Into the Trades

The trade winds have found us ready and waiting, and we are sailing beautifully with the gennaker up. Just enough wind to keep us close to six knots. The trade winds are caused by the earth spinning in an easterly direction. In the southern hemisphere this causes the south easterly trade winds, and in the northern hemisphere, the north easterlies. A fairly constant source of wind, and have been used by sailing ships for hundreds of years. The Chinese were the first to sail to all the corners of the world. In most history books you will read of Portuguese and Spanish explorers, but if you dig a bit deeper, you will find they were not the first. I often wonder about the real history of the world, on all levels.

The world wasn't mapped and charted then, it was really going into the unknown, and the charts that were available, was although extremely valuable, also not that accurate. The charts were so valuable, that in Spain only the king would entrust them to the captain, and handed in a lead laden tube. With strick instructions to sink the charts if they were attacked and conquered by another ship. A dark world of the unknown and superstitions. The ocean floor is scattered with wrecks and cargo from all over.

Nowadays we have the luxury of satellites and GPS, radar and IAS to make life at sea fairly safe. We can download weather from wherever we are and communicate globally. I still use the stars to navigate by, but only for fun. Celestial navigation is an ancient craft, and fascinating to see how every nation named the constellations, and the images the stars shaped in people's minds. In the west, we are more familiar with the Greek mythology and constellations. Life at sea then was also adventurous I'm sure, but much more dangerous. And much harder. Most of the crew were passed out drunkards that were rounded up and "volunteered". The ship owners did not care much for the safety of their vessels or crew. They were insured and that's all that mattered. This was more an English thing. I once stood in Cadiz, Spain, looking at an exact replica of a Spanish galleon. The craftsmanship was immense, and I stood in total awe. I also had a sense of the confidence such vessels instilled in
their
crew.

Life at sea nowadays is a much more civilized way of getting around. We live well, we eat well, and we have lots of time on hand. It is not always easy going, there are times you wish you were somewhere else. But then you face the challenge, the storm blows over, and you are on your merry way again. In distance I have sailed nearly thirteen times around the world, and during this time, I only had two occasions where things were really challenging. Being continuously on the move is way of life, and we do it for long stretches at a time. It's a different world out here, where you are close to the stars and the moon and the sun. And a 360° seaview most of the time. It is peaceful beyond measure, and I hope to share some of that with you, which is why I write to you.

Until next time

Paul









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