Preparing for a sea voyage
The Vikings prepared for their sea voyages very thoroughly. Because of the
period's poor navigational aids they had many things
to consider before setting sail. The chances of sailing off-course were large.
There were many tales of ships that had disappeared. They got off-course and
sailed out over the Atlantic until the crew either starved to death or the ship
sank.
It was difficult to hit the destination exactly and the voyages could be
longer than planned. The ships waited very often at the journey's start for
favourable winds. In the Bandamanna saga the following is told: Odd Ofeigsson
sailed from Iceland to Norway and back again in seven weeks. When he got back
the Norwegian sailors were still at the harbour of departure because they
weren't confident in the weather. in addition they had to have plenty of
provisions like dried, salted or smoked fish and meat in case they should go
off-course or make a detour before arriving at their destination.
