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Check these guys out, Now that's sailin and plunderin, Does it get any better?


Biggest ever replica of Viking longship to sail from Denmark across
North Sea to Ireland

By Jan M. Olsen
ASSOCIATED PRESS
9:22 a.m. May 27, 2007

Thanks for the article Shawn!!

ROSKILDE, Denmark On the skipper's command, deckhands haul in tarred
ropes to lower the flax sail. Oars splash into the water. The crew,
grimacing with strain, pull with steady strokes sending the sleek Viking
longship gliding through the fjord.
A thousands years ago, the curved-prow warship might have spewed out
hordes of bloodthirsty Norsemen ready to pillage and burn.
This time, the spoils are adventure rather than plunder.
The Sea Stallion of Glendalough is billed as the world's biggest and
most ambitious Viking ship reconstruction, modeled after a warship
excavated in 1962 from the Roskilde fjord after being buried in the
seabed for nearly 950 years.
Volunteers are preparing it for a journey across the legendary Viking
waters of the North Sea leaving Roskilde in eastern Denmark on July 1
and sailing 1,200 miles to Dublin, which was founded by Vikings in the
9th century.
It's like a banana boat. It moves like a snake, crew member Preben
Rather Soerensen, 42, said after a recent test sail in the Roskilde
fjord.
The crew will explore the challenges of spending seven weeks in an open
vessel with no shelter from crashing waves, whipping wind and drenching
rain. Working in four-hour shifts, the history buffs and sailing
enthusiasts will have to steer the 100-foot-long ship through
treacherous waters with a minimum of sleep, comfort and privacy just
as the Vikings did.
They must have been incredibly tough to do what they did, said
24-year-old crew member Triona Nicholl, an archaeologist from Dublin.
We all have waterproof gear. We have radios and life jackets and all
the stuff. They must have been hardier people.
The Vikings turned to the stars and their ancient Norse gods for help as
they navigated across the open sea, reaching as far as Iceland and North
America. Many perished in the hostile waters of the North Atlantic.
This crew puts their faith in modern technology: a GPS satellite
navigation system and radar. They wear baseball caps and wind-breakers
rather than helmets and chain mail shirts. Mobile phones are allowed,
but no battle axes.
Nevertheless, the crew is likely to feel they have been transported back
a millennium when the voyage begins, although it will be accompanied by
a modern support vessel with medical and rescue experts.
The Viking boat has the curved hull and single square sail that typified
Norse longships, which were designed to sail on both open seas and
shallow rivers.
Using replicas of Viking era tools chisels, knives, spoon bits and
axes craftsmen built the 8.25-ton Sea Stallion using 5,250 cubic feet
of oak and 7,000 hand-forged iron rivets.
Within a certain framework, we knew how they built the ship and how the
missing parts should be, said Erik Andersen, 68, who designed the
replica. The only guesswork was the color of the ship and the sail.
The builders settled for a brown-colored hull and a red-and-yellow sail,
drawing inspiration from the famed Bayeux tapestry in France, which
depicts the 11th century Norman conquest of England. The Normans were
descendants of Viking settlers in northwestern France.
The ship proved remarkably stable during trials off Roskilde on May 5.
Powered by up to 30 pairs of oars, the Sea Stallion Havhingsten in
Danish sliced through the waves without wobbling. Out in the fjord,
the 144-square-yard sail was pulled down like a curtain, catching the
salty breeze with a loud thump.
Captain Poul Nygaard, a Dane, dispatched instructions, relayed to the
crew by the shouts of a midshipman.
It will be no pleasure cruise. They will suffer from blisters on their
hands and sore bums, Nygaard said.
The voyage across the North Sea, passing north of Scotland and down the
famously ill-tempered Irish Sea, will test both the crew and their ship.
The goal is to sail nonstop to Dublin, but the plan could change
depending on the weather.
The Sea Stallion will sail around the northern tip of Jutland and across
the North Sea to the Orkney Islands, north of Scotland. From there, it
is to veer south at Cape Wrath on Scotland's northern tip and down the
Irish Sea to Dublin.
The crew mostly volunteers from Scandinavia, Britain, Ireland, the
United States and Canada will eat, sleep and work in extremely close
quarters. When nature calls, the solution is a portable toilet near the
mast or over the side of the ship.
Privacy is a very big problem. We're 65 people living very close for
long time, said Erik Nielsen, a 64-year-old volunteer from Toronto.
You deal with it. It is manageable.
The 78 men and 22 women will take turns sailing the ship on the
seven-week voyage. Many will remain onboard from start to finish, said
Rather Soerensen, the project manager.
They have to know something about square sails. And they have to be
very socially competent, he said.
The Vikings enter history in the late 8th century, when Christian monks
chronicled the first Norse raids on the coasts of northern Europe. While
feared for their battle prowess, the Vikings were also skilled craftsmen
and traders, establishing commercial networks as far away as
Constantinople today's Istanbul, Turkey.
In Britain and Ireland, the raids gradually grew into full-fledged
invasions led by Danish and Norwegian kings. The first Viking
settlements in Ireland have been dated to 840. Many historians believe
Icelandic Viking Leif Erikson reached North America 500 years before
Columbus.
The longship on which the Sea Stallion was modeled is believed to have
been built in 1042 in Glendalough, south of the Irish capital. It was
considered one of the most advanced vessels of its time.
Some historians believe it crossed the North Sea to carry the two adult
sons of English King Harold Godwinson to Roskilde, where they sought to
form an alliance with the Danish king against William the Conqueror.
The ship eventually was among five sunk in the Roskilde fjord around
1060, probably to block access to the port. The five vessels were
excavated and are now on display at the Roskilde Viking ship museum.
Christened by Denmark's Queen Margrethe in 2004, the Sea Stallion is
expected to reach Dublin on Aug. 14, where it will be exhibited before
returning to Denmark in August 2008.
Terje Boe of Norway's Lofotr Viking Museum, who is not involved in the
project, said the expedition could shed light on the maneuverability of
large Viking vessels.
It is so special because of the length of the ship. How will they do in
high seas, how big waves can it take? he said.