#2             95.  WHAT DAY IS IT?           


Reader Ron Mallen recounts the following tale from The Nautical Times.

Three sea captains left a European port on the same evening tide many centuries ago.

By chance, many months later, all the ships arrived back at the same port on the very same evening.

Although each captain had carefully counted the number of days that had passed since he set out, they all disagreed on the day of the week of their return to port.

The first captain claimed it was a Friday, the second a Wednesday, and the third a Thursday.

What day was it, and why?

Hints and strategies

                  Hint 1                Hint 2              Solution               Extensions                 
HINT 1

Given that the captains had counted correctly, what factor(s) could have caused this discrepancy?
HINT 2

Perhaps crossing the international date line played a part here?
SOLUTION

The correct day was Thursday. The first two captains had sailed right around the world in opposite directions, and had not allowed for their crossings of the international date line. The third captain went fishing in local waters. Everyone welcoming the returning voyagers home verified that it was indeed a Thursday evening.
EXTENSIONS

Read about the international date line in Wikipedia. Discover the historical problem the Spanish experienced because of this.

Is it possible to travel and arrive the day before you leave? Discuss this phenomenon with a world traveller that you know.