Fate of the Norns

I don't know how many people are aware of this voyage, but some reborn Vikings built a longship after studying ancient techniques. The longship is called the Harald Hårfagre and is currently making the voyage between Norway and the Great Lakes.

http://drakenexpeditionamerica.com/

I have always been looking for sources on how long trips by longship would take, and we've put the averages in Denizens of the North. But this is expedition really helps nail down the numbers. Obviously there are better sea charts these days, but the crew (as great as they are), won't have the same knowledge of sea-faring as did the Viking ancestors who were born to the sea. Chances are that they made better time as the trip wore on because they improved in their craft. So for interest sake:
From Norway it took 4 days to get to the Shetlands.
4 days from the Shetlands to Faroe
3 days from Faroe to Iceland
6 days to Greenand

I will be going to meet the crew tomorrow, does anyone have any specific questions they'd like me to ask?

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https://twitter.com/avalkauskas
https://www.patreon.com/fateofthenorns

seems like it was kind of slow to Faroe, but good sailing to Iceland.

i've been half following it, but I've not been really close. what a great opportunity for you!

saw your periscope stream after the fact... what'd you think?

It was pretty amazing. Something pretty intense gripped me when I stepped aboard. Heck I couldn't wait to get onboard so I rushed the dock crew lol. Pretty amazing work, a real labour of love. I didn't see anything that could be construed as cutting corners or cheap design. Everything looked like the shipwrights went the extra mile. You could see little artistic etching and carvings all over the place. the wood was well varnished and upkept despite the ship being a few years old and having finished a trans-Atlantic voyage.

The crew was also very well informed and eager to talk about the ship and their experiences. Even after my battery died, we spoke to a few more peeps before getting off the ship. My son had so many questions for the captain that Bjorn insisted on taking a photo with my son. My son and I also chatted to the guy who helped build a big chunk of the ship, and he had a lot of interesting tales of how we needed to conform to modern ship building codes while at the same time trying to reproduce the old construction methods.

If I would have been 20 years younger with no obligations, I would have applied for the voyage in a heartbeat.

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https://twitter.com/avalkauskas
https://www.patreon.com/fateofthenorns