Robert McArthur wrote:
> illuminate33 wrote:
> > If I can calculate the distance from Iceland to Trondheim about
> > 1,000km, (I can't change directly it to miles.) Approximately Vikings
> > can sail 43.5 km per a day.
> >
> > While about Glorantha, Greg wrote the route from Jrustela to Seshnela
> > in 8 days. It seems there is more than 2,500 kilometres in the map
> > of "Gods of Glorantha". So it means Harrek can drive his longship of
> > Wolf Pirates approximately 312.5 kilometres per a day!
>
> The recent race ("The Race") around the world during the Millen.
> celebrations had a catamaran managing 1125km for 24 hours
> (about 28-30knot average). These figures are when they are really going
> for the timings. The old clipper ships of the 1800's could manage just
> over half that for their 24 hour bursts (approx600km). I can certainly
> imagine that, with some god of the sea and/or winds on your side, and
> with magical boosting, that 300+km/day "is" (Glorantha) possible.
>
> Note that Club Med - the catamaran - is 110ft long, 56ft wide and has
> a mast that's 136ft high!
>
One has to consider a more ancient ship that has some historical evidence on
speed and distances covered. The Athenian Trireme with 200 crew and only
thirty-five metres in length managed average speeds of 8.6 knots during a
rowing day. Although a coast hugging ship the trireme was the best
ship-of-the-line in its day.
The most specific statement is given by Xenophon on the passage by a trireme
from Byzantium to Heraclea on the southern coast of the Black Sea, a
distance of 129 sea miles or 236 km [my maths is okay at this point :-) ],
was '..a very long day's voyage for a trireme under oar'. As a fleet in a
hurry would put out before dawn and arrive after dark, a 'long day' would be
17 hours long. With a two hour break as the ship was beached for a mid-day
meal, the trireme cleared for war would not carry its sails or victuals for
its crew so would have to stop, gives two periods of pulling of eight hours
each and an average speed as I said before of 8.6 knots.
Thucydides also wrote about a non-stop voyage from Piraeus [Athens harbour
town] and Mytilene [on the island of Lesbos] a distance of 184 sea miles or
340 km by direct route. A trireme was sent with a decree from the Athenian
Assembly to kill all the captives in that city but the following day the
Assembly changed its mind and decided to spare them, and sent a second
trireme to counter-mand the decree. It took a full 24 hours to get there as
the ship did not stop for food or rest and travelled throughout the night
although the crew worked the oars in shifts and ate as they rowed.
BTW it got there just after the first ship's commander Paches had read out
the decree but not actually carried out the executions.
So with ancient galley-type ships [although oared galley ships were used at
Trafalgar] great distances can be covered and 200+ km a day in the RW is not
unheard of.
Cheers,
DARRAN SIMS.
darransims_at_...
darransims_at_...
"Fiat justitria ruat coelum."
'Let Justice be done
though the heavens should fall'
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