Could Viking Ships Sail Upwind?

The Anglo Saxons, Norsemen, and early Vikings were the first to travel close to the wind in the 6th century. The sail configuration was less important than the ability to steer and stabilize the ship. The ship’s ability to turn up against the wind, known as tacking, was a significant factor in sailing upwind.

Viking longboats performed well at downwind points of sail, but when they attempted to sail upwind, they were poor. If the sail was too broad relative to the hull and the shape of the hull, the ship sought away from the wind, resulting in a lee helm and inability to tack against the wind. It is believed that a crew could move a longship through the water at two knots.

The Vikings knew the North Atlantic could be dangerous, so they likely departed during the warm season when the wind was less likely to burst. Certain sail shapes, such as those with a natural stretch, could pull a ship into the wind, allowing it to go towards the wind.

In summary, Viking ships were capable of sailing downwind and upwind, but their performance was poor when attempting to sail upwind. The Vikings’ knowledge of the North Atlantic’s dangers led them to depart during the warm season when the wind was less likely to burst.

How were Viking ships able to cross open waters?

How did the Vikings ships move?. The ships were powered by oars or by the wind, and had one large, square sail, most probably made from wool. Leather strips criss-crossed the wool to keep its shape when it was wet. Viking ships also had oars. A steering oar or ‘steerboard’ was used to steer the ships. It was fastened to the right-hand side of the ship at the stern (back).

What was life like at sea for Vikings?. There was no shelter on these vessels. At night, Vikings might pull them up on land. They’d take the sail down and lay it across the ship to make a tent to sleep under. Or, they’d pitch woollen tents onshore. If the crew was far out to sea they’d sleep on deck under blankets made from animal skin.

Food would have been dried or salted meat or fish. It could only be cooked if the crew were able to land. They’d drink water, beer or sour milk.

Why were Viking ships so strong?

The contruction of the ship. Viking Age ships were both light and strong. There are two main reasons for this:

The planks and frames were cleaved and followed the tree’s fibres. This made the finished pieces very strong, even though their dimensions were reduced due toa desire to keep the overall weight of the ship down. The technique of cleaving was therefore critical in allowing the Vikings to build ships that were both light and strong.

Nordic clinker-built ships and boats were developed hundreds of years before Viking ships. The ships’ strengthlay in this method of construction. The clinker-built boards, or the overlap between two boards, act as a longitudinal strengthening element in the hull. This allows for a greater distance between the frames. Together, this made the ships light and strong at the same time.

Explore the boat’s hull. Click on the grey areas to read more about the hull’s construction.

Could Viking ships tack?

If, however, the boat turns up against the wind, this is termedtacking. Here, the ship is turned into theeye of thewind, i.e. when the wind comes directly from the front. The sail then begins to fill from the “wrong” side and while the ship turns further round to its new course, the sail is swung round. Tacking requires speed in the ship and was not always successful with the long-keeled Viking ships. The manoeuvre cost, as a rule, some metres of backwards sailing while the sail backs and the ship passes through theeye of the wind.

Tacking and beating. 1. The boat beats on the starboard tack.

2. The boat lies head to the wind and the sail is set aback by the wind coming from dead ahead.

Could Viking ships cross the Atlantic?

It took the Vikings 200 years to cross the Atlantic, after discovering and settling one island at a time. The first island was found around 800 CE, but it took another 200 years to reach Newfoundland for the first time. Once a new island was found, there was much travel between it and the island(s) discovered earlier.

Misconceptions about the Vikings are more numerous than facts, one being their portrayal as sailors blindly battling through cold, fog, wind, and turbulence. Through scientific research and their own voyage on the (not so) high seas, Professor William Doolittle (University of Texas) and Professor Stephen Stadler (Oklahoma State University) have dispelled this myth. Summertime winds and currents would not have been serious obstacles. Moreover, it took the Vikings 200 years to finally cross the Atlantic, after discovering and settling one island at a time. Once established, travel between islands took only a few days. By the time they arrived in North America, they were familiar with North Atlantic geography, including its islands, the waters between, and the regional climatology and meteorology.

The prevailing 21st-century view of the Vikings is one of pelt-clad warriors battling the elements as they sailed through the treacherous waters and inclement weather of the North Atlantic Ocean. However, this long-unchallenged prevailing narrative of pre-European trans-oceanic sailing does not constitute proof. Two American academics – Professor William Doolittle (University of Texas) and Professor Stephen Stadler (Oklahoma State University) – have questioned this narrative. From their first-hand experience on North Atlantic waters, along with analyses of Viking sailing technology and expertise, oceanic systems, and climatic data, Professors Doolittle and Stadler have subjected this accepted narrative to scientific investigation. In the process they have revealed a potential new narrative, one that puts Viking trans-Atlantic crossings in a different light and shifts the focus from swashbuckling opportunism against the elements to clearly planned and executed navigation by a people familiar with seasonal oceanic conditions.

Viking Technology In contrast to the shield-bearing, oar-powered long boats of our imagination, the Vikings actually used sailing boats, known as knarrs, for their long-distance oceanic travels. Purpose-built cargo ships, knarrs were long (approximately 16m), wide (4.6m at the widest part), and had a deep draft (approx 1m); the freeboard distance (between the waterline and the upper deck level) was more than 1m. Despite their sturdy design, they were light, and constructed from peg-fastened oak planks using the clinker method (that is, the edges of the planks overlapped). With a square sail of some 90m2, knarrs could reach speeds of 10 knots (or approximately 11.5 terrestrial miles per hour). They had a capacity of up to 24 tonnes, and fully loaded could reach up to 3–6 knots (around 3.45–6.9 terrestrial miles per hour).

How seaworthy were Viking ships?

They were fast, maneuverable, highly-seaworthy, allowing the Vikings to carry out the rapid hit-and-run raids that characterize the early part of the Viking Age and later developing into specialized ship-types for warfare, trade and fishing. But having ships is no use to you if you don’t know how to sail them.

How did Viking ships not capsize?

The knarr was the freighter of the era. Carrying upwards of over 20 metric tons of goods, this vessel could traverse the difficult seas of the North. Most oars were scrapped to enable more room for cargo, and were only used to navigate in and out of ports and harbours. Sail was the only way to move the ship on the long trade voyages to the Baltics, Western Europe, Iceland and Greenland, and all of the other places the Vikings went on their quest for riches. Firm ballast, a taller hull, and a v-shaped keel would all help make sure the ship did not capsize while sailing on the treacherous waves of the North Sea.

Opposite the knarr was the longship. Specialised for the particular type of hit-and-run raid tactics of the Vikings, the ship was slender, fast, and flexible. Oar holes down both sides enabled the crew to propel the ship even when the wind failed. But more often than not, a large square sail would pull the ship forward. A dragon’s head might have adorned the bow of the ship. In some cases shields would be mounted on the sides, covering the oar holes and clearing space in the ship itself for more loot, plunder, and in general to open up a bit of room on the ship. A flat keel enabled the ship to sail in extremely shallow waters, and even sail directly up onto the shore, so the Viking raiders could jump directly from the ship onto solid ground, or at the very least water that did not reach above their ankles. The flat keel also made it possible for the Vikings to transport the ships over land for short distances, which they used to “switch lanes” and move the ship from one river to another.

Whether we look at warships or trading vessels, the Viking ships were essential to the success of the Scandinavians in the Viking Age. They allowed them to trade across Europe, travel to distant lands such as Iceland, Greenland and even Newfoundland in today’s Canada, and enabled the large-scale raiding of the European continent from the far Southeast in the Greek and Anatolian regions to the far Northwest on the British Isles.

Content written and researched by Jónas Terney Arason.

How did Viking ships survive rough seas?

A New Kind of Hull. Constructed with overlapping strakes (planks), Viking ships were light, flexible, and resilient. This so-called clinker construction allowed for many different sizes to be built and their strength lay in this new type of hull design. By cutting timber along the grain instead of across it, the planks themselves became pliable, which allowed these vessels to ride the waves of the rough Atlantic weather. Internal ribs, knees, and thwarts provided additional strength and ships could be sailed or rowed.

A Legacy of Design. Over the centuries, archaeologists have found fragments of these ships or whole wrecks, some deliberately sunk to blockade the entrances to harbors and others used as tombs. People from chieftains to fishermen were buried in ships that became monuments in the landscape. The vessels were hauled up onto land, supplied with food and tribute as well as tools and equipment to serve the dead in the afterlife. In some cases, spectacularly complete vessels have been excavated, giving archaeologists valuable glimpses into the lives of Viking people. Over the past two centuries, a picture has built up of every type of Viking ship from small coastal vessels, known as faerings to deep-hulled cargo ships called knarr, and the great warships that terrorized Europe. The shallow draft of the latter meant that these warships could be as easily beached as moored, and they were able to penetrate deep inland along river systems.

The heyday of these vessels came to a gradual end during the medieval period when a new form of ship, the cog, generally replaced them. Design elements from the Viking ships, however, lived on in small coastal vessels. For example, depictions of ships of this type, known as West Highland galleys, appear on 16th-century gravestones in Scotland. This same essential design went out with men from the Orkney Islands to northern Canada with the Hudson Bay Company in the 17th and 18th centuries where it metamorphosed into the famous York boats used in the fur trade.

How did Vikings sail against the wind?

The Viking ships’ square sail was, in size and shape, developed together with the individual hull size and type of ship. The central crucial factor is the elementary balance between hull, sail and rudder when sailing against the wind, i.e. sailing close-hauled. If the sail is too broad relative to the hull and the shape of the hull, the ship seeks away from the wind – it has lee helm, and cannot tack against the wind. If the sail is too narrow, the ship turns into the wind without the rudder being able to prevent this – it has weather helm.If this is not corrected, the ship is dangerous to sail – in fact it is useless as a sailing vessel.

If the sail is too low, the ship will sail too slowly and it will first sail properly when the wind is very strong. If the sail, and with it the mast, is too high, the load is too great and it is necessary to reef the sail too early.

Further to all this, it is vital that the individual types of ship are ballasted and loaded correctly. In the successors to the Viking ships, the North European square-rigged boats, identical conditions can be traced. Here, there were regulations for the dimensions of the mast, sail and rudder for the individual boat types. There are a number of finds of rigging details, for example blocks, shroud pins, mast fragments, yard etc. from the Viking period and the Middle Ages. They show little variation in principle and execution throughout this time, and also relative to the last Nordic square-rigged boats from the early 20th century.

How long would it take Vikings to cross the North Sea?

If the weather was good 3–6 days. If the weather was very bad maybe up to 2 weeks and some would have never made it.

Did the Vikings sail close to the coast whenever possible so that?

The Vikings did not use maps. Vikings sailed close to the coast whenever possible, watching for landmarks.

Out of sight of land, they looked for the sun: west (towards the sunset) meant they were headed for England; east (towards the sunrise) meant home to Denmark or Norway.

The Oseberg ship was found in 1904 and is now in a museum in Oslo, Norway.

The Vikings invented a kind of sun-shadow board or sundial to help find their way. At night they watched the skies and could use the position of the stars to determine which direction they were heading.

Could Vikings sail against the wind?

The Viking longboats dod have a keel. It was not deep, but it was long and would have helped with sailing closer to the wind. With their single, square rigged sail an the lack of a deep keel they would not sail as close to the wind as a modern sailboat, but could probably manage at least 60 degrees off the wind.