For centuries people turned to the gods for good sailing. Neptune and Aeolus had to be propitiated with a lamb or a jug of wine. People later discovered sailing routes and trade winds and this is the first rationality. But, to be on the safe side, they continued to pray for a safe journey.
In the Classic Greek times, you’d better sacrifice a lamb and some wine to Neptune, or he would make a simple trip into a long and bad journey.
With the arrival of the steamships, the world view changed. The sailing routes were respected, but together with the machine you got there. This developed into the situation in which the current generation lives. An old fisher man said about this: “Nowadays you can even motor against current and wind with your yachts to wherever you want to go.”
It costed a lot of first quality coal, and oil later, but if the wind is against, the ships engine can still bring you in time.
Now, a new world view is emerging. Our rational ability is so well developed that we use more sophisticated means than just the machine-against-current-and-wind. Reliable weather forecasts, advanced means of communication and smart routing make more nuanced choices possible. There are more and more options to make a crossing, whether that is from IJmuiden to Lowestoft, or an ocean crossing. Do you want slow or fast, a lot of wind or less? The choice is broadly up to you.
That is a good thing. The other good thing is that these options do not have to harm the future of our children and children’s children.
If a simple sailing yacht requests a weather report, the skipper can get more routes, all based on various models. Here are shown three of them.