Sailing is the craft of controlling a boat that uses the force of the wind as a source of movement. As far back as 4000 BC, the Ancient Egyptians were using sails on the boats.
The earliest representation of a ship under sail appears on a painted disc found in Kuwait demonstrating maritime trade in the Persian Gulf during the sixth and fifth millennia BC.
As their empire grew to dominance, Romans started sailing from Egypt to India to trade spices. It was a difficult two-year voyage across the Indian Ocean, but by the first century, a Greek merchant sailor, Hippalus, noticed that the changing winds of the monsoons blew south-west from April to October and north-east from October to April. Rather than fighting the winds, traders began to take advantage of them, and shortened their voyage to less than a year. Having learned the fundamental secrets of the Indian Ocean winds, the Romans built ships on a vastly increased scale and eventually broke the Arab monopoly of the Indian trade.
Sailing as a pastime certainly was known in the British Isles before the advent of the yacht. A "vessel with purple sails" was the regal gift bestowed in AD 925 by the king of Norway to Athelstan, England's Saxon ruler.
The caravel, a sailing vessel with up to four masts developed in the Mediterranean, was adapted by the Spanish and Portuguese for service in the Atlantic in the 15th century. Caravels were considerably smaller than the Grace Dieu built earlier in the century for Henry V (they were usually about 75 feet in length), but they were sturdy and relatively fast.
Columbus and Magellan both sailed during their great expeditions in caravels.
The largest European sailing ship of the 15th century was the Spanish carrack, easily outdoing the caravel in tonnage (more than 1000 tons compared to an average of 250 for the caravel). The carrack had become the standard vessel of Atlantic trade and adventure in the mid-16th century.
Queen Elizabeth I had her own pleasure sailing craft "Rat of Wight" built in Cowes in 1588.
The poet Percy Shelley drowned whilst sailing in a storm near La Spezia in 1822. Shelley loved the sea and yachting but never learnt to swim.
The sailing ship Marco Polo, built in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, was declared the fastest ship in the world in 1852. The ship had sailed from Liverpool, England, to Melbourne, Australia, and back in 140 days. The trip usually took 240 days.
Starting at the end of the 19th century sail boats were gradually replaced by the vessels that used steam to generate motion.
Captain Joshua Slocum was the first man to sail single-handedly around the world. On April 24, 1895, he set sail from Boston, Massachusetts in his 36′ 9″ (11.2 m) gaff rigged sloop oyster boat named Spray. More than three years later, on June 27, 1898, he returned to Newport, Rhode Island, having circumnavigated the globe, a distance of more than 46,000 miles (74,000 km).
His journey took over three years as he made numerous stops. Also, Slocum took up the harder challenge of sailing east to west, against the prevailing wind.
Slocum's return went almost unnoticed. The Spanish–American War, which had begun two months earlier, dominated the headlines.
Slocum navigated without a chronometer, instead relying on the traditional method of dead reckoning for longitude, which required only a cheap tin clock for approximate time, and noon-sun sights for latitude.
In 1900 Slocum wrote a book about his journey Sailing Alone Around the World, which became an international best-seller.
Despite never leaning to swim, one of Albert Einstein's favorite hobbies was sailing.
On August 27, 1966 65-year-old Francis Chichester set sail in his 16.5m/54ft ketch Gipsy Moth IV from Plymouth in England. He returned there after 226 days of sailing on May 28, 1967, having circumnavigated the globe, with one stop (in Sydney). By doing so, Chichester became the first person to achieve a true circumnavigation of the world solo from West to East via the great Capes.
Australian Jessica Watson became the youngest person to sail, non-stop and unassisted around the world solo on May 15, 2010, She completed the voyage three days before her 17th birthday.
Sailing is also a competitive sport. It is one of the sports in the Olympic Games.
On American waters, races are held for virtually every size and class of sailboat. The most famous international yachting competition is the America's Cup race, first held in 1851.
In 1983 Alan Bond and his team from of Australia defeated Dennis Conner and his team from the United States to capture the America's Cup of yacht racing. For 132 years, from 1850-1980, and through 25 challenges, the America's Cup had been held by the United States
Sources Spiceadvice, History World
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| Ancient Egyptian funeral boat |
The earliest representation of a ship under sail appears on a painted disc found in Kuwait demonstrating maritime trade in the Persian Gulf during the sixth and fifth millennia BC.
As their empire grew to dominance, Romans started sailing from Egypt to India to trade spices. It was a difficult two-year voyage across the Indian Ocean, but by the first century, a Greek merchant sailor, Hippalus, noticed that the changing winds of the monsoons blew south-west from April to October and north-east from October to April. Rather than fighting the winds, traders began to take advantage of them, and shortened their voyage to less than a year. Having learned the fundamental secrets of the Indian Ocean winds, the Romans built ships on a vastly increased scale and eventually broke the Arab monopoly of the Indian trade.
 |
| The 31BC Battle of Actium by Laureys a Castro, 1672. |
Sailing as a pastime certainly was known in the British Isles before the advent of the yacht. A "vessel with purple sails" was the regal gift bestowed in AD 925 by the king of Norway to Athelstan, England's Saxon ruler.
The caravel, a sailing vessel with up to four masts developed in the Mediterranean, was adapted by the Spanish and Portuguese for service in the Atlantic in the 15th century. Caravels were considerably smaller than the Grace Dieu built earlier in the century for Henry V (they were usually about 75 feet in length), but they were sturdy and relatively fast.
Columbus and Magellan both sailed during their great expeditions in caravels.
 |
| Ferdinand Magellan's ship, Victoria |
The largest European sailing ship of the 15th century was the Spanish carrack, easily outdoing the caravel in tonnage (more than 1000 tons compared to an average of 250 for the caravel). The carrack had become the standard vessel of Atlantic trade and adventure in the mid-16th century.
Queen Elizabeth I had her own pleasure sailing craft "Rat of Wight" built in Cowes in 1588.
The poet Percy Shelley drowned whilst sailing in a storm near La Spezia in 1822. Shelley loved the sea and yachting but never learnt to swim.
The sailing ship Marco Polo, built in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, was declared the fastest ship in the world in 1852. The ship had sailed from Liverpool, England, to Melbourne, Australia, and back in 140 days. The trip usually took 240 days.
 |
| Marco Polo clipper Wikipedia Commons |
Starting at the end of the 19th century sail boats were gradually replaced by the vessels that used steam to generate motion.
Captain Joshua Slocum was the first man to sail single-handedly around the world. On April 24, 1895, he set sail from Boston, Massachusetts in his 36′ 9″ (11.2 m) gaff rigged sloop oyster boat named Spray. More than three years later, on June 27, 1898, he returned to Newport, Rhode Island, having circumnavigated the globe, a distance of more than 46,000 miles (74,000 km).
Slocum's return went almost unnoticed. The Spanish–American War, which had begun two months earlier, dominated the headlines.
 |
| The Spray |
In 1900 Slocum wrote a book about his journey Sailing Alone Around the World, which became an international best-seller.
Despite never leaning to swim, one of Albert Einstein's favorite hobbies was sailing.
On August 27, 1966 65-year-old Francis Chichester set sail in his 16.5m/54ft ketch Gipsy Moth IV from Plymouth in England. He returned there after 226 days of sailing on May 28, 1967, having circumnavigated the globe, with one stop (in Sydney). By doing so, Chichester became the first person to achieve a true circumnavigation of the world solo from West to East via the great Capes.
Australian Jessica Watson became the youngest person to sail, non-stop and unassisted around the world solo on May 15, 2010, She completed the voyage three days before her 17th birthday.
 |
| Watson sailing Cape Horn, 13 January 2010. |
On American waters, races are held for virtually every size and class of sailboat. The most famous international yachting competition is the America's Cup race, first held in 1851.
In 1983 Alan Bond and his team from of Australia defeated Dennis Conner and his team from the United States to capture the America's Cup of yacht racing. For 132 years, from 1850-1980, and through 25 challenges, the America's Cup had been held by the United States
Sources Spiceadvice, History World
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