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Why not? The Phoenicians had rowers and could just take down their sails. According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trireme https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trire

by progre 5y ago

Why not? The Phoenicians had rowers and could just take down their sails. According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trireme https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trireme they also beached their boats at night so they must have been quite comfortable traveling over shallows.

alan-crowe 5y ago
Doesn't "rowing" imply having lots of hungry rowers to feed and therefore a limited range?
- clint 5y ago
  Why do you think they were stopping every couple of months to sow a whole harvest of grain before moving on?
  - kencausey 5y ago
    "every couple of months" is clearly an exaggeration and they were stopping at most annually. That said, a large number of hands may have indeed explained the need for large quantities of food, or maybe just the passage of years of time and limited storage space or planning.
legitster 5y ago
I think beaching the boats at night and having large rowing crews makes it less likely that they could have circumnavigated Africa. You'd double the amount of time it would take, 6x the amount of food and water needed, and infinitely increase the chance of a hostile encounter. Not saying it couldn't be done, but the logistics boggle the mind.
- boomboomsubban 5y ago
  It took over two years and they stopped to plant crops according to the story. Add in hunting and foraging, the logistics don't seem difficult.
simonh 5y ago
Passing Bojador is something the Phoenecians had no relevant experience for. It’s an extensive shallows extending well out to sea with subsurface channels that cause violent and unpredictable surges. The only way to do it is to sail far out into open ocean, well beyond sight of land, but the change in the winds drives you even further out to sea. Even in the early 1800s it was lethal, sinking as many as a handful of ships per year. Coast hugging just isn’t going to cut it.
fsckboy 5y ago
the problem is freeboard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeboard_(nautical) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeboard_(nautical) , i.e. the height of the "wall" of the sides of a ship to keep the splashy water out. Oars need to be relatively close to the surface of the water, and where there are oarlocks water can get into the ship. Open seas are heavy seas, meaning the waves are very very high; six foot seas are nothing in the ocean, but a bitch to bob around in. And, in heavy seas you need deep draft--the "height" of the boat under water--for stability. Also, the "powerplant" and "fuel" for oars takes up too much space limiting the freight capacity of a ship. This is basically why rowing technology was abandoned for sailing around the world or across oceans. Paddle steamers were used somewhat, but the paddles just don't have the purchase against the surrounding water to move a heavy deep draft ship.

by progre 5y ago

alan-crowe 5y ago

Doesn't "rowing" imply having lots of hungry rowers to feed and therefore a limited range?

clint 5y ago
Why do you think they were stopping every couple of months to sow a whole harvest of grain before moving on?
- kencausey 5y ago
  "every couple of months" is clearly an exaggeration and they were stopping at most annually. That said, a large number of hands may have indeed explained the need for large quantities of food, or maybe just the passage of years of time and limited storage space or planning.

legitster 5y ago

I think beaching the boats at night and having large rowing crews makes it less likely that they could have circumnavigated Africa. You'd double the amount of time it would take, 6x the amount of food and water needed, and infinitely increase the chance of a hostile encounter. Not saying it couldn't be done, but the logistics boggle the mind.

boomboomsubban 5y ago
It took over two years and they stopped to plant crops according to the story. Add in hunting and foraging, the logistics don't seem difficult.

simonh 5y ago

Passing Bojador is something the Phoenecians had no relevant experience for. It’s an extensive shallows extending well out to sea with subsurface channels that cause violent and unpredictable surges. The only way to do it is to sail far out into open ocean, well beyond sight of land, but the change in the winds drives you even further out to sea. Even in the early 1800s it was lethal, sinking as many as a handful of ships per year. Coast hugging just isn’t going to cut it.

fsckboy 5y ago

the problem is freeboard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeboard_(nautical) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeboard_(nautical) , i.e. the height of the "wall" of the sides of a ship to keep the splashy water out. Oars need to be relatively close to the surface of the water, and where there are oarlocks water can get into the ship. Open seas are heavy seas, meaning the waves are very very high; six foot seas are nothing in the ocean, but a bitch to bob around in. And, in heavy seas you need deep draft--the "height" of the boat under water--for stability. Also, the "powerplant" and "fuel" for oars takes up too much space limiting the freight capacity of a ship. This is basically why rowing technology was abandoned for sailing around the world or across oceans. Paddle steamers were used somewhat, but the paddles just don't have the purchase against the surrounding water to move a heavy deep draft ship.