If we all thought the last week had been frustrating, it was nothing compared to the frustrations of today. Yesterday everyone packed up and had an early night ready for a morning departure. We woke to crushing news – the hoped for change in the winds hasn’t arrived. It’s still blowing strongly from the west so the journey has to be delayed yet again. Some of the crew found it difficult to take – being quite prepared to brave the winds and row out into the North Sea if necessary - but most understood the decision. Kjetil, a young but highly experienced Norwegian sailor is aware of the dangers 'Some people are more brave than others, but that’s also a risk. It’s one thing to be brave, another thing to be realistic. Not very many of the crew have tried to tack in the open sea for days and days. That’s more challenging than most of us can imagine.'
The crew gathered for more bad news
Another announcement would be due at 1pm, so most of the crew went back to bed to stock up on sleep in case of an evening departure. Sadly the afternoon brought no better news – just the order to hold on and be ready for another announcement. So the pattern continued throughout the day: every few hours we’d all gather at the water’s edge and hear the latest news which was universally bad. Of course, the day has been even more trying for Carsten who faces the unenviable task of deciding what to do. For the Viking there would probably be no question – they would have waited for the right winds. We know that the Vikings established camps specifically for the purpose of sheltering on land through bad weather. Often that could mean waiting right through to the next summer for the right conditions. Many Viking towns (including Dublin) started as one of these winter camps.
Unfortunately Sea Stallion doesn’t have the luxury of time that the Vikings would have had. They need to be in Dublin for mid-August and that time pressure is weighing heavily on Carsten’s mind. That’s still some way off, but there’s a lot of sea to cover before then.
Playing cards passes some time
So, we all wait. There are always a few jobs to be done. There’s a constant watch onboard the ship just to make sure nothing goes missing and no joy-riders take it for a spin. There are boots to be waxed, food to prepare and ropes to be tidied. For James and I there’s always the chance to do a few more interviews or sort through the tapes we’ve shot. A frequent question is about the role of women on board and so we’ve made a short film about that. Others have been exploring the culinary offerings of the local area. There are plenty of fish in the sea, some of the crew have been gathering crabs and the nearby hillsides are covered with ripe blueberries. Of course, for all this abundance, we’d all rather be at sea.
Then, in the last briefing of the day at 9pm, there’s good news: we're setting off tomorrow. Admittedly, that's what they said last night too, but the feeling is that this time its for real. The wind predicted for tomorrow is slightly round to the south so the plan is to head up the Norwegian coast. That will get us a little closer to Orkney and put us in a good position to head across the moment the westerly wind eases off. So it's off to bed now ready for an early departure.
We’ll be posting updates on the Viking Ship Message Board to let you know if we really do set off tomorrow morning.
