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John Huth ("Apache Runner") wrote, about early Portuguese exploration-

In the article, there's a map that shows a route taken
| by their ships around Western Africa, and it swings quite wide.      I
don't
| know if the vessels were typically lateen rigged or square rigged, but I
was
| impressed how far west the route goes near the equator.   There's a strong
| equatorial current in that region, and of course the Trades.   Naively I
| might have thought they would hug the coast, but I could see some logic in
a
| course that swings far west, particularly if the vessels couldn't sail
close
| to the wind.  I'm thinking mainly about the latitudes south of the
Canaries
| and crossing the equator.   In the case where the vessels swing to the
west,
| there have been assertions that storm-blown vessels made landfall in what
is
| now Brazil.

Vessels didn't just reach Brazil by accident of weather. That became the
well-travelled route for sailing vessels from Europe to the East, via the
Canaries, Cape Verde Islands, across the Atlantic to Brazil (Fernando de
Noronha or Recife) , then Southward and Eastward across the South Atlantic,
to pass Cape of Good Hope on a latitude line. It was the standard route well
into the 20th century, for square-rig vessels.|

John continued-
 I do know that Columbus, on his third voyage, had in the back of his mind
| the notion from Don Joao of Portugal the idea that there was a continent
| between Europe and Asia, which leads some credence to my colleague's
| assertion.


The first vessel to make that passage, as far as I'm aware, was Cabral, in
1500; though of course there may have been others who failed to get into the
history books. However this didn't precede Columbus' first Atlantic
crossing; it was 8 years after it.

George

contact George Huxtable, at  george@hux.me.uk
or at +44 1865 820222 (from UK, 01865 820222)
or at 1 Sandy Lane, Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxon OX13 5HX, UK.


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