Astonishing Facts About Boats & Goa
Boats are around for a long time in Goa but do we know enough about them?
I guess, no?
This is why I’m bringing some awesome facts to enlighten everyone.
So, here we go!
Let’s start with boat facts!
468ft in length and has masts over 300ft high. It cost it’s Russian billionaire owner a measly $295 million USD — an upgrade over his previous ride, which was only worth $215Million.
One of the mightiest and most famous pirates that ever lived, was a female prostitute named Ching Shih from China. She controlled 1,801+ ships and 80,000+ sailors under her command.
Quarantine came from the Latin word for forty, which was the number of days a ship had to wait to dock because of the plague.
The world’s largest Superyacht — the Triple Deuce measures 222 metres from nose to stern and will cost over $1 Billion USD to build. It is due to be completed in the year of 2018. It is at the request of one very wealthy Russian billionaire.
In the year 2012, an Air Canada flight took a detour to find a stranded yacht from Australia. The passengers of the Boeing 777 found the yacht surprisingly only 25 minutes after the distress beacon was activated.
In the year 2004, a study was published which showed that retiring to a cruise ship was often as cost effective as retiring to a retirement home and on top of that, it was more effective in providing quality of life.
During the World War Second, a Dutch warship had to be disguised as a tropical island to escape detection by the Japanese. Believe it or not, they were the only one to survive.
Chunosuke Matsuyama, a Japanese Seamen, sent a message in a bottle in 1784 after his ship had wrecked. Coincidentally, the bottle washed up in 1935 in the village where he was born.
A ferry sank in the Baltic Sea in the year 1994. The ship and 852 passengers are still on board, deep into the sea, and yes, it is illegal to dive to it.
In the year 2005, a stupid bus driver for the Dave Matthews Band released the bus’ septic tank over a grate above the Chicago River. At the same time, there was a boat full of sightseers was below at the time, and its passengers were covered with 850+ lbs of human waste. That was pretty disgusting.
A Frenchwoman, Jeanne de Clisson, became a pirate in the early 1300’s to revenge her husband’s death, who was beheaded by the French. She decided to sell her lands to buy 3 ships. She painted the ships in black with red sails. She hunted ships from France, caught nobles, whom she personally beheaded with her mercenary weapon, an axe. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned — hence, proved!
There is a superstition among the Royal Navy that whistling on a ship can summon strong winds. Although traditionally, the only person who is allowed to whistle is the ship’s cook, as it means he’s not having the food at that moment.
In the year 2004, a party yacht tipped over when all the passengers unsurprisingly moved to one side of the boat as it passed a nude beach in Texas.
There is an old abandoned Russian cruise ship roaming, of course without any dead pirate crew, across the international waters since 2013.
In 1812, a ship full of Americans rescued a British crew stranded on an island. While the Americans went to explore the island for food for the extra crew, the British took over the ship and left the Americans stranded on the island. That was pretty evil!
A man who survived the fire and sinking of a ship in 1871, left him emotionally damaged. About half his lifetime later, he finally was able to overcome his greatest fears and nightmares and decided to sail again, only to die in the sinking of a new ship. Guess the name? The Titanic!
Let us know some awesome facts about Indian state of Goa as well.
Let’s start!
Goa offers Asia’s first and one of it’s kind launch Floating Casino at Panaji. It has all the entertainment and promises an experience for lifetime. It is widely called as Caravela and it is anchored in the Mandovi River.
Goa is the state in India, second only to Orissa where the world famous olive ridley turtles flock the Morjim to lay their precious eggs.
Around 66% of people in Goa practice Hinduism, 25% practice Christianity and 7% practice Islam. The Sikh, Buddhists and Jain community comprises the remaining, approximately 0.9%, of total population of Goa.
Not many people are aware of this but people from Goa can actually apply and avail a Portuguese passport along with the Indian one. You can have a dual passport! How amazing is that.
This state has a two-wheeler taxi! Many Indians are not aware of this but it is the only place in India where you can ask a biker a lift and actually pay him without worrying about riding with a stranger! This is why, Goa is full of motorcycle taxis and riders take you pillion to your desired destination for a charge.
It is the smallest state of India yet it has the highest per capita income. A 2012 census indicated that Goans earns around Rs 192,652 on average per year, thus topping the country’s per capita income index
According to some surveys, Goa has astonishingly more than 7000 bars! YES, you read that right. According to a recent 2013 count, there are more than 7078 bars, licensed to serve alcohol in Goa. Adding in the unlicensed ones would make the number double.
Here are some bonus facts!
Goa has a forest cover of surprisingly approximate 33% of total land mass. The forests teem with exotic wildlife and birdlife. A great ecosystem characteristic of the Western Ghats can be found here. The forest has 275+ species of birds. There are 40+ types of animals and reptiles in these forests too.
Some of the oldest rocks in India are found in Goa between Molem and Anmod. Classified as Trondjemeitic Gneiss these rocks are said to be over 3,600 million years old.
