Useful maritime and other geographic information

[Galveston Bay]

Compiled for the previous game

this is the sailing ship era, so wind currents are actually more important than oceanic geography for determining trade and sailing routes

The Pacific
http://www.esd-asiapacific.com/wordpress_a...2010/05/w_o.gif

note how ffrom Japan, the wind blows along the south edge of the Aleutians and Alaska to the North American West Coast, then one sailsl south along the California coast just past Baha before catching the Westerlies that take them by Hawaii and eventually home.

while in the South Pacific, the Roaring Forties take ship south of Australia to reach it and New Zealand from the South, or all the way to the Horn, where wind takes a ship then up the South American coast to Peru before it can catch a westerly to take it south of the Equator to the Equatorial belt. Note also that both Tropical divisions are doldrums regions, where sailing is very slow. So crossing North South can be time consuming unless the ship uses those routes.


North Atlantic Trades

http://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch2.../tradewinds.png

note how ships from Europe sail south from the Channel and Bay Of Biscay to the Canary Islands and Coast of Morocco before heading west which puts them just north of Cuba and the gateway into the Gulf of Mexico. The up the coast using the Gulf Stream (which is very fast and wide current itself) and then following it and the easterlies that takes them pretty much right back to the Irish Sea and English Channel. This alone is why England has such a great big advantage in trade in RL

the hard part is South of the Equator, where you almost immediately end up in the doldrums from the Tropic line to the next Tropic Line. Luckily, the Brazil current is very strong, and it will take you south (which is how the Portuguese found it to begin with) and once south, the winds easily blow you to Capetown. From Capetown it is much easier, and the wind will take you all the way up the African coast where you catch the westerlies and go up the coast of North America.

Which is faster than beating your way up a headwind along the northwest African coast.

http://www.tristandc.com/images/tdcmapwinds.jpg

http://www.slavevoyages.org/tast/assessmen...ps/04-thumb.png

Monsoon Pattern winds
the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea both have seasonal patterns and mariners try to time their voyages to take advantage of those. Warships, which have missions, have a more difficult time using the wind because on one leg of the trip they will be beating their way into a headwind or sailing a considerable distance to use the wind.

the most important destination covered by the Monsoon winds is India

http://kvgktrailblazers.weebly.com/uploads...02_orig.png?366

http://www.oneonta.edu/faculty/baumanpr/ge...oon/Figure3.JPG

from June - December, the wind comes from the south, so if you are coming up from Africa or Australia you have the wind at your back. January - June, it flows the other way, and blows you south to Africa or Australia. The peak of the rain is June - September, which is considered the winter turn in India

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yM0SSxq90q4/TJSe...0/monsoons3.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rEZ2fEYznkY/UKFp...600/images.jpeg



wind patterns have no particular effect in the Mediterranean Sea, basically it varies from day to day, however there are winter storms

[Galveston Bay]

some of the links to the maps are out dated, I will see about updating them

[Galveston Bay]

Compiled for the previous game

this is the sailing ship era, so wind currents are actually more important than oceanic geography for determining trade and sailing routes

The Pacific
http://www.esd-asiapacific.com/wordpress_a...2010/05/w_o.gif

note how ffrom Japan, the wind blows along the south edge of the Aleutians and Alaska to the North American West Coast, then one sailsl south along the California coast just past Baha before catching the Westerlies that take them by Hawaii and eventually home.

while in the South Pacific, the Roaring Forties take ship south of Australia to reach it and New Zealand from the South, or all the way to the Horn, where wind takes a ship then up the South American coast to Peru before it can catch a westerly to take it south of the Equator to the Equatorial belt. Note also that both Tropical divisions are doldrums regions, where sailing is very slow. So crossing North South can be time consuming unless the ship uses those routes.


North Atlantic Trades

http://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch2.../tradewinds.png

note how ships from Europe sail south from the Channel and Bay Of Biscay to the Canary Islands and Coast of Morocco before heading west which puts them just north of Cuba and the gateway into the Gulf of Mexico. The up the coast using the Gulf Stream (which is very fast and wide current itself) and then following it and the easterlies that takes them pretty much right back to the Irish Sea and English Channel. This alone is why England has such a great big advantage in trade in RL

the hard part is South of the Equator, where you almost immediately end up in the doldrums from the Tropic line to the next Tropic Line. Luckily, the Brazil current is very strong, and it will take you south (which is how the Portuguese found it to begin with) and once south, the winds easily blow you to Capetown. From Capetown it is much easier, and the wind will take you all the way up the African coast where you catch the westerlies and go up the coast of North America.

Which is faster than beating your way up a headwind along the northwest African coast.

http://www.tristandc.com/images/tdcmapwinds.jpg

http://www.slavevoyages.org/tast/assessmen...ps/04-thumb.png

Monsoon Pattern winds
the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea both have seasonal patterns and mariners try to time their voyages to take advantage of those. Warships, which have missions, have a more difficult time using the wind because on one leg of the trip they will be beating their way into a headwind or sailing a considerable distance to use the wind.

the most important destination covered by the Monsoon winds is India

http://kvgktrailblazers.weebly.com/uploads...02_orig.png?366

http://www.oneonta.edu/faculty/baumanpr/ge...oon/Figure3.JPG

from June - December, the wind comes from the south, so if you are coming up from Africa or Australia you have the wind at your back. January - June, it flows the other way, and blows you south to Africa or Australia. The peak of the rain is June - September, which is considered the winter turn in India

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yM0SSxq90q4/TJSe...0/monsoons3.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rEZ2fEYznkY/UKFp...600/images.jpeg



wind patterns have no particular effect in the Mediterranean Sea, basically it varies from day to day, however there are winter storms

when planning your naval strategy might want to keep this in mind

[Galveston Bay]

Regarding the Texas Gulf Coast

Until steam dredging and dynamite are available, the future ports of Houston, Beaumont, Corpus Christi are simply not accessiable to oceanic shipping, indeed even a Brig will have a hard time with the sandbars and oyster reefs

There is a reason Galveston was the major port until the 1900 Storm flattened it, and Indianola until it was wiped out (twice, finally forever the second time)

Brownsville because of the Rio Grande is actually accessible

The way it worked is that shallow draft schooners (and eventually flat bottomed hull steamboats) transhipped cargo from Galveston or Indianola to small ports in the shallow bays.

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