Yes sailing is very effective if you're trying to cross an ocean.

Also, for the N-th time: no, wind against you is not scripted. The weather/wind is static and predefined for every single day and identical for all playthrough. In *all* runs, the 2nd day is foggy in the meadow for example. Same for all other days. There is even a website that can give you the forecast for any day, with all the biomes and direction of the wind.