The Truth About the Bermuda Triangle The Bermuda Triangles bad reputation started with Christopher Columbus. According to his log, on October 8, 1492, Columbus looked down at his compass and noticed that it was giving weird readings. He didnt alert his crew at first, because having a compass that didnt point to magnetic north may have sent the already on edge crew into a panic. This was probably a good decision considering three days later when Columbus simply spotted a strange light, the crew threatened to return to Spain. This and other reported compass issues in the region gave rise to the myth that compasses will all be off in the Triangle, which isnt correct, or at least is an exaggeration of what is actually happening as youll see. Despite this, in 1970 the U.S. Coast Guard, attempting to explain the reasons for disappearances in the Triangle, stated: First, the Devils Triangle is one of the two places on earth that a magnetic compass does point towards true north. Normally it points toward magnetic north. The difference between the two is known as compass variation. The amount of variation changes by as much as 20 degrees as one circumnavigates the earth. If this compass variation or error is not compensated for, a navigator could find himself far off course and in deep trouble.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 15:01:01 +0000
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