tradewind

Sailor's steady current

Tradewinds are steady winds that blow toward the equator from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere.

They were crucial to sailing-ship commerce, providing reliable routes across the Atlantic and Pacific: Merchants relied on the tradewinds to carry goods between continents.

The name reflects their importance to trade, not their direction.

meteorology

easterlies

Winds from the east

tropicsWarm equatorial region
monsoonSeasonal tropical wind pattern
doldrumsState of inactivity

Hadley · circulation · subtropical · anticyclone · convergence · latitude · equator · humidity · atmosphere · climate

characteristics

steady

Fixed, not fluctuating

constantFixed, unvarying quantity
reliableConsistently performing as expected
persistentContinuing despite difficulty

predictable · consistent · prevailing · continuous · unvarying · dependable · regular · moderate · favorable · gentle

sailing

clipper

Fast ship or trimmer

schoonerMulti-masted sailing craft
square-riggerShip with horizontal-yard sails
downwindIn airflow's direction

passage · crossing · steady breeze · canvas · sail · rigging · knots · nautical · leeward · running

navigation

voyage

Journey by sea

coursePlanned path forward
chartData shown visually
routePath from A to B

passage · mariner · wayfinding · exploration · crossing · latitude · longitude · dead reckoning · pilot · landfall

Opposites

wind regularity and predictability

tradewinddoldrums

State of inactivity

calm · dead calm · still air · squall

wind intensity and character

tradewindhurricane

Violent tropical windstorm

typhoon · cyclone · gale · tempest · tornado

geographic wind patterns

tradewindwesterlies

Winds from the sunset

roaring forties · polar vortex · monsoon · doldrums · land breeze

Family

trade, wind, trades, traded, trading, trader, traders, tradesman, tradesmen

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