At what point was sailing beyond the sight of land no longer considered crazy-dangerous? Was there a technological breakthrough that made it possible? Were the Vikings just dramatically ahead of the rest of Europe in terms of ability?

by td4999
specterofsandersism

To clarify, is your question limited to Europe, or the whole world?

sunagainstgold

I hesitate somewhat to link this because the section needs heavy cleaning up, but...you might be interested in:

  • Our FAQ section on Pacific Islander culture & navigation

It doesn't look like we have an easily findable answer on ancient Mediterranean seafaring, though, or on some of early fishing-based foodways cultures like northern Iberia or the Inuit Greenlanders. Well, not yet!