Creating and maintaining trade networks meant employing men who were skilled in handling ships; the roles they took on required knowledge of water depth, wind systems, tides, rains and other climatic factors that would interfere with the cabotage trade, even if they managed to elude the various adversities of long-distance crossings. Although sailing skills did not necessarily equip them to deal with long-range or large vessels, they were nonetheless part of the experience of various peoples from the African continent, and part of a process that underwent transformation over time.