The sea is enormous. Ships during the age of sail where really slow and you could only see like ~10km.
Mahan always writes about "lanes" which where "known" and used by ships, but he never gives a specific example - or I didnt find it yet.
How did the mechanics of finding the enemy work in tje open ocean? Where there hundreds of small ships working together in a net and relaying information to the main fleet via signals?
Maha writes ships tried to intercept the enemy at the point of departure - fe the english fleet keeping a clode Blockade of brest. But how did this work in detail? Did they sail up and down a few km out of the harbor for months - until some other ships took there post?
I can understand the operational strategy of the navies at that time, but I just csnt wrap my head sround how these things could work in practice with such slow cumversome ships without any tech like radio etc.
Hi, this should answer your question regarding blockades.
Regarding how far ships could see, let's assume a lookout stationed say 130 feet above sea level -- that's quite doable in a frigate, a scouting ship. That lookout has a range of sight of about 13.5 miles in good conditions, but they can also see things that stick up from the ocean, such as the masts and sails of other ships, as well as ships in a friendly squadron that can communicate with one another via flag hoists. So in a blockade, the inshore squadron can keep an eye on a port, and relay signals to the main fleet via repeating ships.