The name of this island group, "Leeward Islands", dates from previous centuries, when sailing ships were the sole form of transportation across the Atlantic Ocean. In sailing terminology, "windward" means towards the source of the wind (upwind), while "leeward" is the opposite direction (downwind). In the West Indies, the prevailing winds, known as the trade winds, blow predominantly out of the northeast. Therefore a sailing vessel departing from the British Gold Coast and Gulf of Africa, driven by the trade winds, would normally first encounter Dominica and Martinique, islands most to windward, in their west-northwesterly heading to final destinations in the Caribbean and North and Central America. This location, Dominica and Martinique, becomes the rough dividing line between the Windward and Leeward Islands.