How about this? I know in the real world the wind tends to blow in a particular direction depending on latitude. I don't remember what that is called but here in the US we mostly have what is called The South-Westerlies where the wind mostly comes out of the Southwest. This makes it harder for people trying to sail from Northern Europe to the Americas, They often sailed to a Southern latitude where the wind was more favorable the traveling West across the Atlantic. The ocean currents also seemed to follow this pattern.

They could set up a similar thing in Valheim where, if you wanted to travel East, your best bet would be to take a northerly course and come back on a more Southerly track. You still may not get favorable winds every time, but you would have a much better chance than you do the way it's set up now.