History Lesson

[kpgraci]

Sailing has, of course, been around for a very, very long time, but when and by whom was the first sailboat built that could sail upwind?

I read somewhere that the square-rigged ships of Columbus could not, and that sailing upwind was a relatively recent invention. But then I also read that Viking ships could sail upwind, and though I don’t know at what point in time when they were able to do that, Vikings were sailing to the new world circa 1100.

Then there were the ancient Greeks, who were master sailors; I can't believe they were at the mercy of the wind.

Just curious.

 

[zeehag]

Sailing has, of course, been around for a very, very long time, but when and by whom was the first sailboat built that could sail upwind?

I read somewhere that the square-rigged ships of Columbus could not, and that sailing upwind was a relatively recent invention. But then I also read that Viking ships could sail upwind, and though I don’t know at what point in time when they were able to do that, Vikings were sailing to the new world circa 1100.

Then there were the ancient Greeks, who were master sailors; I can't believe they were at the mercy of the wind.

Just curious.

i believe it was the invention of the triangular or marconi sail that permitted that--gaff rigging was treated same as tallship--they donot go to weather--i was taught never gybe...never get taken aback....that invention was a 20th century invention----even in the 1940s there were still gaff rigged sloops and ketches and schooners built. dacron ropes and sails were 1950s.....but i dont know the year the marconi sail was first invented....or the year it became popular instead of the traditional gaff rig....seems it kind of seeped in over the years between 1940s and 1960...

 

[RichH]

Ancient Arab traders probably invented the lateen rig an improvement over the Chinese 'junk sail'.

Columbus used a mixed set of square and lateen sails, in case he had to go 'upwind'; so did Vasco DeGama and Magellan, and most of the early european 'explorers'.

You can easily get up to ~45-50 degrees into the wind with a square-sail rigged viking 'dragon ship', essentially the SAME sail configuration used on Roman, Carthaginian, early Greek, & Phonecian trading ships.

The polynesian and micronesians invented the 'crab claw' sail in prehistoric times - just an upside down 'lateen'.

So, 'most' ancients were apparently sailing 'upwind' quite well. Unlike present day sailors they probably just waited for the winds to be from the correct (easiest) quarter before starting out.

BTW - I tried to sail along with a replica of a viking 'trade ship' one time in the Chesapeake. That boat was the famous 'square sail' "Gaia" and had sailed from Norway to the US. I was on a Gulfstar 39 and the Gaia (with a single square sail) easily 'outpointed' us going down the bay.

 

[Brian D]

I watch a Korean Drama once about some guy who used ships to do his thing. They were what we call square rigged then. But he put on a lateen head sail so he could sail closer to the wind. I can't remember when this happened I will investigate. Nor do I remember where he gave the credit, but I think it was the Chinese or Japanese. This is not saying it was them who invented fore-n-aft sails.

I would seem to think and agree, the Arabs may have been the first. What does WiKi say about fore-n-aft sails?

Update: The Korean Drama was called Emperor of the Sea. It is about a guy named Jang Bogo. It takes place in the 6th century, so fore-n-aft sails were being used back then, somewhere, by someone.

Another update: From WiKi -

The earliest fore-and-aft rig was the spritsail, appearing in the 2nd century BC in the Aegean Sea on small Greek crafts.[2] The lateen sail originated during the early Roman empire in the Mediterranean Sea.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] It gradually evolved out of the dominant square rig by setting the sails more along the line of the keel rather than athwartship, while tailoring the luff and leech.[13]

 

[Ross]

Keels and external ballast are major factors in being able to sail to the weather. Most of the merchant sailing ships of the Atlantic had little in the way of keels by modern standards and their cargo served as ballast.

 

[Roger Long]

i believe it was the invention of the triangular or marconi sail that permitted that--gaff rigging was treated same as tallship--they donot go to weather

Gaff rigs go to weather nearly as well as marconi sails. I've done it often. The gaff catboat I started sailing in would outpoint every sloop I sailed near.

Here's a story about sailing a big gaff schooner (both main and fore) to windward. We were laying down tracks as close to the wind as any marconi two master ever would and doing it at 12 knots (14 is a typo in the article).

http://www.pointseast.com/template.shtml?id=EEuApppyplMkENKsEG&style=story

 

[cephius (Dave)]

Sailing upwing.

kpgraci,

The earliest documentation we have for sail power is the models found in Egyptian tombs at about 3000 BC. While the sail was square, it could be shaped and angled to allow tacking into the wind. The Egyptians were by no means the first sailors.

I would suggest that the ability to sail up wind came with the ability to harness wind power for transportation and is by no means a recent invention.

It is also possible to sail a traditional square rigged Ship* upwind. Only a few very poorly designed ones were limited to 90º to the wind. Most did enough better to make sailing them piratical.

The sailors of Ships beat into the wind enough to coin the phrase "Sailing on a bowline". They also termed this angle Close Hauled.

None of them ever sailed anywhere close to the angles of fore and aft rigs, which is why Ships were primarily used to cross oceans. Coastal work was done by the rigs like ketch, schooner, and cutter.

* Prior to steam the term "Ship" refereed specially to a three masted square rig. Every other mast/rig configuration had its own name.

​

"At the mercy of the wind" is exactly how all sailing rigs were. A nation's entire trading fleet could be locked in port for months waiting on the right wind. "Rolling off your masts" was common when stuck in the doldrums for weeks.

History is full of bad endings because sailors had only the wind.

 

[Ross]

Re: Sailing upwing.

The Bay of Biscay is/was considered the graveyard of the Atlantic because ships couldn't beat out if the wind was steady from the northwest for several days. A bight is so named if a ship could sail out on a single tack.

 

[Blue Grace]

The Bay of Biscay is/was considered the graveyard of the Atlantic because ships couldn't beat out if the wind was steady from the northwest for several days. A bight is so named if a ship could sail out on a single tack.

Actually, ththis is slightly erronous. The predominant storm winds in the Bay of Biscay are from the West and South West (filling depressions in the Mediterranean), but that means there was still a lee shore.

However, the real killers in the Bay of Biscay were twofold:

1. The decrease in dept after waves have traveled across the Atlantic and meet the Continental Shelf causes extremely high wave, very close together.
2. The severe tides in the Bay (Up to 80 feet between high and low water) when ebbing will create a current against the wind, thereby enhancing the waves, and when flooding, will help in sucking the vessel onto the shore.

From my experience, there is another hazard, dense for occurs in the spring and early summer.

The ability to sail upwind has little to do with the reputation of the Bay of Biscay.

 

[Ross]

The ability to sail to the weather has much to do with being able to claw off a lee shore. A look at a map of the Bay of Biscay makes it quite plain that escape would require the ability to sail out in contrary winds and waves. A modern keel boat would be much better able than a nineteenth century square rigger.

 

[BaySailMD]

RichH has it right.

RichH has his world history right.

 

[Ross]

Re: RichH has it right.

Being able to sail to the weather required several inventions and refinements. the square sail is almost obvious as a means to catch the wind and sail down wind. But weaving had to be invented to make even the most basic sail posible. In southern climates palm fronds could be woven into panels and used to make walls for houses. Carrying one would demonstrate how the wind acted on it. In northern climates wool and flax were woven to make clothing and bedding. A blanket was probably the first sail in a northern climate.
Lee boards were needed to keep the boat from sailing sideways. In the south pacific hulls are sometimes asimetrical and always sail with the same side to the wind these are the proas.
Sailboats keep evollving and with modern materials they are acheiving some interesting results. I don't think that we will see much change in the cruising sailboat in the next few generations.

 

[RichH]

The 'future'

"I don't think that we will see much change in the cruising sailboat in the next few generations."

I very much disagree .... just compare the average cruising boat from the 1950s-60s to the radical new cruising designs coming out from the leading 'designers'. Id offer that the changes/evolution in the next few years/decades will be 'tremendous'
Just look at the radical changes in racing boats in that timespan ... an indicator of soon to come designs for the cruising boat.

(all this contingent upon: .... unless 'governments' dont take away all our disposable income first).

 

[Ross]

Re: The 'future'

In cruising boats creature comfort trumps innovation. In racing boats speed trumps creature comfort. Cost of manufacture and marketing are always a factor. we may go through a period of years when boats are built like the autos of the 70's and not expected to last more than a few years longer than the mortgage.

 

[RichH]

Disagree again that comfort trumps innovation .... as the CAD design has improved and promoted BOTH.

Do agree that many of the 'production' boats seem to be being built with a significant reduction of many of the inbuilt safety factors used just a few years ago .... keel joint failures, material fatigue failures, spade rudders snapping off etc. But, but unless you experience a failure every now and then you have NO idea of actually how close the 'actual design needs' one should be.

Was the same with aircraft design in the 70s .... everyone had a near heart attack when the inbuilt safety factors were vastly reduced, there were 'some' failures but ultimately proved that such reduction was possible .... and the designs kept correctly 'evolving'.

Autos in the 70s, sure I can agree but what drove the US automakers into oblivion was not design or quality issues ... but 'other' extreme and totally outlandish costs that retarded and severely prevented the natural 'evolution'. The Japanese and Germans didnt have and actively and vigorously prevented such extreme adversity that eventually killed the USA automakers. The simple question remains why would anyone pay an extra $3-4000 for a US auto especially when that extra $3-4000 cost/charge had absolutely NOTHING to do with design or quality. Same will soon happen with USA 'education', 'government', etc.

 

[Bill Roosa]

A saving grace

Course when a boat part fails it is usually very bad for the occupants. if a car fails you get out and walk. Don't think the manufactures insurance company will let them cut too many corners due to the high cost of settling out of court.

 

[Ross]

I think we have a failled center board here and we are suffering from excessive thread drift and leeway. Let's crank that board the rest of the way down and ease the sheets a bit.

 

[mccary]

Sailing has, of course, been around for a very, very long time, but when and by whom was the first sailboat built that could sail upwind?

I read somewhere that the square-rigged ships of Columbus could not, and that sailing upwind was a relatively recent invention. But then I also read that Viking ships could sail upwind, and though I don’t know at what point in time when they were able to do that, Vikings were sailing to the new world circa 1100.

Then there were the ancient Greeks, who were master sailors; I can't believe they were at the mercy of the wind.

Just curious.

I suppose someone forgot to tell Nelson that square rigged ships of the line could not sail up wind. His Navy blockaded successfully the French Coast for some extended period. Not a single engine and no modern rig or hull. I would say those ships went to weather.

I had the pleasure to sail on 2 different square rigged ships (modern ones). One was the Christian Radich and the other the USCG Eagle. Both are quite capable of going into the wind. The term BRACE the yards means to turn them so they can sail up wind. And of course the fore and aft sails are a great addition.

 

[Ross]

sailing to the weather is relative. If a boat can make good a course to the weather then it just becomes a matter of how close she can sail to the wind.
Ice boats are the extreme example when on a broad reach they are trimmed for very close haulled because the apparent wind is so far forward.

 

[jtm]

This was a good question. I think RichH has it right. My intiial thoughts were of the Egyptians and a lateen sail. Maybe because I vaguely recall a similar model boat in the National Geographic of king Tut's burial chamber. I have the book about the "Voyage of the Brendan" which would be pre Leif Ericson time - I need to revisit that to see what mention of boat sail type/shape.

Rich H- I know the Viking boat you spoke of-I think it was back in the 80's that I went to see its arrival in South Street Seaport in NYC and have a few pictures of it somewhere around here. Regarding Viking ships- I had also visited the National Geographic featured ship in Roskeld (spelling?) Denmark -I think the Norsemen did add large(removeable) daggerboards to the side of the ship to head up better.