It was amazing what a big sailing ship could do on a downwind course and with good weather (which for them was storms in the right direction). The standard dev

It was amazing what a big sailing ship could do on a downwind course and with good weather (which for them was storms in the right direction). The standard deviation in speed would be high, and not all destinations could be managed on downwind courses. All that said, the length of time the Cutty Sark held its speed record was amazing and inspiring. IIRC it took modern multi-hulls to beat it (sailing).