Weathering the Storm

It’s easy to look at modern ships and acknowledge their seaworthiness, but you might find yourself wondering how in the world older ships, like those commonly seen during the Golden Age of Piracy, stayed afloat during rough seas. Back in those days, sailors and pirates couldn’t rely on GPS or radios to assist them with navigation, so avoiding storms and hurricanes was impossible at times. If a crew found itself in the path of a coming storm, they would have to hope that their cargo was properly stored and that their captain knew to turn into the storm and sail at an angle to prevent rogue waves from crashing on to the back, or stern, of the ship and demolishing the infrastructure. Some ships carried more durable sails that were specifically made for storms and strong winds, but these took a long time to put up and many crews were not afforded the luxury of time while sailing with storms.