As a matter of fact, the Transatlantic crossing times were far more prolonged than recently suggested on our site. Norwegian emigrants in the early days, ie. late C18th and early C19th, could neverestimate their expected times of arrival in, say, New York. The journey was completely dependent on the weather. Under sail in 1840, the average time was 63 days. However, it could be as long as 107days, or as short as 25 days. Physical survival on these crossings was by no means guaranteed, and a 5% death rate among passengers was not unusual. One ship with a steam engine crossed in 18 days, a phenomenon in those days.By 1870, with the introduction of piston engines in the ships, the Blue Ribbon was won with a crossing from Queeenstown, Ireland to New York in 8 Days, 4 hours and 1 minute. By about 1936, when the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, Normandie, Bremen, Europa, and Rex all competed for the crossing record, 6 days was about average. I was personally on a record jet flight from Boston to London in a time of 5 hours and 10 minutes, due to very strong westerly winds. The Concorde used to do London to New York in just a little over three hours. I'm as guilty as anyone in taking for granted high speed, hygienic, comfortable travel with almost a 100% survival rate, and for thinking things happened as fast then as now. But back in the late C18th it was a very different story. I won't even mention the slave trade, where the odds on death exceeded the odds on survival; not that those poor souls were ever told that of course. For excellent info about the reality of the historic crossings, see www.norwayheritage.com. Best, Bill Jones.