The age of sailing is additionally potentially under-specified because the majority of materials used were either wood or animal skin. I have a few books on the

The age of sailing is additionally potentially under-specified because the majority of materials used were either wood or animal skin. I have a few books on the subject which are very good, chiefly The Sea-craft of Prehistory by Paul Johnstone. Also, sailing without counting doesn't get you very far, because for instance you may run out of food or water. While early sailing was predominantly coastal, that doesn't mean an easy pit-stop whenever you get hungry or thirsty (due to rocky coastlines, dangerous currents and waves, and prevailing winds). Probably a lot of early boats were destroyed coming ashore.