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The oldest sailing directions, dating back to the middle ages, descended directly from the Greek and Roman periplii: in classical times, in the absence of real nautical charts, navigation was carried out using books that described the coast, not necessarily intended for navigation, but more often consisting of reports of previous voyages, or celebrations of the deeds of leaders or rulers.
The direction that the craft is traveling with respect to the "true wind" (the wind direction and speed over the surface) is called the point of sail. The speed of the craft at a given point of sail contributes to the "apparent wind"—the wind speed and direction as measured on the moving
A polar diagram, or polar plot, is a graph that shows a sailboat's potential speed over a range of wind speeds and relative wind angles. [1] It normally consists of the right side of a line chart with the radius representing the yacht speed and the angle representing the wind direction blowing from top to bottom. Several lines are normally ...
Since a sailing ship is usually pushed by winds and currents, its captain must find a route where the wind will probably blow in the right direction. Tacking, i.e. using contrary wind to pull (sic) the sails, was always possible but wasted time because of the zigzagging required, and significantly delayed long voyages. The early European ...
Before the advent of nautical charts in the 14th century, navigation at sea relied on the accumulated knowledge of navigators and pilots.Plotting a course at sea required knowing the direction and distance between point A and point B. Knowledge of where places lay relative to each other was acquired by mariners during their long experience at sea.
Ocean journeys by sailing ship can take many months, [19] and a common hazard is becoming becalmed because of lack of wind, [20] or being blown off course by severe storms or winds that do not allow progress in the desired direction. [21] A severe storm could lead to shipwreck, and the loss of all hands. [22]
Leeward: side or direction away from the wind (opposite of "windward"). [16] On deck: to an outside or muster deck (as "all hands on deck"). [17] On board: on, onto, or within the ship [18] Onboard: somewhere on or in the ship. [19] Outboard: attached outside the ship. [20] Port: the left side of the ship, when facing forward (opposite of ...
In worldwide weather charts there are shown weather data like wind speed, air pressure (isobars), etc., each actualised two to three times per day, and with weather forecast up to three days. For each harbor there is a Meteogram with detailed wind forecasts and weather information for eight days. Available weather data for wind direction, wind ...