Wanderlust World Wanderlust World - Distance. This is the primary advantage of sailing east. Depending on the ship and port, it could be up to 1/3 of the distance of sailing west. The main reason is that the diameter of the Earth at the Equator is nearly 25% greater than at the Poles.
- Winds. The prevailing winds at mid-latitudes, called the westerlies, are strong westerly to north-westerly winds. It is therefore much more difficult for sailing ships to sail into the wind heading west than heading east.
- Currents. The ocean gyres also facilitate eastward travel in tropical and mid-latitudes.
Disadvantages of sailing east include:
- Weather. Generally, the weather is more stormy in the North Pacific than the South Pacific and also more stormy than in the Atlantic. Storms can be an impediment to any sea voyage, but on such a long journey, they can be disastrous.
- Lack of landmarks. Especially in the central Pacific Ocean, there are extremely few islands that could be spotted from a typical sailing vessel. This means navigating becomes far more difficult once passing the Philippine archipelago and the Marianas.
- Long passages without resupply. With the exception of the Philippine archipelago and the Marianas, there are very few places where ships can stop to re-provision or seek other repairs while sailing east. There are even some passages of thousands of miles without much chance of stopping.
- Time. While the distance sailed may be shorter, the trip may in fact take longer due to the strong currents, headwinds, and more frequent and severe storms experienced on the route.