Volta do mar

Atlantic winds (green), currents (blue) and approximate Portuguese sailing routes (red) during Henry the Navigator's (c.1430–1460) lifetime. The further south ships went, the wider off sailing required to return

Volta do mar, volta do mar largo, or volta do largo (the phrase in Portuguese means literally 'turn of the sea' but also 'return from the sea') is a navigational technique perfected by Portuguese navigators during the Age of Discovery in the late fifteenth century, using the dependable phenomenon of the great permanent wind circle, the North Atlantic Gyre. This was a major step in the history of navigation, when an understanding of winds in the age of sail was crucial to success: the European sea empires would not have been established without an understanding of the trade winds.^[1]

^ Dartnell, Lewis (2019-05-14). Origins: How Earth's History Shaped Human History. Basic Books. pp. 218–222. ISBN 978-1-5416-1789-6. OCLC 1101101039.

[1] Dartnell, Lewis (2019-05-14). Origins: How Earth's History Shaped Human History. Basic Books. pp. 218–222. ISBN 978-1-5416-1789-6. OCLC 1101101039.

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