by Charlotte Alber and Dan Kolmer

Sailors of the Tall Ships period used to rely on the trade wind for their Atlantic crossings, that steady wind which blows for most of the year from east to west. The trades are part of a cyclical wind system north and south of the equator, which rotate around the Doldrums. Crossing the Doldrums going north or south, sailors would encounter the antitrade wind, which blows from west to east.