By The Copenhagen Post
The City of Dublin threw a welcome home party for the crew of the Sea Stallion Viking ship which navigated over a thousand nautical miles this summer
While the sight of a Viking longship cruising up the River Liffy struck fear into the hearts of Dublin’s ancestors a thousand years ago, the Irish city came out in force Tuesday to welcome the Sea Stallion at the end of its seven-week long historic voyage from Denmark.
Thousands of people lined the river’s banks to catch a glimpse of the 30-metre longship, which is a detailed reconstruction of one built in Ireland in 1042. The original ship was steered to Denmark by the Vikings and scuttled in Roskilde Fjord, recovered by archeologists in 1962.
Enthusiasts at the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde decided several years ago to try and recreate the ship, using the latest theories about the Vikings’ construction methods. At the heart of the project laid a number of questions: How fast could the Vikings sail? How did they organise their workforce on the ships?
The reconstructed ship was dubbed Sea Stallion of Glendalough to acknowledge its Irish roots and set sail in the beginning of July with a 65-strong crew of men and women.
The crew soon learned that life at sea was hardly fun and games. Stubborn headwinds thwarted the ship in the journey’s early stages and forced the crew to accept being towed part of the way to Scotland.
After the initial setback, however, the Sea Stallion found its stride. Those difficult early weeks at sea were then forgotten upon catching sight of Ireland.
A steady easterly wind generously allowed the Sea Stallion to prance up the River Liffy. Freight ships along the river blasted their horns and church bells rang out over the Irish capital.
Denmark’s minister of culture, Brian Mikkelsen, was on hand to greet the crew and offer a conciliatory word about the Vikings’ brutal legacy.
‘In Denmark we are certainly proud of this ship, but we are not proud of the damages to the people of Ireland that followed in the footsteps of the Vikings,’ said Mikkelsen. ‘But the warmth and friendliness with which you greet us today and the Viking ship show us that, luckily, it has all been forgiven.’
They were able too build it like the Vikings. But sail it: Nope...
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