How long to cross the Sea of Galilee?

[TheThirdandReformedAdam]

It seems that there are many different opinions concerning how long it would reasonably take someone to sail across the Sea of Galilee (some saying it could be done by experienced fisherman as quickly as two hours, and others saying much longer). I have been studying Matthew fourteen, and it seems that the disciples were sailing for quite a long time (beginning to sail at least before evening and going until "the fourth watch of the night") before the Lord came to them walking on the water, and at that point they had only halfway crossed the sea. Would this be an abnormally long time to try and cross the sea? What would have been the average time expected to cross the sea?

 

[iainduguid]

I'm no sailor, but surely it makes a difference how strong the wind was and whether the wind was for you or against you. In this case, the wind was against them quite strongly (v.24), so it might well have taken far longer than in ideal conditions.