INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
"On the long-range voyages, we worked in watches of four hours on and four hours off, and that is just about long enough to get some sleep
on your off watch, but also just about short enough that you don't get really, really, really cold, which is obviously a risk," said Jarrett
"It was manageable, but we looked like penguins
I mean, we're wearing six layers of wool at any time and sleeping all stacked together for warmth
But other times it's really nice
The spring and the autumn in Scandinavia, there's much more likelihood of high-pressure cycles, which means that it's clearer and sunnier
than in the summer itself."Nonetheless, there were some rough moments, such as when the mast spar holding up the mainsail snapped, forcing
the crew to improvise and lash two oars together to hold the sail so they could continue their journey
It took several days to repair the boat so it could sail again
There was no safety boat following along in case the crew got into trouble, and no engine, although they did have a life raft, which the
crew has yet to use.Based on his sailing trials, Jarrett believes that the Vikings had no need for navigational tools like maps, a compass,
passed down orally through generations
Those maps might also be informed by the myths linked to well-known coastal landmarks, such as skerries, small islets, or reefs."People had
been moving by boat along the west coast of Scandinavia for a really, really, really long time, probably since the late Neolithic, if not
"There are big trading networks in place beforehand, and that is reflected in the names, place names along the west coast
My primary argument is if you spend 3,000 years traveling up and down a coastline in which you can use the coast at all times for
navigation, then it's unnecessary to develop instrumentation.
