Would Mediterranean water season masts better?

Would Mediterranean seawater be better for seasoning masts?

Not necessarily; warmer Mediterranean water could cause problems, so some yards explored ways to cool their mast ponds.

The answer cautions that salinity alone did not determine the quality of a mast pond. Warmer water could create preservation problems, and Mediterranean yards experimented with keeping ponds cooler. Seasoning naval timber required controlled storage and observation because immersion in seawater was only part of the process. One tentative recollection has a Mediterranean city-state importing ice to cool its mast pool.