And, even the Vikings didn't keep it up indefinitely--my understanding is
that the Greenland "colony" died out in the 14th century, some years after
their connection to Iceland was broken, due to changing trade patterns and,
perhaps, the Black Death in Scandinavia.  It's a good point, in any
case--the Vikings had the capability and, for a while, at least, some
reason to conduct transatlantic voyages--the Mediterranean capability was
much more limited, and they did not have much of a reason to sail west,
beyond the sunset...

David Babson.



At 07:57 AM 2/16/00 -0500, you wrote:
>Also to be considered are the ship types and sailing practices.  Viking ships
>were designed for open water and the Vikings thought nothing of sailing in
all
>seasons in the North Atlantic.  One of the least hospitable oceans in the
>world.  The Vikings were what are often termed "Blue" water sailors.
>
>The Romans, and most other Mediterranean peoples, used ships designed for
>coastal work and seldom went out of sight of land if they could help it.
It was
>not uncommon for ships to beach or put into a harbor every night.  The
>Roman grain fleets even stayed in harbor during the stormy season.
>
>It is possible that a Roman or other Mediterranean ship was able to make it
>across the
>Atlantic after being blown off the coast of Africa.  But it is much less
likely
>than a Viking ship.  And I can't think of a single instance of the Romans
>sailing off on voyages of discovery.  The Vikings on the other hand had an
>unpleasant habit of showing up just about everywhere.  Unpleasant at least
for
>the locals.
>
>JH Brothers IV
>