[The Saucepan Man]

Not sure why, but I had the idea that, when Valinor was seperated from the world, it remained on a flat plane but moved into another dimension, while the earth became rounded. In other words, for those who were entitled to enter Valinor by right or by permission, there was a passage of sea leading off at a tangent (is that the right word?) from the curvature of the world upon which ships bearing those who were able to enter Valinor could sail.

Mind you, now that I think about it, I have a vision of Bilbo, Frodo, Gandalf and co lifting off the ocean on their way to Valinor at the end of LotR like John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John at the end of Grease, with Sam, Merry and Pippin waving to them like the students of Rydell High, all singing "We go together like Bob-she-doo-wop Ramalama Ding-Dong" [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] ...

... let's hope PJ doesn't see it the same way [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img] .

And on a more serious note, what was it exactly that enabled the ships bound for Valinor to travel this route? Was it in the skill of the mariner or the quality of the vessel? And in either case, where did Legolas learn the necessary skills to enable him to build a suitable craft and/or navigate his way to Valinor? Or was it the Valar (Ulmo?) who were able to direct qualifying ships along the correct route and prevent others from going the same way?