It later took 20th-Century bridge technology to achieve what the pirates once did through their boats and seafaring skill: weave the Geiyo Archipelago together, but this time, through steel, concrete, and high-tension wire. I joined other motorists and cyclists who had stopped at Tatara Shimanami Park Roadside Station to admire Tatara Bridge, the world"s longest cable-stayed bridge when it was built (it now ranks eighth). Its slim towers and delicate cable fans – one set narrower than the other – gave the impression of a ghostly reflection of a mighty two-masted schooner.