6 ms·

Real Viking Ship Completes North Atlantic Crossing

52 points by protomyth 10y ago

ZanyProgrammer 10y ago
And yet try only evidence that the Norse ever made it beyond Newfoundland is pseudo science (or as Samuel Eliot Morrison said, 'scandiknavery'). Even if they did, it had zero impact on the future of the continent.
- Bromskloss 10y ago
  > Even if they did, it had zero impact on the future of the continent. What does that have to do with anything?
- ocschwar 10y ago
  Not so. At L'anse Aux Meadows they found samples of plant matter that only grows on the mainland.
- lb1lf 10y ago
  -If nothing else, it may suggest that you claimed independence from the wrong colonial power. We'll come over to incorporate you in Greater Norway any day, now. ;-)
  - dbcurtis 10y ago
    I'm thinking you already have a beachhead in Minnesota. But at the time, wasn't Norway a colony of Sweden? Or was it Denmark then? I'm fuzzy on when the switch happened. In any case, if you do take over, at least then we'll be able to get decent lefse in California.
    - lb1lf 10y ago
      First of all - there is no such thing as decent lefse. Back in Viking times, the nation state as we know it today didn't exist - but Norway was under Denmark between 1387 (methinks) and 1814, when we declared independence only to find ourselves handed over to the Swedes as war booty. Then in 1905 we told the Swedes where they could stuff their union. They promptly did.
      - e12e 10y ago
        I'm a little shocked that no one's pointed out that Harald Hårfarge is the name of the king that's credited with making Norway one nation (some bitter people claim this isn't true just because it was made up in the 1300s, some 300 years after Harald died). Fitting that it is the name of the ship that's sent to re-capture Vinland.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- haukur 10y ago
  For those interested, there are written records about these voyages dating back to the 13th and 14th century. The events took place some 300 years earlier, however. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saga_of_Erik_the_Red https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saga_of_Erik_the_Red https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinland_sagas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinland_sagas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenland_saga https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenland_saga
Aelinsaar 10y ago
Look, I love the pictures, and the spirit of the endeavor. I don't so much love this: >Draken Harald Hårfagre is actually not a replica, rather a real-life Viking ship built based ancient Norwegian boat building techniques dug up from the history books and archaeological findings So... a replica. A very faithful replica, made with care to historical accuracy.
- protomyth 10y ago
  Replica tends to mean modern thing that looks like original but has quite a few modern parts and built with modern techniques. Kits cars builders have made the word replica problematic.
  - Aelinsaar 10y ago
    I think, "Historically accurate replica, made with exquisite care" would avoid that trap.
    - protomyth 10y ago
      Maybe. Every time I hear replica, I see some kit car on a modern chassis, so I might be a bit biased.
- dghf 10y ago
  That gave me pause, too. I think they mean it's not a replica because there's no original -- or rather, it is the original. That is, it's not a copy of any particular Viking-era ship found buried in mud or whatever; it's an entirely new ship, made using documented (and inferred) methods from the era. It's as if someone made a ship that was quite like, yet also distinctly different from, HMS Victory (or the Santa Maria, or whatever historical vessel floats your, er, boat): not a replica, more a sister-ship.
- cromulent 10y ago
  It's a new ship, using the same methods, not a copy of an old ship. It's not a duplicate of a previous vessel but a new bespoke vessel.
fbonetti 10y ago
This is really cool. That voyage must be pretty brutal compared to modern sailing vessels - if you look at this video [1], the galley is basically a sink with a tarp over it :). I wonder if the ship has an inboard engine or a GPS for safety reasons. I imagine that turning this thing around in a crew overboard scenario would be pretty much impossible with a square-rigged sail and no engine. [1] http://www.drakenexpeditionamerica.com/2016/06/07/cooking-onboard-a-viking-ship/ http://www.drakenexpeditionamerica.com/2016/06/07/cooking-on...
- Someone 10y ago
  For what it is worth, there is a support ship. http://www.drakenexpeditionamerica.com/2016/06/16/the-beauty-of-the-dragon/ http://www.drakenexpeditionamerica.com/2016/06/16/the-beauty...: "Along this voyage we have the opportunity to have a media team documenting the adventure. There is one photographer on the ship and 2 photographers and producers on our support vessel. That allows us to have stunning pictures of our beautiful ship and of the crew trying to tame the Dragon in the seas." They also seem to carry modern life vests all the time. That, at least, gives them some chance of survival in case of a man overboard situation. In Viking times in those waters, I guess going overboard was a death sentence, even if you could swim.
- tvmalsv 10y ago
  It does look like it has some modern equipment, probably for the reasons you mention. In this picture you can see a wheel, some throttle controls, and some screens which I'm guessing are for GPS and/or sonar. It's still an amazing feat, much respect. https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3888/14916240637_e3f3afb9c7_b.jpg https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3888/14916240637_e3f3afb9c7_b....
  - jsight 10y ago
    It would be interesting to see how much of the structure is modern as well. It isn't unusual to see fiberglass and other modern materials on replica ships like this.
    - 10y ago
ch 10y ago
Why do they say "approximately 32 crew members"? One would think an accurate head count could be achieved for this ship.
- jsight 10y ago
  I'm sure it varies from time to time depending upon the voyage.
- lb1lf 10y ago
  Qualified guess: As the support ship presumably had some creature comforts missing on the replica viking ship, they probably rotated the crew - say, four days on the replica, a day for a shower and some proper sleep on the support ship, another four days on the replica... Doesn't lessen the accomplishment in any way in my book if my guess turns out to be correct.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
Scarbutt 10y ago
This reminds of having to watch Vikings season 4, doesn't have the quality of a HBO series like GoT but its pretty good.
andrewgleave 10y ago
There was a crossing from Trondheim, Norway to the Isle of Man in 1979 and the ship is now housed at the House of Manannin. It's hard to imagine what being on one of these things would be like for any length of time. There's a very old BBC article on the voyage here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/isleofman/content/articles/2009/07/02/odinsraven_feature.shtml http://www.bbc.co.uk/isleofman/content/articles/2009/07/02/o...
colomon 10y ago
Really looking forward to seeing this when it reaches Bay City, Michigan in two weeks. (And, leaving an ad in a very unlikely place, my band is part of the International Maritime Music portion of the Bay City Tall Ship Celebration.)
the_rosentotter 10y ago
Fun fact: The ship's name Harald Hårfager is the name of a great Viking king, whose name literally means "Fabulous Hair Harald". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harald_Fairhair https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harald_Fairhair
venomsnake 10y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Severin#The_Brendan_Voyage_.281976.E2.80.931977.29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Severin#The_Brendan_Voyage... That is also a great book and similar adventure.

52 points by protomyth 10y ago

And yet try only evidence that the Norse ever made it beyond Newfoundland is pseudo science (or as Samuel Eliot Morrison said, 'scandiknavery'). Even if they did, it had zero impact on the future of the continent.

Bromskloss 10y ago
> Even if they did, it had zero impact on the future of the continent. What does that have to do with anything?
ocschwar 10y ago
Not so. At L'anse Aux Meadows they found samples of plant matter that only grows on the mainland.
lb1lf 10y ago
-If nothing else, it may suggest that you claimed independence from the wrong colonial power. We'll come over to incorporate you in Greater Norway any day, now. ;-)
- dbcurtis 10y ago
  I'm thinking you already have a beachhead in Minnesota. But at the time, wasn't Norway a colony of Sweden? Or was it Denmark then? I'm fuzzy on when the switch happened. In any case, if you do take over, at least then we'll be able to get decent lefse in California.
  - lb1lf 10y ago
    First of all - there is no such thing as decent lefse. Back in Viking times, the nation state as we know it today didn't exist - but Norway was under Denmark between 1387 (methinks) and 1814, when we declared independence only to find ourselves handed over to the Swedes as war booty. Then in 1905 we told the Swedes where they could stuff their union. They promptly did.
    - e12e 10y ago
      I'm a little shocked that no one's pointed out that Harald Hårfarge is the name of the king that's credited with making Norway one nation (some bitter people claim this isn't true just because it was made up in the 1300s, some 300 years after Harald died). Fitting that it is the name of the ship that's sent to re-capture Vinland.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
haukur 10y ago
For those interested, there are written records about these voyages dating back to the 13th and 14th century. The events took place some 300 years earlier, however. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saga_of_Erik_the_Red https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saga_of_Erik_the_Red https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinland_sagas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinland_sagas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenland_saga https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenland_saga

Aelinsaar 10y ago

Look, I love the pictures, and the spirit of the endeavor. I don't so much love this: >Draken Harald Hårfagre is actually not a replica, rather a real-life Viking ship built based ancient Norwegian boat building techniques dug up from the history books and archaeological findings So... a replica. A very faithful replica, made with care to historical accuracy.

protomyth 10y ago
Replica tends to mean modern thing that looks like original but has quite a few modern parts and built with modern techniques. Kits cars builders have made the word replica problematic.
- Aelinsaar 10y ago
  I think, "Historically accurate replica, made with exquisite care" would avoid that trap.
  - protomyth 10y ago
    Maybe. Every time I hear replica, I see some kit car on a modern chassis, so I might be a bit biased.
dghf 10y ago
That gave me pause, too. I think they mean it's not a replica because there's no original -- or rather, it is the original. That is, it's not a copy of any particular Viking-era ship found buried in mud or whatever; it's an entirely new ship, made using documented (and inferred) methods from the era. It's as if someone made a ship that was quite like, yet also distinctly different from, HMS Victory (or the Santa Maria, or whatever historical vessel floats your, er, boat): not a replica, more a sister-ship.
cromulent 10y ago
It's a new ship, using the same methods, not a copy of an old ship. It's not a duplicate of a previous vessel but a new bespoke vessel.

fbonetti 10y ago

This is really cool. That voyage must be pretty brutal compared to modern sailing vessels - if you look at this video [1], the galley is basically a sink with a tarp over it :). I wonder if the ship has an inboard engine or a GPS for safety reasons. I imagine that turning this thing around in a crew overboard scenario would be pretty much impossible with a square-rigged sail and no engine. [1] http://www.drakenexpeditionamerica.com/2016/06/07/cooking-onboard-a-viking-ship/ http://www.drakenexpeditionamerica.com/2016/06/07/cooking-on...

Someone 10y ago
For what it is worth, there is a support ship. http://www.drakenexpeditionamerica.com/2016/06/16/the-beauty-of-the-dragon/ http://www.drakenexpeditionamerica.com/2016/06/16/the-beauty...: "Along this voyage we have the opportunity to have a media team documenting the adventure. There is one photographer on the ship and 2 photographers and producers on our support vessel. That allows us to have stunning pictures of our beautiful ship and of the crew trying to tame the Dragon in the seas." They also seem to carry modern life vests all the time. That, at least, gives them some chance of survival in case of a man overboard situation. In Viking times in those waters, I guess going overboard was a death sentence, even if you could swim.
tvmalsv 10y ago
It does look like it has some modern equipment, probably for the reasons you mention. In this picture you can see a wheel, some throttle controls, and some screens which I'm guessing are for GPS and/or sonar. It's still an amazing feat, much respect. https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3888/14916240637_e3f3afb9c7_b.jpg https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3888/14916240637_e3f3afb9c7_b....
- jsight 10y ago
  It would be interesting to see how much of the structure is modern as well. It isn't unusual to see fiberglass and other modern materials on replica ships like this.
  - 10y ago

ch 10y ago

Why do they say "approximately 32 crew members"? One would think an accurate head count could be achieved for this ship.

jsight 10y ago
I'm sure it varies from time to time depending upon the voyage.
lb1lf 10y ago
Qualified guess: As the support ship presumably had some creature comforts missing on the replica viking ship, they probably rotated the crew - say, four days on the replica, a day for a shower and some proper sleep on the support ship, another four days on the replica... Doesn't lessen the accomplishment in any way in my book if my guess turns out to be correct.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

Scarbutt 10y ago

This reminds of having to watch Vikings season 4, doesn't have the quality of a HBO series like GoT but its pretty good.

andrewgleave 10y ago

There was a crossing from Trondheim, Norway to the Isle of Man in 1979 and the ship is now housed at the House of Manannin. It's hard to imagine what being on one of these things would be like for any length of time. There's a very old BBC article on the voyage here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/isleofman/content/articles/2009/07/02/odinsraven_feature.shtml http://www.bbc.co.uk/isleofman/content/articles/2009/07/02/o...

colomon 10y ago

Really looking forward to seeing this when it reaches Bay City, Michigan in two weeks. (And, leaving an ad in a very unlikely place, my band is part of the International Maritime Music portion of the Bay City Tall Ship Celebration.)

the_rosentotter 10y ago

Fun fact: The ship's name Harald Hårfager is the name of a great Viking king, whose name literally means "Fabulous Hair Harald". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harald_Fairhair https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harald_Fairhair

venomsnake 10y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Severin#The_Brendan_Voyage_.281976.E2.80.931977.29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Severin#The_Brendan_Voyage... That is also a great book and similar adventure.