A Brief History of Sailing

Hey dear community, first of all I would like to welcome you all to my new contribution and hope you have a weekend which is full of interesting experiences! In this article I would like to discuss an interesting topic and hope you are able to expand your knowledge a bit.

A few days ago I was at the lake on a foggy day and used this opportunity to shoot some pictures of sailboats that camouflage themselves in the fog and I think this has a very own and mystical flair. When exactly the first sailboat set sail is no longer clear, but it is assumed that this was already the case over 5000 years ago and people used to be very creative when it comes to construction and used different materials that could be found in nature and in ancient Egypt the People used papyrus for the production and over time also changed more and more the production method and new methods were invented to make more profit from the power of the wind. It is assumed that the beginning is due to the Egyptians, but this cannot be said exactly because probably already in earlier times attempts have been made to operate ships with the help of wind and later the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans drew attention to themselves and were highly appreciated for their revolutions in this area. The history of sailboats is closely linked to the discovery of new countries and the further the distances that people traveled, the more robust the ships had to be to reach the destination safely. The ships in the already somewhat more modern times had several masts and could transport large weights without problems and also the speed of production was improved more and more and people were able to produce more ships in a short period of time and also many jobs were created.

Trade was also revolutionized by sailboats and it was much easier to bring large quantities of different raw materials to the desired destination in short periods of time or to visit various colonies and a good example are the Netherlands, which made great profits through trade on the high seas, which was important for development and for a long time had covered most of the world trade. Of course, the boats alone were not enough and it also needed people who spread the art of sailing and there were more and more people who tried to teach people how to sail and later own schools were built in which sailing was taught. Also in the mythology of different cultures, people can find traces of sailboats and there were some gods who were associated with seafaring as in ancient Greece the god of the seas Poseidon who was also revered as the patron saint of the seas and sailors and it was often very dangerous to travel on the sea and to tame the sea, there were different rituals. According to mythology, the mineral aquamarine once fell from the treasure chest of the mermaids and was washed ashore and to be safer at sea, people carried the mineral with them and also the twins Castor and Pollux, who are also known as dioscuri, were considered protectors of the sailors and often helped shipwrecked people in need. There are legends in various other cultures which were associated with sailboats and sailing was also associated as a typical symbol for freedom or exploration and since people were safer on the high seas, sailing was also associated with certainty.

Thanks a lot for stopping by and I hope you could learn something new about sailing! I captured these pictures with my Camera Sony Alpha 6000 plus 55-210 mm lens.