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arly sailing vessels were used in rivers and on the coasts of Ancient Egypt and Mediterranean. Early sailing vessels used on open oceans were used by Austronesian nations. Boats of a certain style were used in the Mediterranean Sea from around 8,000 BCE, when early humans were colonizing islands of this sea.

Sailboats in the Mediterranean area can be traced at least as far back as 3000 BC, when Egyptians used bipod masts to hold single square sails in vessels primarily dependent on a few rowers. European sailing ships, primarily equipped with square rigging, became common in the Age of Exploration (15th-17th centuries), as they crossed the seas between continents and the globe. A voyage around the world was impractical on the type of ships used by 5th-century BCE.

The sailing ship of the Trireme was dominant in the eastern Mediterranean Sea for over 1,000 years, during both the classical era (480-338 BCE) and the Hellenistic age (338-146 BCE). By the start of the Archaic Age (800 - 480 BC), Greek triremes were the most common vessels in the ancient Mediterranean world, using oarsman-powered and sailing power.

Ancient Mediterranean ships were built using a mortise-and-tenon technique, which was introduced into northern Europe by the Romans. For at least one thousand years, the main sailing vessel type was the square-rigger. The beginning of the fifteenth century saw the growth of the fully-rigged vessel, with three masts and five to six sails.

Early ships were oar powered, later, ships developed sails to enable them to harness wind power instead of relying solely on human strength. Larger naval vessels would sometimes have two or even three masts, so that more sails could be carried, thereby utilizing all available wind-power. Boats evolved from mere rafts to sailboats capable of moving at speeds up to 30 knots in almost any plane, independent of wind direction.

Ancient captains also used rowers, who were charged with physically steering the ship to its correct heading every time wind did not permit it to sail. This sailing method, with downwind sailing and upwind wind-rowing, continued in the Mediterranean world for a considerable period. According to ancient accounts, ancient ships would sail 1 to 2 knots when wind conditions were bad, but they would go as fast as 4 to 6 knots when winds were good.

It is thought that sailors from Bayonne, southwest of France, introduced the Mediterranean Carrack (a large, three-masted, Carvel-built vessel using both square sails and talons) to Northern Europe, which, in turn, introduced northern double-ended, wooden ships to the Mediterranean.

Nowadays there are thousands of people who winter their boats and themselves in the Mediterranean. Many living ashore on the mainland in winter, only using their boats in the Mediterranean on vacations or in summer.

While there are people sailing the Mediterranean all winter, and others leaving the boat there and flying back to return in the spring., crystal blue waters, an amazing abundance of marine wildlife , ancient ruins, modern developments, big cities, small towns, tiny fishing ports, glamourous superyachts, modestly-sized yachts, tiny fishing vessels, chartered yachts, private yachts, and touring boats, good-humoured, hard-working folks. All can be found around the Mediterranean Sea.