[Glorantha] Re: Animal sizes and sailing

In message <60585.84.144.206.26.1151412764.squirrel@webmail.toppoint.de> "Joerg Baumgartner" writes:

>My most serious concern is that Genertela lacks the equivalent of the
>Mediterranean. Neliomi Sea is like North Sea or Atlantic, Homeward Ocean
>at its best is like Biscaya and the Channel and at its worst like
>Atlantic.
>
>While the Mirrorsea Bay is excellent galley territory (no wave action) and
>both Mournsea and Pasos Isles offer somewhat sheltered canals, both
>require less mediterranean vessels at normal or bad weather.

The way I see this is that Dormal's magic allows technologically inadequate ships to operate with an acceptable level of risk. Even 16th Century galleys had problems operating outside the Mediterranean as the Spanish Armada found. Which explains The Closing as a failure of shipping magic.

>The phoenicians managed to enter the Atlantic with their vessels and even
>to get into contact with the Cornish tin trade, although I suspect that
>most of the tin was carried by Celtic vessels. I may be prejudiced there,
>but to me that means large coracles on frames similar to the Hjortspring
>look, paddled mostly, or towed.

I do remember something about the Celts of Northern Gaul having wooden sailing ships at the time of Julius Cesear. The illustration was of a primitive cog without the fore and stern castles. It was some time ago so the sources may have been discredited.

>I'm still curious about the Waertagi city ships, for instance. Are they
>the skins and skeletons of sea dragons, reworked as giant coracles, or
>simply carved as tunnels and chambers into the corpse.

I can't see a ship large enough to be described as a city being made as a coracle. Hollowing out a vast sea creature seems more plausable provided you've got preservation magic.

>Artmali yachts appear to have advanced rigging - lots of separate sails,
>probably some of the sailing characteristics of say Napoleonic era
>frigates or brigantines.

I'd expect them to have lanteen sails rather than the square rigging of frigates and the multiple masts with multiple sails would be unmanagable on a small ship like a yacht.

-- 
Donald Oddy
http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/