July 2012 Challenge Entry - Chyogamsidyo Harbor

[jbgibson]

Thanks, Chashio. I was seeing how long I could keep it in .gif without losing anything. Even adding some aliased text for shoals & such seems to still stick within .gif's 256 colors, like so:

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That gives it more of the character of a coastal chart - with mostly land features t'was just a map of the town's surroundings - now it focuses on the *harbor*, which was my intent.

The -ji suffix is a settlement in the village to town range, the -yo ones are more town to city sized. That 'back door' out the NE of the harbor is such a devious passage that the Naval authorities use an early steam-donkey set of winches to tow ships through. I imagine when steam tugs are developed they will be a better solution. The next edition of the chart would likely show the bridge being proposed to ease access to the Naval Base there - Parliament has appropriated the funds, but the procurement is held up among the three qualified but unpatronized engineering firms in Cho., and the two unqualified but well-patronized ones. The local odds are three to two that the bridge if ever built will collapse within a fortnight.

The wide expanse of inner harbor, much of which is three fathoms or greater depth, makes it a prime anchorage for the Nearer Muobiju Squadron, as well as in storm time, the Outer Muobiju Fleets. Mind you, that number of sailors cooped up in a modest sized city for two months at a time is a bit hard on the Naval Guard. Gaols on both island portions of the Naval Base have to be supplemented by the Old Dunjon in downtown Chyogamsidyo, which the city considers reasonable trade for the huge business done among the city's taverns, chandleries, and outfitters.

[jbgibson]

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A few notes on what I used -- DrawPlus Starter Edition (the current freebie) was enough to gen the curved labels. Fonts were things like Bookman Old Style, Chevara Outline, Californian FB, and the compass rose was built up from Soft Ornaments Three characters.

The locals tend to put just a reference lat/lon on non-navigational maps, and the projection they used was centered on that point. Other characteristics relate to that point as well, like the magnetic declination and the distances. These folks' miles and leagues differ from country to country, much as ours did in the 1700s and 1800s. They do not equate to (any of) ours, but figure the statute millia shown are in the same ballpark as a statute mile of 5280 feet.

I want to do one like this where scads of soundings, navigational aids like bouys and lighthouses, and things like onshore landmarks are all shown. Maybe if I get my starting file sized right :-).