With a good westerly wind today Carsten faced a difficult decision. This wind would be ideal for sailing across to Northern Ireland. What’s more, the next few days promise south-westerly winds which will make it impossible to sail across from here. However, he knows it’s important they do several days of test sailing and this area is ideal to do it in. He’s therefore decided to stay here at least until the weekend and perform the test sails. The decision isn’t universally popular. Although the spot is scenic, the facilities are limited, and the women in particular are finding the lack of toilet facilities a little trying.
A relaxing massage
Staying put is also counter to the instincts of a sailor. As Dylan puts it: 'not using a good wind is like throwing away good food.' No-one knows when the next suitable wind will come and its possible Carsten may regret not grabbing that westerly when he could. Nevertheless, everyone understands that Carsten has to balance many different factors and is in an unenviable position.
Fortunately today was a fine day for sailing with a good deal of sun and steady winds. Today’s tests looked at how fast the ship can sail when tacking into the wind, compared to rowing into the wind. The results confirmed that rowing is actually quicker. When tacking the ship can make at best 60 degrees to the wind meaning that most of your progress isn’t in the direction you want to go. The actual progress forwards today was only about 1 knot into the wind. When rowing, even with the mast up, the ship can manage about 2 knots – a significant advantage. The ship can row even faster with the mast down and this is probably how the Vikings would have travelled if they needed to row into the wind.
Sophie's hand-made fishing net
With the sailing fairly relaxed today, some of the crew found time to engage in other activities on board. For some it was a rare opportunity to sunbathe, while Sophie used some twine to make a fishing net. Overall morale is still good, and was boosted by a few bottles of whisky ready for the crew on their return to land. Whether morale will stay good after several more days test sailing remains to be seen.
