Question

Why did long-range voyages not follow a straight line when crossing large areas of ocean during the Age of Exploration? A. Ships were unable to last more than a few days away from land. B. European navigators had no idea where they were going. C. The Mongol navy didn't allow shipping through certain areas. D. Ships had to take wind and currents into account.

Answer 1

The answer is D) Ships has to take wind & current into account.

An ocean current takes a well-defined momentum and path created by the combined effect of wind speed, pressure gradient and earth rotation.

The ship moving through the current seems to experience the moment of the current as well.