Re: Olympias

The maximum continuous output of a trained athlete is reckoned as one
quarter of a horsepower.* With 180 rowers on board, that gives Olympias 45
hp, applied to the water less efficiently than by a a 45 hp outboard motor
with a modern propeller. It's a tribute to the ship's design that it can
move so fast with so little power. No doubt the rowers can generate a bit
more for short bursts.

RH

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* Statistic from another exploit in Greece, the Daedalus 88 human-powered
aircraft that flew from Heraklion to Santorini on 23 April 1988, a distance
of 72.4 miles. It was St George's day, and the saint obligingly provided a
following wind.