One of the ships sailed by the Númenórean mariner and adventurer Vëantur, who was most famous for making the first voyage from Númenor back to Middle-earth in II 600. That voyage was made on the vessel Entulessë, the 'Return', but for his later voyages to Middle-earth, Vëantur used a new ship named Númerrámar. That name translates as 'West-wings', and no doubt represented the vessel flying over the waves to Middle-earth out of Númenor in the West.1
It was upon the ship West-wings that Aldarion, who was not only Vëantur's grandson but also the grandson of the then reigning King Tar-Elendil, first sailed the Great Sea. Vëantur took Aldarion on a voyage to Middle-earth in II 725, and from that time the young lord grew passionate about seafaring. When Vëantur retired from his voyages, he gifted Númerrámar to Aldarion, who captained the vessel himself on the first of many voyages he commanded to the shores of Middle-earth.
Notes
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The name 'West-wings' may also have been influenced by Eärrámë, 'Sea-Wing', the name of the ship in which Tuor and Idril sailed into the Uttermost West. Tuor was the direct ancestor of the Kings of Númenor, so the name of this ship had special relevance to the Númenóreans.
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2 |
The first recorded mention of the ship West-wings is in II 725, when Vëantur sailed aboard it to Middle-earth. Vëantur had formerly sailed aboard a ship named the 'Return' (Entulessë), which sailed back from his first voyage to Middle-earth in II 601. Vëantur continued to voyage to Middle-earth from time to time over the next century, and at some point in this period he must have replaced the Return with the West-wings, which is first specifically named as sailing in II 725. Vëantur later gave the ship to Aldarion, who sailed it at least twice more to Middle-earth, returning from the second of these voyages in II 739. That is the last definite date we have for the West-wings, but Aldarion made a seven-year voyage between II 806 and II 813 aboard a vessel whose name is not given, but that might very well have been the West-wings. After this, Aldarion built a new ship for himself, Palarran the Far-wanderer, and we have no further account of the West-wings.
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- Updated 26 August 2022
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