No sailing ground was completely safe

Where was the easiest and safest place to operate a wooden sailing ship?

The Mediterranean was comparatively favorable, but even it had dangerous winds such as the Mistral; no operating area was free of hazards.

The Mediterranean is offered as a relatively attractive operating area for a wooden sailing ship, with fewer oceanic hurricanes than some alternatives. The Mistral immediately qualifies that answer because its strong winds could still create dangerous conditions. Every theater has a characteristic hazard that can punish a crew that fails to understand or manage it. The answer turns the search for a universally safe sea into a lesson about local weather knowledge and seamanship.