South Atlantic winds and weather during and following the little ice age -A pilot study of English East India Company (EEIC) ship logs

The times taken by ships of the English East India Company (EEIC) to sail f rom the Cape of Good Hope to St. Helena Island during the 17th, 18th, and e arly 19th centuries represent proxy measures of the strength and steadiness of the Southeast Trades which are compared with present-day data from the Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (COADS). Both wind speed and steadi ness appear to have reached maxima in the 1760s and increased again, from l ower values in the following decade, to the 1820s. These changes need to be further substantiated with the available log entri es concerning winds, weather, and rates of progress. A similar fleshing out of fragmentary pre-instrumental pre-standardized records with current clim atic characteristics is suggested for the routes fanning out east of the Ca pe towards Arabia, India, China, Indonesia, and Australia.