Sunday, February 2, 2014

The Island of "Bonapete"

On "Friday February 21th 1902", the Charles W. Morgan visited the island of "Bonapete". Nevertheless, if you try to research the island, you will quickly discover that this island does not exist (at least by the name given). Usually when islands are given in this logbook, the ship simply spotted the landmass on their voyage out upon the horizon. The non existent Island of "Bonapete", on the contrary, was actually visited by the Morgan. In mid afternoon, the Morgan "stoods Breast of Middle harbors", signifying this island was some sort of port. The Morgan was then greeted from the "one canoe [that] came of to us latter part [of the day]". The map below shows the approximate path of the Morgan around the time they visited "Bonapete". Point A was the location of the ship four days before, point B their location three days after, and point C the island of Saipan spotted by the vessel a week after their visit to "Bonapete". I hypothesize that the Morgan visited what is now known as the Federated States of Micronesia during their voyage. "Bonapete" might have been the local's name for the Island.

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