I'm writing a story that's an AU on an alien planet, but for all intents and purposes the ships are similar to British and Spanish vessels of 17th and 18th century Earth
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As others have said, 10-14 knots is an incredibly fast speed for a sailing ship to keep up. It would need an extremely well-built ship with a skilled crew in ideal wind conditions.
The Beaufort Scale was originally developed to categorise how fast a ship could go depending on the wind conditions:
Force 2 (light breeze): wind speed 4 knots, ship sails at 1-2 knots. Force 3 (gentle breeze): wind speed 7-10 knots, ship sails at 3-4 knots. Force 4 (moderate breeze): wind speed 11-16 knots, ship sails at 5-6 knots. Force 5 (fresh breeze): wind speed 17-21 knots, ship sails at 7-8 knots BUT except in an emergency, captains would be thinking about reducing sail for safety when the wind is this strong (or stronger).
Also, for a real-life example: at the battle of Trafalgar, the two fleets spotted each other at dawn at a distance of 10-12 miles. The British fleet immediately turned to close with the Franco-Spanish fleet, cramming on every sail the ships could carry. It took them six hours to reach the enemy, sailing at about two knots.
I'm no expert, or even an informed enthusiast, but is it even possible/likely for two ships to maintain optimum speed/conditions... whilst sailing towards each other. Wouldn't they both need the wind on their backs?
Ships closing on each other.eofsFebruary 21 2016, 00:01:30 UTC
Most ships best point of sailing is actually with the wind "on the quarter" -- that is, coming from the "back corner" rather than from straight aft, or broadside. So, as an example -- the wind is from the North, Ship One is sailing South East, Ship Two is sailing South West, and they are exactly East/West of each other. They are on the converging sides of a triangle. Now, if Ship Two was sailing East to West, the North wind is coming from the beam (broadside), and it won't be moving as fast as Ship One.
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The Beaufort Scale was originally developed to categorise how fast a ship could go depending on the wind conditions:
Force 2 (light breeze): wind speed 4 knots, ship sails at 1-2 knots.
Force 3 (gentle breeze): wind speed 7-10 knots, ship sails at 3-4 knots.
Force 4 (moderate breeze): wind speed 11-16 knots, ship sails at 5-6 knots.
Force 5 (fresh breeze): wind speed 17-21 knots, ship sails at 7-8 knots BUT except in an emergency, captains would be thinking about reducing sail for safety when the wind is this strong (or stronger).
Also, for a real-life example: at the battle of Trafalgar, the two fleets spotted each other at dawn at a distance of 10-12 miles. The British fleet immediately turned to close with the Franco-Spanish fleet, cramming on every sail the ships could carry. It took them six hours to reach the enemy, sailing at about two knots.
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Now, if Ship Two was sailing East to West, the North wind is coming from the beam (broadside), and it won't be moving as fast as Ship One.
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