[Sca-cooks] OT trireme seaworthiness

[James Prescott]

At 09:30 -0700 2001-05-14, Chris Stanifer wrote:

> I'm not positive this was due to a fear of being out
> of sight of land, at least not in antiquity.  From
> what I have heard, the early Greek Triremes and
> similar vessels of Rome were not entirely 'seaworthy'.
>  This may be a misconception, in itself, and if so,
> could possibly be one reason why this belief has
> propogated.

I don't think our knowledge is good enough to say for certain whether
or not they were as seaworthy as other craft; nor whether they were
seaworthy enough to sail directly from Crete to Egypt, for example.

That they generally hugged the shore is not in dispute.  That might
or might not have been a reflection of their general seaworthiness.

If one aspect of being 'seaworthy' is to handle large waves, that's
actually easier out in the blue water.  Waves steepen as they enter
shallower water.  Steeper waves are more likely to break and threaten
a vessel.

Tim Severin's modern replica of the Argo (circa 1250 BC, 20 oars)
survived a gale in the Black Sea with only a snapped steering oar;
though it was clearly an experience they did not wish to repeat
unnecessarily.


Thorvald