Tim Severin · 1978 · sea

Tim Severin's 1978 account of sailing a replica medieval leather boat from Ireland to Newfoundland by way of the Hebrides, Faroes, Iceland and Greenland, to test whether the legendary voyage of St Brendan the Navigator, told in the medieval Navigatio, could have reached the New World centuries before the Vikings or Columbus. A thrilling feat of experimental history, following the northern stepping-stones across the Atlantic.

1. 1
   Brandon Creek

   To test whether the sixth-century voyage of St Brendan could have reached America, Severin builds a boat of oak-tanned leather over a wooden frame and sets sail from the west of Ireland.

2. 2
   The Hebrides

   North to the Hebrides, the little leather Brendan riding the swells better than anyone dared hope.

3. 3
   The Faroe Islands

   On to the Faroes, the Island of Sheep of the old legend, exactly where the medieval text said it would be.

4. 4
   Iceland

   Across to volcanic Iceland, the legend's island of fire and smiths, the stepping stones of the saga falling into place.

5. 5
   Greenland

   Through icy seas off Greenland, where a drifting floe nearly holes the fragile hull.

6. 6
   Newfoundland

   And at last across the Labrador Sea to Newfoundland, proving that medieval Irish monks could indeed have crossed the Atlantic to America.