Why did it used to be harder to sail over deep ocean, compared to shallow waters
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It is more to do with being far from land. Land does a few things for a sailor. First, it is a convenient reference point; if you keep the shore to starboard, you know where you are and are going. Second, land tends to decrease the power of weather; trees, mountains, etc. dissapate the wind, and don’t let it build up as much. Third, being close to land made it so you did not have to keep as many provisions; you could usually go to land to forage or trade for food and water.
One area where the depth of the water mattered was in the size of waves. In shallow water, if a wave gets big enough it starts to rub against the bottom, and starts to die out. In deep water the waves can get much bigger. Also, waves are usually driven by wind, and again, land breaks up the wind.
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Waves are much bigger in open ocean. The waves are made by wind so the large open oceans allow the waves to build up over days and grow huge. When they get close to land they get broken up by outer islands and shallows so the waves become much smaller. The wave speed is also much slower in shallower water which can help reduce their power.
In addition to smaller waves a coastal traveler can easily seek safe harbor in case of bad weather while an open ocean sailor does not have such luxury and need to ride out the bad weather. There were also issues with navigation, getting lost on the coast is much harder then in open ocean.
Answer given to this question by ChatGPT:
In general, it is generally easier to sail in shallow waters compared to deep ocean waters. This is because shallow waters are typically more sheltered and have calmer waves, which makes it easier to navigate and control the ship. In contrast, deep ocean waters are often more exposed to strong winds and rough waves, which can make sailing more difficult. Additionally, sailing in deep ocean waters also requires more advanced navigation techniques and equipment, as it is harder to see landmarks or other visual references to help guide the ship.
Big waves. Boat goes wibble-wobble and water splish-splashes into it and it goes glug glug glug to the under-the-sea floor.
In addition to other answers, you need a much larger stock of water and food. Not only for the longer journey, but a reserve in case you end up off course or hit some doldrums along the way.
Trying to not drown is a lot easier when you can swim to shore. Trying to survive waves and storms is a lot easier when they are smaller and/or you can turn around and go back to shore
Weather was unpredictable, trying to navigate to where you’re going, waves could get over a hundred feet high. You didn’t have the science we have today more the power. You had people essentially below deck to man the paddles. You had people man the sails.
It was extremely dangerous.
If you’re talking about the literal act of not capsizing your boat, you have a lot of good answers.
If you’re talking about navigating, then the answer is *longitude*. It’s really easy to see how far north or south you are, because the earth’s spinning axis points towards Polaris so all you need is to measure how high the “North Star” is in the sky. To tell how far east or west you are, without GPS, requires you to compare when the sun goes down where you are compared to where you left port. To do this you need to have *extremely* accurate clocks, which were a real pain to invent.
For a really good look into the topic that’s pretty layman-friendly I suggest the book Longitude by Dava Sobel.
Sorry, but have you ever seen the sea/ocean? Just think of swimming in the middle of the ocean vs. near the shore. Where do you have easier orientation? where can you get to safety more easily if there is a storm?
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