another assisstence, please

[JordonLynn]

I got some very helpful input from my last query, but this one is going to require some blue-water sailing knowledge, and perhaps a bit of historical, as well.

What I’m after is this; how long would it take a three-masted schooner (circa: 1880's) to sail completely around an island, say 40 miles long and 10 miles wide, on a perfect sailing day? How long with an experienced captain and first mate, but with a relatively inexperienced crew?

Answers relevant to the questions posed above can be posted here, or sent to jordon_lynn@hotmail.com

Thank you;

Jordon

 

[gauchecritic]

I'm pretty sure you need someone else entirely for this but let's see.

Three masted schooner; about 18 k/p/h (If a knot is roughly equivalent to a mile)

Now a lot of this is going to depend on how far out they sail and what the tide and wind are doing but keeping it relatively simple and saying that 'tacking' equals twice the distance in a side wind and four times the distance against the wind plus an extra mile per side for reefs and such we find that on a hundred mile coastline (with the wind blowing directly down the short sides) they have to sail 214 miles.
Allowing for inexperience take off about 3 k/p/h
So that's 214/15 which is, let me see... about 15 hours give or take.

Understanding that I know absolutely nothing about sailing and that all distances and/or speeds are pure guesswork then there's your answer.

15 hours

Gauche

 

[wildsweetone]

*wink*

i have this theory...

all boats sink

but then i'm slightly biased i think.

is it possible to avoid the specifics by simplifying your writing or making it more generalised? using 'morning' or 'afternoon' or 'next day' terms? it was just a thought.

 

[Dirt Man]

From a real Mariner's point of view...

Depending on the vessel's draft, is she loaded, or empty, and the depth of the water surrounding this fictional island. Plus factoring in the sea state, and the prevelant winds, and currents around this island. Plus how she is rigged aloft, and how long it's been since the last hull refit, and cleaning, and whether the sheeting is all in good order. Not to mention other ships traffic, coastal off limits areas in and around the island, and whether the ship has radar, and DGPS aboard in case of fog, etc. etc. etc., and the reason for making such a meaningless journey.

Well, it's safe to use a factor of 10 kph (Knots per Hour) average speed sailing since she'll be traveling all four corners of the compass, and using two nautical miles off the shore line at the closest, we can say that on a perfectly nice day, at best the ship would only have to travel around 108 statute miles, or 94 nautical miles. (To convert Statute to nautical miles divide by 1.15.) At an average speed of 10 kph this senseless voyage would take 9hrs, and 24 minutes. Factor in an additional 1.1 hours for docking and undocking the vessel, and there you have it, a 10.5 hour (10hrs.30min.) cruise. The fact that the crew is relatively inexperianced is meaningless with a first class skipper and mate onboard. The new crew members would be teamed up proportionately with the old salts in anycase.

Captain Dirt

 

[JordonLynn]

Thank you both of you, Dirt Man and gauchecritic. You gave me just slightly more than I needed, so that I didn't say it took half a day, when it would be closer to 15 hours. I'm playing fast and loose with a number of earth sciences in this piece, but I still want it to be believable and accurate where necessary.

Thank you again;

Jordon

 

[Dirt Man]

PS...

Of course you never did say when this three masted ship set sail (as in a dated history or in the present, nor whether it had an auxilary engine recently put on board, and the speed it made when that engine was engaged. LOL

As Always
I Am the
Dirt Man