Sails vs Steam a Race

      I dreamed I was captain of a sailing ship. We were stopped at a port on a small island. Upon seeing a map to a legendary lost world, and entering into friendly competition to find it with a steamship captain, I offloaded my cargo and filled my holds with extra water and rations (fresh fruit and livestock) for my crew.
      The steam ship sailed immediately after doing the same. I and my crew had to wait for the tide and the wind. My crew were upset that we were going to be leaving eight hours behind the steamship. "It's OK," I told them, "I know a shortcut." Although that didn't seem to make any sense, I knew we would be able to sail almost directly to our destination, wind willing, and the steamship would have to stop at least twice to take on fresh water and fuel for its boilers. Indeed, we actually spotted the steamship a few days out headed on a course for some nearby islands, that, because of our fresh stock of fruit and animals, we were able to sail by them.
      We didn't see the steam ship until we'd actually sailed into the archipelago containing the islands we were searching for. They were navigating a narrow channel about a mile ahead of us. Here we had the advantage as the wind fully roared down out of the island mountains, and our shallow draft gave us a clearer path into the harbor. In a few minutes of maneuvering, we sailed past them into the clear but shallow waters of a calm natural harbor.
      With lots of whooping and shouting, we coasted in to an anchorage and then began to un-ship the long boats.