Navigating by Water, Sky, and Wind - Riding the Wind

Sailing ships were at the mercy of the winds.  A breeze from behind moved a vessel along quite nicely, but a head wind slowed the boat considerably. No wind, as was often experienced in the doldrums-the region around the equator-meant no progress. In time, sailors discovered prevailing ocean winds that helped establish highways for sailing ships on the high seas. Navigators made good sense use of these winds.

Of course, if the winds were contrary, they could also bring misery and death. For example, when  Da Gama  set sail from Portugal to India's fabled Malabar Coast in 1497, prevailing winds  took him out into the South Atlantic and then carried him back southeastward and around Africa' Cape of Good Hope.  But in the Indian Ocean, he met the monsoons-winds  that reverse direction seasonally. Early each year the summer monsoon rears up in the southwest part  of the Indian Ocean, and for months it blows  all that floats toward Asia. In late fall the winter monsoon takes over.  Roaring in from the northeast, it blows back toward Africa.  But Da Gama left India in August and soon faced unfavorable winds.  Instead of  the 23 days required for his eastward crossing, his return trip took nearly three months. Because of this delay, fresh food ran short, and he lost many of his men to scurvy.  

Shrewd navigators on the Indian Ocean learned to check the calendar as well as the compass. Eastbound ships passing the Cape of Good Hope had to set out for India by early summer or risk waiting months for favorable winds. On the other hand, ships' captains  departed India for Europe in late autumn to avoid battling the summer monsoon. Thus the Indian Ocean route was like an alternating one-way street-marine traffic between Europe and India's Malabar Coast often moved in just one direction at a time.

Next time: Navigating by Water, Sky, and Wind -Navigation Sails Onward

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