and a most excellent idea! If it hadn't been for the restless spirit, the drive and curiousity of those men and others like them, our history today would be far different. I'm not saying the discoveries wouldn't have been made, but would the outcome have been the same? Something we will never know, I'm afraid.

Let's see, how about: Jacques Cartier and Henry Hudson? There are dozens more, but those two come to mind.

And not just the great explorers, friends. What about the naval captains who made history? Sir Francis Drake, Lord Horatio Nelson, Commodore Matthew Perry, and Henry Morgan to name a few?

Then, of course, there are the fictional heroes, of whom there aren't as many :(...Horatio Hornblower and Richard Bolitho to name two whose stories I've read. Both series offered insights into the workings of the British navy during the time of the Napoleonic wars as well as the American Revolution.

Whoops! Just noticed my introduction post was in the wrong thread! Best get that moved over. ;) See y'all when I see ya!