Caravels were a type of small, highly maneuverable sailing ship developed by the Portuguese in the 15th century. They were better than the ships they replaced, such as cogs and carracks, because they had a more streamlined hull design, allowing for greater speed and agility. Caravels also had triangular lateen sails that could catch wind from different directions, enabling them to sail closer to the wind and explore new trade routes more efficiently.
It had great maneuverability and speed due to its light weight which made voyages faster. It was powered by sails(lateen-rigged) which allowed it to(head-to-wind) sail closer to the wind which made it easier to get into windward ports or docks. Being smaller and having a shallow keel,it could sail upriver in shallow caostal waters.
The triangle trade in the 17th and 18th century worked in this way. Ships from New England (from Salem or Boston) would sail from North America to Africa with cargos of rum to be traded for African slaves. From Africa the cargo of Slaves would sail across the Atlantic to the Caribbean where the slaves would be traded for sugar and molasses. The ship would then sail from the Caribbean (say Jamaica) with its cargo of sugar back to New England where the sugar and molasses would be distilled into rum. And then the cycle would repeat itself.
how did the lateen sail help the european explorers
The first known European to sail to Australia was Dutchman Willem Jansz, who landed on the shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1606. However, it is believed that the Portuguese were the ones who first saw the continent, even though no records of this still exist.
the sail catches the wind and keeps the ship going
No sailing ship can sail directly into the wind. However by rigging the sails correctly the vessel can be made to sail more closely to the wind.
The caravels allowed them to sail closer to the wind than their predecessors.
No wind-powered boat/ship can sail directly INTO the wind, according to the laws of Physics as we know them. Forty-five degrees is about the closest possible angle.
The wind blowing the sails is what made the caravels (ships) sail. It balances with the pressure of the wind blowing onto the sail to push the ship across the ocean. Kinda like when you drag your dog if he/she doesn't want to walk. You dragging the dog is like you're the wind, the dog's the ship, and the leash to drag the dog with is the sail. You get it? :D?
They pretty much don't. If a sail-only ship is becalmed, or caught without wind, she is at the mercy of the currents until the wind picks up again.
about 7 days in a favorable wind, since the ship would sail at 4-6 knots
Sailing on a point of sail such that the ship is rigged to sail properly when the wind comes over the starboard rail.
A sailing vessel relies on the wind as its source of power. It could be called a boat, ship, bark, raft, caravel, or tall ship, submarine, or even a "floatie". However, aircraft "sail on the wind" and spacecraft "sail past the stars".
no the wind blows the sail/s and makes the ship/boat move :)
a ship with triangular sails that allowed it to sail into the wind and with square sails that carried it forward when the wind was at it's back.
By a method called tacking. The vessal moves in a zig zag like pattern to make head way. A sailing boat can not sail into the wind in a straight line. In a zig-zag pattern shifting from port to starboard. I have the older version, actually. Mine is from around the time Christopher Colombus sailed to the Indies. They used a triangular sail and a square sail that could sail into the wind. The square sail sailed with the wind and the triangular one sailed against it. These ships are called Caravels.