RickM wrote:
The risk of sailing too close to the wind was the danger of being "taken
aback" (when the sails press against the mast and progress halts.)
If dealing with more than a modest breeze and sailing a relatively
clumsy square rigged ship, much more than that can occur, including torn
sails, broken lines, running and standing, broken spars, etc. In a
strong wind, dismasting is possible. If the ship actually starts going
backwards, that can lead to further serious problems. They don't steer
well backwards and the transisition out of the backwards motion tends to
be sudden, uncontrolled and dangerous, possibly leaving the ship without
forward motion for steering while wallowing in the trough of the waves,
with the risk of foundering. Most square rigged ships of the age of
sail, including warships, made major concessions to seaworthyness in
order to maximize carrying capacity.
Moose
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