The world’s largest Viking ship will sail to America from Norway on Sunday

DRAKEN HARALD HÅRFAGREViking ship. DRAKEN HARALD HÅRFAGRE

On Sunday 24 April the the world’s largest Viking ship, Draken Harald, will set sail to embark on a challenging voyage from its home port Haugesund over the North Atlantic to discover the world the way the Vikings did a thousand years ago.

She will be sailing from Norway to Iceland, Greenland, Canada and eventually end up in the United States.
Although Draken is a fantastic sailboat, no one can predict what the weather will be like on the trip, and the crew will be facing many challenges, according to Björn Ahlander, captain of Draken Harald.
– It’s hard to say which part of the trip will the toughest, but an area we are certain that will prove challenging is the sea around Cape Farewell in Greenland, which is known as one of the most dangerous marine areas in the world. It is extremely windy and it will probably also be filled with ice.
Draken Harald is a reconstruction of what the Vikings would call  “Leidanger ships” , which combine the excellent sailing characteristics of the viking ships used to sail the oceans with the use of oars of the viking war ships, and has been built with archaeological knowledge of findings, the use of old boatbuilding traditions and based on legends from Viking in Norse sagas. Draken Harald is the largest Viking ship in modern times.

Crew
The 32 brave men and women who make up the crew of Draken Harald come from Norway, Sweden, USA, Canada, Estonia, Russia, Spain, France and the UK and will work under the leadership of captain Björn Ahlander.

Drake Head Ceremony
Expedition America will start in Haugesund with a Drake Head Ceremony at the Viking farm at Avaldsnes 23 April at. 16:00. The head of drake is traditionally not mounted until the ship is departing for a long journey and the purpose of the  head of the drake is to protect the ship and her crew from sea monsters, bad weather, evil beings and unforeseen attacks. The mythological head  of the ship will be unveiled during the ceremony, and good winds and tractable sea will be wished for on the great adventure of sailing the historic route from Norway to Iceland, Greenland, Canada and the United States .

Source: www.drakenharaldharfagre.com / Norway Today

 

37 Comments on "The world’s largest Viking ship will sail to America from Norway on Sunday"

  1. Pierre Gryffenberg | 21. April 2016 at 11:59 |

    Would love to read more about the cruise while they are sailing to America and love to see photo of ship when the drake head is put on the ship

  2. I too would love too see follow ups as the voyage continues. Look forward to seeing the drake head!

  3. Steven Klekar | 22. April 2016 at 06:17 |

    I look forward to hear more about the voyage.

  4. J.R. Bomber | 22. April 2016 at 19:33 |

    You have my permission to raid any religious houses or monasteries you can find in the USA. We have too many religious people here.

    • J.R.- If you were awake in history class, America was founded for religious freedom. So please feel free to leave. I’m sure you won’t be missed.

      • John Jacq | 23. April 2016 at 20:22 |

        If you are more than halj awake, you will have noticed that religious freedom is fast disappearing in the USA. From “In God We Trust” being added to the banknotes after 1965 to all the crap we hear from your current bunch of politicians and would-be presidents, to having to swear on the bible to become officially elected. Thomas Jefferson’s principles are quickly disappearing. So I agree with JR, pillaging any religious house or manastery would be welcome!

        • Chuck Rand | 26. April 2016 at 18:49 |

          No one must swear on a bible to be “officially elected”. No one is required to use a bible when they take their oath of office. Get your facts straight.

    • Alaine deBreaux | 24. April 2016 at 01:40 |

      We’re here to save your asses from perdition

  5. Pick me up!

  6. Aroo THANKGOD | 23. April 2016 at 02:17 |

    i love to sail on the rough high sea, i love to sail and yooo to panama, for Iceland we must site……….smooth sailing for all rugged sailors that will be on board ship. ODIN on Guard

  7. Thunderchild | 23. April 2016 at 22:47 |

    May the gods grant fair weather and following sea’s to the brave crew and mighty ship.

  8. Carrie Wolfe | 24. April 2016 at 01:01 |

    I would love to know if there will be any opportunity to see the ship while it is in the US or Iceland.

  9. Alima Zimmer | 24. April 2016 at 01:14 |

    This is very exciting! I enjoy reading about ‘Everything Vikings’. Wishing the entire crew a Safe Voyage! I hope that the ship will come through the New York harbor area or at least somewhere along the Mid Atlantic Region of the U.S. I’ve always believed that the Vikings came to North America way before other groups arrived and took credit.

  10. Have a great voyage! It will be Epic!

  11. Will there be updates on the voyage? If so, where? It would be fun to track it and see it when it arrives in Duluth MN in Auguset.

  12. How much rum aboard??? Can she handle a Kracken???

  13. Gillian bavis | 24. April 2016 at 20:13 |

    I hope you all have a safe journey!!! My ancestors were Vikings!!!

  14. Carlos Correia | 24. April 2016 at 22:36 |

    With or without GPS ?
    Good winds.

  15. Catherine Elson | 24. April 2016 at 23:20 |

    Do you have dates and places where the ship will stop in Canada? I would assume the Viking site at L’anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland?

  16. Julie Mallory | 25. April 2016 at 02:55 |

    How exciting” Have a safe sailing voyage! Would love to see the ship and meet some of the crew. Keep me informed.

  17. Donald Rindahl | 25. April 2016 at 04:46 |

    The Pirates of the Caribbean have the room Pirates would have had a long fermented honey!

  18. Richard Chelvan | 25. April 2016 at 13:01 |

    What diseases did the Vikings have that they may have passed on the indigenous groups in the Americas? How is it that we point to the Spaniards as bringers of Small Pox and other lethal contagions to the Americas during the so-called “Columbian Exchange?”

    This is a legitimate question and not meant to offend anyone!

  19. Stanley Yucikas | 25. April 2016 at 22:19 |

    Why no stops in Shetland and Faeroe. I think these two stops were “normal” back in the day.

  20. Donald MacLeod | 26. April 2016 at 02:23 |

    Do you plan to visit the Port of Halifax, Nova Scotia? If so, kindly advise your E.T.A I am retired from the marine transportation business (shore side) for 44 years, having worked in in Halifax, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, in the port agency business. If you require assistance, in locating a Halifax port agent, I will be pleased to assist you. I have recently discovered that I am a direct descendant of a Viking (Sweden) family who existed some 800 plus years ago. The progenitor of that family, then moved to Norway and had more children there. So, it seems I also have Norwegian relatives. My ancestors who lived in southern Sweden emigrated to the Herbrides and the northwestern Scottish Highlands, when my McLeod ancestors lived in the Stoer Point, Assynt area, until they emigrated to Nova Scotia in 1820. Your truly, Donald MacLeod, Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, CANADA.

  21. How cool is that? Let me tell u below freezing point be cearfull and have a nice adventure.

  22. Franz Gruber | 26. April 2016 at 10:43 |

    Thanks so much for publishing that amazing color photo of the ship under sail. They seem to have made the deck gear and rigging as genuine as possible. Viewing the photo is a major step back in time.

  23. Darek from Warsaw | 26. April 2016 at 11:48 |

    Good luck Vikings 🙂

  24. Hope this is well documented with video and shown on PBS at some point. Anyone know if it is going to be filmed along the way?

  25. AJ Rasmussen | 28. April 2016 at 18:25 |

    Safe Journey and looking forward to seeing you all in New York City.

  26. The Rougher the Sea the Smoother we Sail…..Smooth Sailing, Island is our final destination.

  27. Odd that religious freedom—and the Viking tradition of burning monasteries—should be dominating the comments. The government of Norway and the most fanatical fundamentalist so-called-Christians agree fervently on the most important issue of the day. They share a belief that the future of the Earth and its creatures is not a worry because God (or the Almighty Economy) does not need life on Earth to thrive or even continue. Armageddon, Ragnarok, or the takeover by corporate robots will make ecosystems irrelevant. But while the born-again bible-thumping radio preachers just warn that God will make environmentalists burn in hell, the Norway gov’t is expressing its ideology in deeds, not just words.
    As long as whaling is the policy of Norway, all its lovely public relations exercises (like this one) will just serve as distractions from the real crisis facing the planet, and Norway’s role as leader of the wrong side of this struggle to restore the planet to health,

  28. ARO JERRY | 30. April 2016 at 11:44 |

    i am a true Viking,i love to sail,yoo,rave,pill and plunder…vikings,saik on.take everything and give nothing back cos we own this world till all returns to VALHALLA

  29. Arve Rogn | 30. April 2016 at 20:19 |

    Hope the best for the crew of this ship on this long voyage of peace. The real vikings did not always come with Peace, they came in large numbers. In 845 Harald attack Paris with 120 large ships.The French king in the area, Charles, payed him 2500 kilo silver for Peace.

  30. I saw the ship in Reykjavik 2016.

  31. Raphael Ebi | 8. May 2017 at 18:01 |

    For at the point when the sea meets the sky, the East remain our final destination. Sail without trace.

  32. Raphael Ebi | 8. May 2017 at 18:02 |

    We sail smoother even at the rough sea. The rougher the sea the smoother we sail.

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