To the Illustrious, High-Born

Princes and Lords / Lord John Frederick / and Lord

Ernest Ludwig, Dukes of Stettin, Pomerania, the Kashubians

and Wends. Princes of Rügen / and Counts of

Gützkaw. My Gracious Lords.

A large ornamental drop-cap 'D' is illustrated here, decorated with intricate floral patterns and curling leaf scrolls.
Illustrious and High-born Princes, Gracious Lords:
How useful and highly necessary seafaring is for the whole world requires no explanation; yet daily experience teaches enough how poorly and inexperienced many sailors are found to be. Through their own recklessness, lack of understanding, and unskillfulness in the true art of navigation, they often suddenly perish and meet their end along with their ships, goods, and crew. Thus, to treat the art and practice of seafaring, and to bring to light its components, circumstances, and secrets, is a laudable and highly necessary thing. It is also right to hold in the highest regard the understanding and judgment of those who, alongside natural gifts, are also old, experienced sailors and have spent and worn out their entire lives upon the sea.

There has been found Lucas Janszoon Waghenaer original: "Lucas Johan Wagener", a skillful, experienced, and widely renowned pilot and ship’s steersman from Enkhuizen original: "Enckhusen". He has not only treated the true art of seafaring and the use of geometric and astronomical instruments magnificently and clearly, but for well over twenty years has made many land and sea charts—namely, drawn or written by hand—and sold them to sailors to such great gratitude that he could not make as many as they desired. Therefore, he has finally sketched almost all the sea coasts or shores of nearly all Europe exactly as they lie, had them engraved into copper plates, and published them openly in print for the whole world. What he has accomplished thereby, what benefit he has created, and how many people he has served, cannot be expressed; rather, his memory will remain as long as the world stands. Considering that such a book of sea charts has never been published in any country in the whole world until now. Many have indeed made land maps, but to make sea charts of so many lands—which must be precisely aligned with all the wind directions of the compass, degrees and minutes, as well as specific divisions of the land, corners, places, narrows, curves, mountains, valleys, etc.—no one else has dared to undertake until this day.

In each chart (of which there are 47 in total), he has depicted all the land's rivers and streams as they flow into the sea, so clearly and visibly that a person who has never been there in their life might find and sail to a land. The buoys, beacons, and other sailor’s landmarks he has painted and prescribed exactly as they stand on the rivers of each country. And he has revealed the cliffs, stone reefs, sands, and shallows upon which ships strike and sink, also marking with numbers how many fathoms original: "Badem", referring to the nautical depth measurement the sea is above, near, or in the vicinity of those areas, etc. In short, these books are not unjustly called the Mirror of Seafaring, for both merchants and insurers can see and note therefrom both the danger and the safety of navigation in every part of Europe, and accordingly decide what should be done or left undone. Finally, all persons of high and low status, especially those who are lovers of knowledge original: "wissenschafft", have reason to use and highly value this work. Since anyone who has both parts together can point with their finger to the places and opportunities for seafaring of all nations, as well as to the powerful naval armadas which were at sea before and after, particularly in the year 1588.

Also to be noted and recognized here are exceedingly many wonders of nature which God the Lord created on the sea out of unfathomable wisdom. These include, among others, the dangerous places where the water surges and the sea waves always run, roar, and ripple through and against one another with great force, even without storm or wind, so that all ships coming near are pulled in and suddenly perish. Of these, almost the most dangerous place is the Maelström original: "Malström", wave, or abyss called the Moskeström, located at 68 degrees behind Norway, on the north side of a cliff called Lofoten original: "Lofot". This abyss draws in at the time of the
* Flood / because the Ocean with rising / and falling 6 hours off-

• Flood throughout the entire tide, with such a noise, turmoil, terrible clatter, and whirling around of the waters and sea waves to and fro, that no ship...