Maybe @Grey Roger can say something sensible about that?I was thinking more from a general naval business point of view. People worked harder and longer hours then than they do these days, in times of relative peace (or so I'm led to believe).
In that case, my opinion would be "gameplay goes over realism".In my personal playing experience, yes, it does; my ship often ended arriving just after night fell, missing the evening (which is short in the Caribbean), and this allowed me to still be able to stock up on supplies without having to spend the night in town.
![Wink ;) ;)](/styles/emoticons/wink.png)