The Voyage of the Matthew

Explorers of old needed spice/"To China a sea-path'ed be nice!" /So leaving the nest/They all headed west/The Americas saying, "No dice!" In this 3-tape series, John Cabot's 1497 misguided-yet-historic sea voyage across the North Atlantic is chronicled. Employing a crew of 18 and starting out from Bristol, England, Cabot headed west on the tiny ship Matthew in every explorer's fondest hope: finding a water-passage to China and its lucrative spice trade. Seven weeks later, he bumped into Canada, thus becoming the first modern European to set foot on America's mainland. Five hundred years later, another crew set out to replicate Cabot's voyage, using only the primitive navigational equipment available to Cabot himself, wearing Cabot-like garb, and eating late 15th-century food. The impact of this "hook" is somewhat lessened by the electronic safety devices required on modern-day vessels, and the hermetically sealed cans and jars of food loaded on board, and by the fact that there are no 15th-century models, plans, or paintings of the actual Matthew. In fact, the sole record of the voyage was in a letter found in 1955 in a medieval Spanish castle. Written by an English spy for--yes--Christopher Columbus, the letter outlines Cabot's sailing dates and course, number of crew, and events once the ship reached Newfoundland. Questions of authenticity aside, this video-set is moderately interesting, particularly when its somewhat-too-enthusiastic host is giving us the background details of the original journey. Things kind of bog down in the scenes of the current-day Matthew voyage, however; I mean, other than wind shifts and big waves, how exciting can it be to view on TV a "primitively" outfitted sailing ship? I suspect that this video-set's value is greatly enhanced by its companion book (not seen). Guess I'll give this only a rather watered-down recommendation. Aud: J, H, C, P. (K. Glaser)