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Gentle reminder that a good 100 years ago all freight ships were wind powered. I once had the pleasure to talk to someone who served on one of the German Flying
by jansan 6y ago
Gentle reminder that a good 100 years ago all freight ships were wind powered. I once had the pleasure to talk to someone who served on one of the German Flying P-Liners until the late 50s. His stories were more than amazing. He said that once they failed to pass Cape Horn for 100 consecutive days. On another, more pleasant trip, they had the greatest weather that a sailor can dream of, tailwind and sunshine from start until end. Things have certainly changed a lot, but relying on the weather for shipping is certainly still a challenge.
- _ph_ 6y agoA lot of things have changed since then. Most importantly: we have weather satellites and internet. Even hobby sailors can now get precise weather information for all oceans of the world to plan their routes. Just check windy.com. A 100 years ago, there was no weather information available beyond what you saw when you looked out of the window and the current air pressure. You had to detect weather changes by the change of the air pressure. This makes a huge difference in planning your voyages. On top of that, a modern wing sail is much more efficient than the sails used in the old cargo ships and of course, the modern ship comes with an engine. Bad or no wind will cause more engine use, but not the ship getting stuck in one place.
- jabl 6y ago> the German Flying P-Liners Amazing beauties, shame there's only a few of them left. > He said that once they failed to pass Cape Horn for 100 consecutive days. IIRC those Flying P-Liners were used a lot on the Chilean guano trade. So they had to go round Cape Horn against the prevailing winds on the way out. And with a square rigged ship not being the best for beating against the wind, it sounds believable.