The Sea Stallion and its 61 crew members have been waiting here for a favourable wind ever since their festive departure from Dublin on Sunday – a wind that can take the Viking ship reconstruction round the south of England and home to Roskilde, where a huge celebration awaits them on 9th August.
The current weather forecast does predict a northerly wind blowing down the Irish Sea, but probably not until Saturday. Tomorrow (Thursday) the wind will be more unstable and changeable, so the Sea Stallion will probably not leave Howth before Friday or Saturday.
“When the more stable northerly wind comes, we can strike a course due south between Ireland and Wales”, says the skipper, Carsten Hvid. “Basically, it's important to get as far down towards Land’s End as possible, so we can get round into the English Channel.”