TRADE WINDS

The wind belts. The world is wrapped in wind belts, and the clipper route is drawn to ride them. The trade winds (NE north of the equator, SE south) push you along day after day. The doldrums astride the line are a belt of calms and sudden rains — deadly for water, generous if you catch the rain. The roaring forties are the great west-wind engine of the south: 300+ miles a day, and rigging wear to match. Head winds cost you more than patience — you can lose ground.

Sail plan. Reefed: slow, gentle on the canvas, safest in squalls. Steady: the honest working plan. Full canvas: every stitch set — fastest, but the rigging wears four times faster and squalls can cost you a man. Reef early in the forties; run full in the trades.

Water. Nothing kills faster. 1,200 gallons of casks; about 12 a day for a healthy crew. The doldrums stretch longest — catch rain, buy at every port. Fouled casks can be boiled (costs a half-day) or risked (dysentery).

Scurvy. After ~35 days without vitamin C, gums soften and old wounds reopen. Lime juice daily freezes the clock; rations slow it; fresh fruit & vegetables at port reset it entirely and heal the sick. The Royal Navy learned this the hard way. So will you.

Morale. Grog every second day keeps it up (rum drains automatically). Below 25 the foc’sle grumbles; below 12 you risk mutiny. Burials at sea cost more than a man.

Trade. Hold of 60 tons. Buy Madeira wine cheap at Funchal, wool at Hobart, gold at Cape Town, sugar at Rio — London pays best. A profitable passage is a fast one.

Cape Horn. Rounding eastabout into the teeth of the west winds is the most feared maneuver of the age. Strong rig and hull? Drive through. Otherwise, wait for a window — three days is cheap insurance.

127 days eastabout is a passage for the gods. 150 is a living.