Quote from: Darth Fife on December 25, 2014, 12:57:39 PM
If memory serves me correctly, The Nicaragua route was originally surveyed and discarded in favor of the route through Panama.

Here is a link to an interesting story about a sailor who had his small cruising catamaran trucked up to Lake Nicaragua and did some sailing there.

http://turtleislands.net/tmc/16.html

Darth

Fascinating story.

You can bet your last cent that China will complete a canal wide and deep enough to accommodate every warship it has.

Compare that to the fact that three, count them, THREE retired U.S. aircraft carriers must go the long way 'round the Horn this year, because the canal WE can influence isn't wide or deep enough. (Sold for scrap, hauled away for break-up, which isn't the point as much as their SIZE matters.)

The Forrestal, Constellation and Ranger used to be our best. They were small compared to the Ford.

Quote from: quiller on December 25, 2014, 10:50:51 PM
You can bet your last cent that China will complete a canal wide and deep enough to accommodate every warship it has.

Compare that to the fact that three, count them, THREE retired U.S. aircraft carriers must go the long way 'round the Horn this year, because the canal WE can influence isn't wide or deep enough. (Sold for scrap, hauled away for break-up, which isn't the point as much as their SIZE matters.)

The Forrestal, Constellation and Ranger used to be our best. They were small compared to the Ford.

Irrelevant. There are severe disadvantages to having ones Military landlocked after we close the egress which leave them sitting ducks.

Quote from: quiller on December 25, 2014, 10:50:51 PM
You can bet your last cent that China will complete a canal wide and deep enough to accommodate every warship it has.

Compare that to the fact that three, count them, THREE retired U.S. aircraft carriers must go the long way 'round the Horn this year, because the canal WE can influence isn't wide or deep enough. (Sold for scrap, hauled away for break-up, which isn't the point as much as their SIZE matters.)

The Forrestal, Constellation and Ranger used to be our best. They were small compared to the Ford.

You realize that the canal was built to handle the largest ships of its day, right?

As it stands, I believe the canal is large enough to handle the largest of China's Navy - such as it is. The dimensions of the new canal will will more than likely be designed to handle the largest new cargo ships. These are considerably larger than our aircraft carriers and are currently required to either go the long way round, or offload their cargo on one side and ship it by rail to the other side for loading onto another ship.



Darth