Viking Voyage

A documentry (in English) about 'Havhingsten'.

A British view of Denmark

'Havhingsten' at 09:35.

Havhingsten returns

Havhingsten returned to Denmark whilst I was away. There isn't much to add, except that the ship will now be on display at Roskilde Viking Ship Museum. I would like to go and see it at some point and if I do I'll take a lot of pictures for future reference (and a blog post). At some point I'd like to build a full longship model.

Havhingsten fra Glendalough update

Remember Havhingsten? Well she's back in the sea again. Having wintered in Dublin, the ship and her crew are now back in the water and are headed for home. This time they are going the other way around Britain though and have left Ireland and are now docked at Lands End. Ahead of them lies the English channel and then the European coast line. Considering these were the waters that sent the Vikings out into Europe, it ought not be too difficult for them, but who knows what the weather will bring.

Alas, this year the journey is not garnering the same enthusiasm as last year, but I may post further on the matter should anything interesting occur.

Havhingsten fra Glendalough: Journeys end

After six weeks at sea, the crew finally pulled into Dublin, just in time for a 'cultural event'. Danish TV reported on the occaision but didn't go into great details. This page at the BBC reports on the matter also.

Son the ship will be lifted from the water and placed into the Irish National Museum. The idea is the ship will remain in Dublin until next year when it will be sailed back to Denmark again. Since there are no 'cultural events' planned, hopefully next year the ship can attempt a crossing of the North Sea under her own sail... One can only hope.

Havhingsten fra Glendalough update

They took me by surprise! I thought they'd cross the sea to Ireland and follow the coast south but instead the ship moved out into the Irish Sea and is currently at rest at the Isla of Man. I haven't heard or seen anything much from the ship except the antics of the crew in the various stop over points so there hasn't been much to relate. The ship must be coping though since they haven't sunk, but apart from some problems with the rudder oar and the sail earlier in the voyage, things have been very quiet.

I've been thinking about building a 28mm scale replica of a similar Viking warship, though probably not Havhingsten. If I did build it, it would have to have bloated dimensions in order to faciliatate the figures bases, so the ships 'deck' would likely measure 60 x 9 cm amidships with the over all length of the ship being about 66cm. A bit too big to ever be used. The idea for these models would be skirmish games aboard the various ships and we already have two large ship models not being used...

The alternative would be to build a smaller, long ship, maybe 45 x 8cm amidships. Which ever I decided upon it would still have to wait until several other models are completed....

Havhingsten fra Glendalough update

DR (Denmarks national TV service) have been showing programmes in the last few days regarding the construction of the ship and its been interesting to see these, some of which I'd already seen. So far they've not reached the stage of reporting the actual journey though so details have been scarce on that aspect of the project.

Over all I've been getting a sense that the Viking Ship Museum has allowed itself to be manipulated by various personal and exterior interests to its stated aims in building the ship. DR's programme's don't really ask any impertient questions, but there is a sense of 'cheating' surrounding Havhingsten. Its not so much in the actual ship building, though I've heard rumours that its not as accurate a copy as it should be, but rather in prostituting the ship to cultural and political agenda's for maximum economic gain. I got this impression strongest from the way the ship was dragged across the North Sea so that it wouldn't miss its deadline arrival in Dublin, but even something as apparently innocent as the ships name now seems suspect. It strikes me as being a bit tame that a war ship would be called something as romantic as the 'Sea Stallion from Glendalough'. Its been repeated endlessly that the original ship came from Ireland, as if the Irish had built it and I suspect the Irish aspect is being talked up to get as much political capital for (and funding from) the EU.

Still. When all is said and done, I'm glad they built it. It may be an ill built media whore of a ship , but its still the largest replica Viking war ship ever built and it can't be denied, it looks great! As you can see on the map above, the crew have moved south through the western Scottish islands and are now approaching Ireland. I anticipate they will arrive there, weather permitting, tomorrow (Friday).

Arrival!

Havhingsten arrived in the Orkney islands late last night after a disapointing turn of events. The winds failed the ship and instead of turning back and waiting in Norway, Captain Hvid accepted to be towed two thirds of the way across the sea. The latest reports indicate the voyage went very well and the crew slept last night in the local sailing club after having completed the last stage of the voyage under sail, but its surely a bitter disapointment that the voyage needed to be carried out this way in order to 'meet a deadline'. Ah well.
.

“As a consequence of the decision of towing the Sea Stallion across the North Sea, this part of the passage has now been cancelled in the research plan for 2007. Primarily, this affects the of the research program dealing with the trial voyage itself – the possibility of estimating the travel speed across the North Sea, and the possibility of evaluating the functions and the logistics on board during a long crossing. These aspects will be reassumed during the voyage from Ireland to Denmark in 2008”, says director of the Viking Ship Museum, Tinna Damgård-Sørensen.

“It is frustrating that we can’t cross the North Sea as planned. But it hasn’t any vital consequences for the research plan, and we will have the opportunity again next year. In this situation we have to give highest priority to the experimental sailing north of Scotland and in the Irish Sea. Here the ship will be tested in some of the most difficult and important waters in the western Viking World” continues Tinna Damgård-Sørensen. Link.

So far there have been no reports on the TV news, but I'm ever hopeful to see some footage today.
.

Havhingsten fra Glendalough update

They're approaching Orkney now.
Here are two video compliations of shots taken on the ships first day at sea. Some of the shots from the chase ship are really cool. I love how the whole long ship drops beneath the tall waves and all you can see is the sail and prow!





Here is a video of the ship during the time spenting waiting in Norway for the wind to change so the crossing of the North Sea could be attempted ...Cruising a Norwegian fjord.... to bad they didn't indulge in a little rape & pillage whilst they were there. Hee hee hee...

Havhingsten fra Glendalough update

The wind must be good, for the ship is already well under way and above shows their progress at 13:40 local Danish time. ETA in Scotland is in four days time.

Update.
Midnight Danish time and Havhingsten is already half way across the North Sea!
.
Second update.
11:00 Danish time and the ship has almost crossed the North Sea. I've not seen any images or read any news yet , but I expect it will make the evening TV news.

Havhingsten fra Glendalough update

The ship has spent the last ten days or so waiting in Norway for the wind to shift and now it has so in the last 24 hours Havhingsten moved up the Norwegian coast in preperation for the long haul across the North Sea. Along the way, a leather strap which helps control the stearing oar gave way and the sail came down. The crew were shown on DR TV news and appeared to have enjoyed the drama.

Havhingsten fra Glendalough update

I haven't seen any news from the ship yet, but the satelite map shows the ship has reached the southern most edge of Norway. If they follow the usual route, they'll now move up along the coast until they reach the crossing point. This is usually parallel to the Shetland Islands. So far the weather in Denmark has been wet and hard and I've been thinking about the crew out there all night in the driving rain. I hope every one remembered to wear lots of layers!

edited to add:
Four members of the crew were moved onto the chase ship during the night for minor aches and pains, but all returned to the ship by morning. The wind has been kind to the ship though the weather was pretty dismal. Havhingsten having been at sea from roughly 36 hours is currently at Christiansand in Norway. Below is an image of the ship taken around 5pm today and below that is another from on board taken around 3pm yesterday (2nd July).

Havhingsten fra Glendalough update

And so they're off! Today, the first Viking mission from Denmark to Ireland in a thousand years departed from Roskilde Fjord to the sounds of drums, horns and cheers. Viking re-enactors and sight seers gathered from all over Denmark to witness the departure, at 4pm this afternoon. The above image is an older one as I'm stil waiting for Roskilde Viking ship museum to update their news page, that or either DR who are supposed to be covering the event. I'll add more info as I get it and hopefully some good images from on board the vessel.

According to TV2 (Denmarks commercial TV network) the Irish minister of culture was present at the departure and joked "Please don't burn the place down!"

.

Havhingsten fra Glendalough update

Only 24 days to go before the big ship leaves Roskilde Fjord for its epic jouney now. In the last few weeks the ship has been on several test voyages and the crew have been practising emergency routines in case the ship should sink. Its no easy voyage even in the summer. 1,666km across the North Sea round Scotland and on to Dublin. I wouldn't do it for love or money! ...well, maybe I would.... secretly I think I wish I could go too.

The BBC are going to make a documentry about it but in the mean time, here is a preview from You Tube:

Here is another film, from the official Roskilde Viking Ship Musem site. Circa 15 mins. In English.

-

Viking raid!

According to DR, this summer, 65 men from Roskilde Viking ships museum will undertake the first 'Viking raid' across the North Sea in over a thousand years. The following is a loose translation of the article:

The raid of the Sea Stallion of Glendalough (see image above) is intended to help archeaologists understand how the Vikings managed to undertake these dangerous and difficult voyages in such open and delicate ships. "we lack so much knowledge as to how Viking ships were built and sailed" says project leader Preven Rather Sørensen.
-

The 'raid' leaves from Roskilde Fjord, via the Orkney Islands (to the north of Scotland) to Dublin in Ireland, from the first of July to the 17th of August, and with multiple stops along the way. There may be a detour to Stavanger in Norway depending on the wind. Some Norwegian scholars made a similar trip in 2005 (can often be seen repeated on Discovery channel) but they had an emergency motor on board. (The reason why that previous expedition was not termed a 'Viking raid' is because the Norwegian ship was a trading ship known as a knarr and the Sea Stallion is a war ship, known as a 'serpent', or 'Dragon'. The term 'Viking' is ambiguous for it does not actually refer to any one homogenous group of people. Rather it refers to people undertaking an action, such as a raid. Contemporary peoples might have seen Vikings as we today might view the military, or pirates.) The meteorologists have predicted a harsh opposing wind for the 1,700 km long stretch across the North Sea.

-

At Orkney, difficult currents and high sea's lurk, and the Sea Stallion has a free board (the distance from the top of the side of the ship to the surface of the sea) of only one meter. As a result the crew will be followed by a modern ship, but this will not have the full capacity to carry all 65 men if the Viking ship should sink. The Sea Stallion will thus carry a full range of safety equipment and life rafts Sørensen relates. "We'll have so much safety gear we might suppose we could walk on water" he laughs.

-

She is 30 metres long and 3.8 metres wide. The strangely foreign name (foreign to a Danish ear) is due to her being a replica of an Irish built ship from 1042AD (as far as I am aware, the ship is the largest replica of a Viking ship ever built) and the reason why an Irish ship was the model is becaus just such a ship was recovered from the waters of Roskilde Fjord. The Vikings had settled in Ireland where the available wood allowed for bigger ships to be built than home in Denmark. Archaeologists unearthed the original ship in 1962 along with four other types of viking ship and all are now on exhibit in the Viking ship museum.

-

150 museum folk and volunteers will be sailing the ship in shifts, many of whom have already sailed the ship on a previous 'learning raid' to Norway and Sweden. (Have to show off to our cousins first). The crew have already engaged in an eighty day training period but have more days of intense training ahead of them. The ship has yet to be tested in the stormy conditions that can manifest themselves rapidly in the seas to the north of the British Isles.

-

The Roskilde Vikings have already experienced just how monstrously difficult the bigger ship is to handle. It takes thirty pairs of hands to bring her about across the wind with the characteristic square sail.

-

The Sea Stallion of Glendalough will winter in Dublin then return home again to Roskilde in the summer of 2008. The ship is due to be in the sea again and rigged by next week end (15 April).

-

Danish TV news will follow the entire voyage and I shall post further developments on this blog. Unlike the Galatea-3 expedition, I'm hoping this coverage will be more than just what a few journalists get up to along the way.

-

edited to add:

Viking ship museum's page.