Useful article from 1973:
A graphic shows two alternatives for Mulek that resemble what many LDS believe are the routes Lehi and Mulek took.
A powerful ocean stream originates in the Indian Ocean in the vicinity of Madagascar, sweeps southward around the Cape of Good Hope, veers westward across the South Atlantic to a point on the north of the eastern tip of Brazil, and continues northward off the coast of South America until it merges with the current flowing across the North Atlantic. Thus, if a vessel were to embark on the Red Sea and hold course close to the eastern shore of Africa until it reached the vicinity of Madagascar, it could follow the currents to the West Indies and the Gulf of Mexico.
Although twice as far as the Mediterranean route, this second possibility warrants consideration. It has been discovered that under orders of the Egyptian monarch Neccho II, Phoenician sailors in about 600 B.C. voyaged around the entire continent of Africa, and this was 2100 years before the same feat was accomplished by Vasco de Gama in 1498.
