Apr 9th, 2016: Trimeme

[xoxoxoBruce]

In the last few millennia BC, there were scattered humans around the world but civilization was around the Eastern Mediterranean.
This is confirmed by the steady progression of wars taking place there. And being on the seashore many of the battles were naval.
Oar power, rather than relying on capricious sea breezes, was the only way to guarantee success.
Of course every red blooded Captain wanted more power, grunt, snort, grunt.
So instead of a single bank of rowers on each side, two rows were better. Then being civilized nations, came three rows, then four.
It seems the three row Trimeme, was the best balance of weight to power, with speed, stability, and maneuverability.



Scholars curiosity about these ships had grown over the centuries as the ancient accounts of battles made some strong claims about
performance. But there was no plans or drawings, just text descriptions, some art showing the general look, and some knowledge
about how all ships were built at the time. So in the late 1980s under the umbrella of the Hellenic Navy, a group recreated a Trimeme.

Classical sources indicate that the trireme was capable of sustained speeds of ca. 6 knots at a relatively leisurely pace.
There is also a reference by Xenophon of a single day's voyage from Byzantium to Heraclea Pontica, which translates as
an average speed of 7.37 knots. These figures seem to be corroborated by the tests conducted with the reconstructed
Olympias: a maximum speed of 8 knots and a steady speed of 4 knots could be maintained, with half the crew resting
at a time. Given the imperfect nature of the reconstructed ship as well as the fact that it was manned by totally untrained
modern men and women, it is reasonable to suggest that ancient triremes, expertly built and navigated by trained men,
would attain higher speeds.
Crewed by 170 volunteer oarsmen, Olympias in 1988 achieved 9 knots (17 km/h or 10.5 mph). These results, achieved
with inexperienced crew, suggest that the ancient writers were not exaggerating about straight-line performance.
In addition, Olympias was able to execute a 180 degree turn in one minute and in an arc no wider than 2.5 ship-lengths.

There was much back slapping and congratulations until the word came down... the captain wants to water ski.
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