Explanation of course specifications

A course of 180° means that the direction of motion is the same as the wind direction. This is not the optimal case, though, as it means that the resistance of the sail is the only force acting.

If the boat is steered closer to the wind, so that the wind acts more on the front of the boat (near the bow) than the rear, an aerofoil effect is created, because the air in front of the sail has to cover a longer distance than behind the sail. This is comparable to the way wings on an aeroplane function. The speed of the boat increases.

But he force with which the boat is pushed off course also increases because the wind blows from the side of the boat. The huts and other superstructures also make their presence felt as they provide considerable resistance to the wind as well.

This effect is cancelled by the leeboards, which act against the side-ways force of the wind by providing resistance under water. Of course this is a very simplified explanation.

"A ship that drinks” is viewed sceptically by shipping historians, who hold that water absorption would sink the ship before completing its journey across the Atlantic. Thor Heyerdahl may have already supplied the counter-evidence 30 years ago on the South Atlantic route, but experts attribute the ship not sinking to the floating properties of papyrus.

It must therefore be irrefutably proven, once and for all, that this difficult North Route from the New World into the Mediterranean was traveled in prehistoric times! Dominique Goerlitz found the key while studying prehistoric cliff photos (drawings) from Upper Egypt. The ancient artists portrayed reed boats with conspicuous “lines” on the bow and stern which Goerlitz boldy interpreted as keelboards. These keelboards on the bow move the lateral plan under water, far enough in front of the mast to allow a boat to sail into the wind.

For over 15 years, Goerlitz has collected and analyzed prehistoric images of ships, assessing them for their serviceability in scientific experiments. This painstaking research resulted in an idea for a new ship, the ABORA III,
to be built strictly according to these prehistoric models.

The ABORA III is named after a divine power of the Canary Islands, born at the moment the sky and sea merge at sunset, protector of these ancient people in their lives and travels. Amazingly, in Egypt, the word Abo-Ra means “Father of the Sun God Ra”. Goerlitz could not have chosen a more appropriate name for his most important expedition.