Day 30: Cruising The Pacific & Time Zones

 

Time zones are an interesting concept - especially to a science geek like me. Think about it - it should be easy - a circle (the globe) is 360 degrees, and there are 24 hours in a day, so just like a slice of an orange, each time zone should, in theory, be 15 degrees of longitude wide. Except, it's not that easy. 

First, you tangle with geometry.  A degree of longitude is about 70 miles at the equator but diminishes to 25 miles at the Artic Circle - and technically 0 at the poles. Secondly, many countries, like the US or Russia (which has 11), straddle time zones and make decisions based on geographic or political boundaries. Finally, some countries just pick a timezone because they can - either for simplification (like India), trade (like Samoa) or sheer bloody-mindedness (like Nepal or Kiribati).

We've now traveled through five time zones, from Miami (US/east) to Hawaii (HST). I've come to appreciate the allure of 25-hour days and getting more sleep. However, that now changes for our next stop. After leaving Hawaii, we've been sailing SSW towards Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas. Those islands, of course, have their very own time zone and are 1/2 hour ahead of Hawaii (known as UTC+9.5). They chose this because it maximizes daylight, and no one else in the world uses this time zone.

After leaving the Marquesas Islands, we journey west to Fakareva, Moorea, and Tahiti - who all live in the same respectable time zone as Hawaii. We then continue west to Bora Bora, American Samoa, cross the International Date Line (I'll write about that), and visit regular Samoa before hitting New Zealand. All new time zones and countries.




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