I feel I have to explain something about the boats first, 'cause I... want to.

The boats are known as Norse Longboats, or, "Dragonships", 'cause they were often decorated with a serpent/dragon. These ships got their name from their design, as we split the timber naturally along with its grain, so it bends more freely as opposed to nailed planks. They were built with Oak which overlapped, making them durable, fast and flexible. Held together by iron rivets, gaps were filled and sealed with animal hair or wool mixed with tar to make the ship waterproof. On the waves it "rides" with the waves instead of fighting against them. That coupled with our constant life at sea and boat-crazed worshipping (they were mostly owned by the rich, as took very long time to make, you had to have the right people making it and they're heavily weaved in our culture), you had some trouble coming your way. And quickly.

Anyway. Hope you're tough!

The boat could hold about 50-60 men, and they were about 30 metres long. And for you to find yourself thinking what it'd be like, it depends on what position you had. You had a helmsman, a lookout, a bailer, the sailing crew and oarsmen. The Helmsman was in "charge", as they were the navigators. The lookout would check for drastic weather changes, land and enemy ships. Oh... what's a bailer, you ask? Well, they have the best job of all... to remove all water inside of the ship. With a bucket. When you angered Njöder enough, he might've unleashed a storm and then the actual sails were lowered to shield the sailors. It must've been horrible knowing the whole ship would flood.

For food, all the oarsmen sat on chests which contained their belongings, including the food. The food consisted of preserved fish, dried fruit and unleavened stale bread. You slept and ate on deck (let's be real, there's not much to choose from) and you would sleep in sleepings bags made out of fur and wool. You shit and piss in the water. And you chant to keep the oarsmen synchronized.

Now here is something I am really bad at... geography. I do not know how long you would spend on the boat to reach France, however you traveled at a speed of 5-10knop (depending on weather and crew) and you wouldn't always even reach your target. Speaking of getting lost...

Navigation was the real shit back then. As I mentioned earlier, we lived next to the sea from birth, as we used seafaring for everything, to get anywhere. However, some individuals would get really good at this. They would study the position of the sun, moon and the stars in the sky. Then, when they figured that out, they would use animals. Birds, fish and mammals would pin-point their location. And then, you learned the movement of the sea itself, which would be tides and other various weather conditions. This is why we would journey so far.

Now that's most what I know. If I would type anymore, it would be about the misconceptions people have about our lost traditions.

Sorry for the spelling mistakes or so, I am Scandinavian and getting really tired, buuut I got pumped when I saw this question.

Góða nótt!