From The Fury Wimpiness Of The Norsemen, Oh Lord, Please Deliver Us
I've posted quite a bit about the Sea Stallion of Glendalough, the modern replica of one of the fearsome Viking ships of old. They just pulled the ship into Dublin harbor. All I can say is that the Irish have nothing to fear from this invasion. Not only did the ship have to get towed to make the crossing, but a number of the hearty crew had to go spend their time on the support ships. They may have built a replica Viking ship, but they sure don't build Vikings the way they used to.
More than 1,000 years after marauding Vikings invaded the British Isles, a replica longboat recreated one of the epic sea voyages undertaken by the Scandinavian warriors.
The Sea Stallion of Glendalough, the world's largest reconstructed Viking vessel, landed in Dublin after a 900-nautical mile journey that took her from the Danish port of Roskilde via Norway and the Orkneys into the Irish Sea.
Forty two days after setting out, the crew received a far warmer welcome than their forebears presumably did when they sailed up the Liffey 1,211 years ago intent on rape and pillage.
Although mercifully less warlike than the Vikings, the 65 oarsmen and women also proved slightly less resilient than the seafarers of one thousand years ago. A few crew members suffered minor injuries or from hypothermia and had to spend time on the support ship.
Poor weather also meant that the 30-metre Sea Stallion suffered the indignity of having to be towed 345 miles across the North Sea at the beginning of the journey. Viking Sagas suggest that the original Vikings would have showed more patience and waited for favourable conditions.
Yuck of the day: Reuters version of the story says that the ship was towed "for a small part of the trip".
"We put on our survival suits and prepared the life rafts," Hvid told reporters after arriving in Dublin. But he added that no one was washed overboard.
The vessel was towed for a small part of the trip. Most of the voyage was spent braving the elements on an open deck, with just a square metre of living space for each crew member.
Some of the assembled team spent stints on a support ship due to hypothermia or minor injuries.
Reuters-grade news isn't what it used to be, either.
(Side note: Yeah, I'm having some fun at their expense here. They actually did something amazing and will have a once-in-a-lifetime experience to brag about. Good for them for doing it.)
History, World news | Gaius Tuesday, 14 August , 2007
By Lars Walker, Tuesday, 14 August , 2007 @ 8:10 pm
What can I say? Socialism destroys even Viking spirit. I suspect they had to include quotas of women, gays and Muslims in the crew.
By Gaius, Tuesday, 14 August , 2007 @ 8:16 pm
Ouch, Lars. That might not have come out quite the way you intended. .