Historical Sea Voyage Time Calculator
Estimate how many days a sea voyage took in a given era from the distance, the type of vessel (ancient galley, carrack or galleon, sailing packet, clipper, early steamship, ocean liner) and the wind and season on the route. Built on documented passages such as Columbus in 1492, the Mayflower in 1620 and the first Atlantic steamships.
Last updated: October 2026
Voyage Time
65.48 days
Formula below · 5 sources (sourcebooks.fordham.edu, plimoth.org, rmg.co.uk, spectrum.ieee.org, mastermariners.org.au) · Updated Oct 2026
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About this calculator
The Mayflower took 66 days to cross from Plymouth to Cape Cod in the autumn of 1620, about 2,750 nautical miles at an average of under 2 knots, because a square-rigged ship of that era beating west against the prevailing winds and September gales made little headway. Columbus, running east to west with the trade winds in 1492, covered roughly 3,100 nautical miles from the Canary Islands to the Bahamas in 36 days, about 3.5 knots, and logged days of 10 to 12 "miles an hour" (his miles were shorter than ours). This calculator estimates a voyage's length from the distance, a sustained speed for the type of vessel, and a factor for the wind and season on the route.
The formula
Voyage days = distance ÷ (speed in knots × 24) × wind factor. The speeds are averages over whole passages, not the top speeds the ships could reach for an hour: about 3 knots for an oared galley over a voyage, 3.5 knots for a carrack or galleon (Columbus's 1492 crossing), 4.5 knots for an 18th- or early 19th-century merchant ship or packet, 7 knots for a clipper (Cutty Sark's record 73-day run from Sydney to London, about 12,500 nautical miles, averaged just over 7 knots although she could touch 17), 8.5 knots for the first Atlantic steamships (Great Western, Bristol to New York in 15 days 12 hours in 1838, averaging 16 km/h) and 21 knots for an early 20th-century liner (Titanic's service speed).
Wind and season
Under sail the route and the season decided everything. The Black Ball Line packets of the 1820s took about 23 to 25 days from New York to Liverpool with the westerlies behind them and 40 to 43 days coming back against them; the calculator reproduces that with the ×0.8 and ×1.5 settings. The ×2.0 setting is for a voyage fought against the wind in storm season, such as the Mayflower's. Steamships cared far less about the wind, so for the two powered types only a quarter of the factor is applied (×1.5 becomes ×1.125).
Distances
Enter the sailing distance, not the straight line: Plymouth to Cape Cod is about 2,700 nautical miles great-circle but ships of 1620 sailed farther. Typical figures are 2,900 nautical miles New York–Liverpool, 3,100 Canary Islands–Bahamas, 1,050 Rome–Alexandria and about 12,500 Sydney–London by the Cape.
Limits
Calms, storms, damage, a stop for water or a consort that had to turn back could change any voyage by weeks, so treat the figure as a planning estimate for writing, teaching or games, and compare it with the documented passages in the table below.
Documented passages used to set the vessel speeds
Scroll sideways to see all columns →
| Voyage | Distance (nautical miles, approx.) | Time | Average speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus, Gomera (Canaries) to the Bahamas, 6 Sept–12 Oct 1492 | 3,100 | 36 days | 3.6 knots |
| Mayflower, Plymouth to Cape Cod, Sept–Nov 1620 | 2,750 | 66 days | 1.7 knots (headwinds, gales) |
| Black Ball Line packets, New York–Liverpool, 1818–1820s | 2,900 | 23–25 days east, 40–43 days west | 5.2 / 3.0 knots |
| Great Western (steam), Bristol–New York, April 1838 | 3,200 | 15 days 12 hours | 8.7 knots (16 km/h) |
| Cutty Sark (clipper), Sydney–London, 1886 record | 12,500 | 73 days | 7.1 knots |
| Lusitania (liner), Blue Riband crossing, 1908 | 2,800 | 4 days 20 hours | 24 knots |
| Titanic (liner), service speed, 1912 | — | — | 21 knots |
How to use
Enter the sailing distance and its unit, choose the vessel type for the era, and pick the wind and season on the route. The default is the Mayflower: 2,750 nautical miles by a carrack-type ship (3.5 knots) against the wind in storm season (×2.0) gives 2,750 ÷ (3.5 × 24) × 2.0 ≈ 65.5 days, against the 66 days the real crossing took. For Columbus, enter 3,100 nautical miles, carrack, typical conditions: 3,100 ÷ 84 ≈ 36.9 days (his crossing took 36). For a Black Ball packet from New York to Liverpool, enter 2,875 nautical miles, sailing packet, fair wind: about 21 days; against the wind for the return, about 40 days.
Frequently asked questions
How long did it take to cross the Atlantic in the 1600s?
Six to ten weeks westbound was normal for a ship of the Mayflower's type; the Mayflower itself took 66 days in 1620 after a late-season start and headwinds. Eastbound, with the westerlies behind them, ships were often back in four to six weeks. The calculator gives about 65 days for the Mayflower's 2,750 nautical miles at 3.5 knots with the ×2.0 storm-season factor.
How fast did sailing ships go?
Sustained over a passage, slowly: 3 to 5 knots for most ships before 1800, around 7 knots for the fastest clippers. Top speeds were much higher. Columbus logged 10 to 12 of his miles an hour on good days, and Cutty Sark could reach 17 knots, but calms, headwinds and tacking pulled the average down. The calculator's speeds are voyage averages, which is what decides the number of days.
How long did Columbus's first crossing take?
He left Gomera in the Canary Islands on 6 September 1492 and sighted land in the Bahamas early on 12 October, 36 days later, after about 3,100 nautical miles with the trade winds. That works out at roughly 3.5 knots, the figure the calculator uses for a carrack or galleon.
How much faster were steamships?
Great Western crossed from Bristol to New York in 15 days 12 hours in 1838, about half the time of a sailing packet on the same westbound route, because a steamer held its course regardless of the wind. By 1908 Lusitania crossed in 4 days 20 hours, and the calculator's 21-knot liner setting gives about 5.7 days for 2,900 nautical miles in typical conditions.
Why does the wind factor change less for steamships?
A steamship's speed depended on its engines, not the wind, though heavy weather still slowed it. The calculator therefore applies only a quarter of the chosen factor to the two powered types: ×1.5 becomes ×1.125 and ×2.0 becomes ×1.25. Sailing ships get the full factor.
Should I enter nautical miles, statute miles or kilometres?
Any of the three; pick the unit in the dropdown and the calculator converts to nautical miles (1 nautical mile = 1.15078 statute miles = 1.852 km). Historical sources often quote sea distances in nautical miles or leagues; a Spanish league of Columbus's time was about 3 nautical miles.
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Sources & references
- Fordham University Internet Medieval Sourcebook — Columbus's journal of the first voyage, 1492 (6 September to 12 October)
- Plimoth Patuxet Museums — Mayflower and Mayflower Compact (66-day voyage)
- Royal Museums Greenwich — Cutty Sark history (Sydney to London in a record 73 days)
- Royal Museums Greenwich — RMS Titanic facts (service speed 21 knots)
- IEEE Spectrum — Crossing the Atlantic (Great Western 15 days 12 hours, 16.04 km/h; Lusitania 4 days 20 hours)
- Company of Master Mariners of Australia — The Black Ball Line (25 days eastbound, 43 days westbound in its first year)
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