When news of the California Gold Rush was confirmed late in 1848, many on the East Coast were ready to start on their way to California. The route was well known because of the many whaling ships that had already traversed Cape Horn on their way to Pacific whaling grounds or ports of call in Hawaii and California. In most East Coast cities, there were mariners who were well acquainted with the Cape Horn route and who knew precisely how to prepare for a voyage to California. One of the chief advantages of the Cape Horn route was that they could leave at any time of the year they could find a ship. There were also travelers nicknamed "Argonauts", who foresaw the broad needs and demands of a mining center on the Pacific Coast and who brought along goods of all descriptions and sizes, from needles to knocked-down steamboats, on which they hoped to realize good profits. Indeed, some had no intention to do actual mining but to earn their fortune by providing goods and services to the miners.