How long were the Vikings on the ship?
Most of their voyages were 300- 500 miles long, taking 3-5 days at a time, island hopping across the North Atlantic from Norway or Denmark to the Shetland or Orkney Islands, then West to Iceland or South to Britain or Ireland, then to France or Spain and into the Mediterranian. Perhaps they would travel from Sweden or Finland down the rivers of Russia (the Swedes were known as the “Rus”) to the Black Sea and on to the Mediterranean. Of course, if they were blown off course in a storm, they would be at sea much longer. Many times their ships caught fire (from cooking) or broke up in a storm and they perished at sea. Eric’s Saga, the story of Eric the Red’s trip to Greenland related that 27 ships started the voyage of colonization, but only 14 arrived at the destination. Those are not good odds.
