| Here's a question back at you: how well do modern sailing ships handle the Mediterranean in winter? As far as I know, the winds haven't significantly changed: mostly from the northwest for most of the year, with a period in the spring and summer where they swing to the from the northeast. Also, ferocious storms in the winter. Going clockwise along the Med's coast from France to Italy, Greece, the Levant, and to Egypt is "downhill"; going the other direction will take roughly twice as long. Sailing along the north coast of Africa is kind of dangerous because a storm or navigation mistake plus the prevailing winds can put you aground hard and unexpectedly. Modern sailing ships are much better at sailing closer to the wind, are much less limited by supplies (it's hard to get more than a few days endurance from a rowed galley) and are more seaworthy, because they could extend the sailing season and take more direct routes. How much better is that? I don't know, but I suspect a fair bit. Galleys still have advantages in some circumstances. Now, if you throw in some even remotely modern navigation equipment, that would be stupidly advantageous. Source: John Pryor, Geography, Technology, and War. |