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DoChara's Ireland Blog
Random Writings about Ireland and the Irish
Monday
July 2 2007
Vikings Return to Dublin
On the 14th of August this year, if all goes well, a Viking longship will sail with its crew up the River Liffey and into Dublin. On this occasion the people of Dublin be out with flags, music and a very friendly welcome, quite a different reaction to the one which met ships which took the same route about 1000 years ago.
The 30m longship, Sea Stallion from Glendalough, was painstaking created at the Viking Ship Museum in Denmark using original methods and materials, a process which took over 50,000 man hours spread over 9 years, used 300 oak trees and over 7,000 handmade iron nails and rivets. It set sail from Roskilde on July 1st, a glorious sight in full sail accompanied by a flotilla of boats, to begin what will be no easy passage.
The waters of the North Sea are among the most difficult to navigate anywhere, bad weather is a given and the plan is to complete the 1000 nautical mile journey with sail and oar power only. Will the boat meet the challenge?
The truth is that nobody can be sure. It is the first time in more than 900 years that a fully laden ship of this kind has attempted such a voyage. All that meticulous work may very well come to naught, with this magnificent vessel breaking up in high seas.
It will also severely test the mettle of the 65 crew packed onto the open decked ship. With less than a square metre of living space each, they will be deprived of any semblance of privacy, sleep wherever they can find a bit of free space, subsist on very basic rations and be exposed to the wind, wet and cold 24 hours a day for over 6 weeks. A cruise it ain't.
For anyone who finds themselves in Dublin in August, assuming the trip is a success, its arrival will be a sight not to be missed. In the meantime the ship's progress can be followed on a website which also includes blogs by some of the crew.
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