Jarl Óttar spent several ambiguous years trading across the Channel. He did not commit to a knarr, preferring to carry his cargo of salt in his five longships. As a deterrent, this decision most likely paid off since for three whole years, his commerce went unhindered. He sailed out of Noirmoutier, where he dealt with the Abbot of Saint-Philibert de Noirmoutier, bringing wool from the kingdom of East Anglia in exchange for salt. The nearby small Île d’Yeu provided two sheltered harbours for overwintering—one on the north coast and the other on the south—ensuring there was always protection from an approaching gale.
With salt fetching a higher price than wool, Óttar did profitable business to keep his men satisfied with silver, yet he yearned to return to marauding, as did some of them. Ne
