Sailing History

The first traces of maritime activity come in the form of sailing ships depicted in ancient Egyptian pottery, dating back to around 5000 years ago. Harnessing the power of wind and tide, sailing became the ideal transportation for explorers, fisherman, tradesmen and for attacking army’s conquering foreign lands. Sailing paved the way for adventurers to map the world’s oceans and discover uncharted lands.

Shaping Global History

Traveling under sail has maintained huge significance for countries throughout the world for millennia. Mariners such as Christopher Columbus, Sir Walter Raleigh, James Cook, Vasco da Gama and Magellan made renown the world over for their exploratory exploits in the 15th and 16th centuries. Naval battles such as the Armada and Trafalgar made heroes out of captains such as Lord Nelson. More recently brave quests to circum-navigate the globe have popularised events such as the Vendee Globe and Volvo Ocean Race; as well as shorter team events such as the America’s cup, have captured the sailing fraternities imagination.

Sailing has played a pivotal role in shaping the world as we know it today. Monolithic Egyptian monuments, foreign trade, discoveries of distant lands and epic sea battles have all been made possible through sailing technology. It is a technology that has constantly evolved as understanding and ingenuity have developed. From Viking long-boats, through ocean Tea Clippers and finally on to modern day sculpted aerodynamic Americas Cup racing yachts, speed and maneuverability have increased manifold through each progression; but all still follow the same early principles of a vessel with a sail, a keel and a rudder (or wheel today).

Alternative Methods of Propulsion

Due to the inconsistencies in wind direction and strength people have long since found ways of powering the vessel, either in accordance with or in place of the sail. Traditional vessels, and more particularly those used in war where speed was of the essence, often relied on additional power through oarsmen. Ancient civilizations such as the Romans and Greeks used these dual-powered vessels during hostile attacks and they were even used far later in Viking longboats, used by Normans and other dominant nations as well as Vikings, into the 11th century. Manpower would step aside for steam powered engines for the vast ships of the 19th century and later still by the motor engine in the 20th century and beyond.

Modern Day Materials

Today’s sailing boats differ very little in the basic blueprint, but differ hugely in other areas, such as materials. Contemporary boats boast a plethora of synthetic materials, used to increase buoyancy, reduce weight and add to the crafts longevity. Boats of today are primarily produced from a reinforced fiberglass or other manmade composite, with rigging and mast’s from modern aluminum alloys. This replaces the more traditional woodern ships and the addition of iron-clad vessels at the conclusion of the golden age of sail in the 19th century. Large modern ships such as trawlers, ferries, tankers and battleships still use the stronger, more durable metal design, however for smaller vessels the weight would make it a hugely impractical solution.

Sails themselves have seen a great change throughout the evolutionary cycle of the boat. Early sail were primarily comprised of simple linens or in more affluent areas, where extra speed was essential, leather or hides. Today sails are made from a variety of exotic synthetic composites such as Zylon, Aramid and Carbon Fiber, to give extra endurance and density to the fabric.