200 miles away and right now we’re only making one knot. At this speed it will take another 175 days before we arrive in Cape Town. We’re parked in the Doldrums.”
If you already know what the Doldrums are, you should carry on reading at (2). If not, carry on here. Everywhere on Earth there are areas of high and low atmospheric pressure. An area of high pressure is caused by a surplus of air while an area of low pressure is caused by a shortage of air…
