Sailing AKICOLJ

[bunn]

Does anyone have any idea how long it would take to sail from the Solent to Thanet?  I do not mind about the tides, can adjust them to whatever is handy.  It's summer time, and there is a fair bit of wind. 

The ship would be a smallish one, and I am assuming for the moment that the sailors are in something of a hurry, and therefore may employ both sail and oars at least to get offshort in a hurry.     Oh yes, and they are Saxons. :-D

I am assuming that Saxon ships did have sails, because I think the argument they didn't is more than a bit weak, although I'm guessing very likely they would be restricted in their ability to tack or sail close to the wind.

( I have been meaning to carve a Saxon dragon-ship figurehead for approximately 20 years now, and I still have not done it. Maybe one day...)

Comments

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

This article here (http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/nauti_0154-1854_1998_act_14_1_1202#) suggests that Saxon ships might have managed about 10 knots (a knot is just over one mile an hour, I believe) if the wind was in their favour, but were much much slower when sailing into the wind. Since the prevailing wind is from the south-west, I expect your Saxons would probably have the wind more or less in their favour.

Not that I really know anything about boats, beyond watching them potter around in the Solent.

[crazyscot.livejournal.com]

A knot is a nautical mile per hour. A nautical mile is a smidgen over 1.15 statute miles.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Ooh, nifty! The stuff about how easy the replica is to beach is very useful too.