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Why did Vasco da Gama sail far into the South Atlantic before rounding Africa?
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Vasco da Gama
Knight of the Order of Christ, detail identified as Vasco da Gama, Portuguese school, first half of the 16th century; in the National Museum of Ancient Art, Lisbon.
Vasco da Gama undertook a long detour through the South Atlantic during his first voyage to India to avoid the unfavorable currents of the Gulf of Guinea. By sailing far into the open ocean, he was able to bypass these coastal conditions before attempting to round the Cape of Good Hope.2
This maneuver was consistent with the broader Portuguese navigational strategy known as the volta do mar ("turn of the sea"), which involved sailing into the open Atlantic Ocean to utilize favorable winds and avoid battling opposing currents directly along the African coastline.1