It’s a decent distance, did they have particular knowledge of Aerenal or did they just sail away and bump into it? Sailed away and bumped into it. Note that by the original canon, Aeren died on the journey. It was an exodus of desperation, not a carefully planned expedition. With that said, I'd imagine they could have been guided by some form of divination.

— Keith Baker (@HellcowKeith) September 3, 2020