Ships, Ahoy!

Where is the "Draken Harald Hårfagre"?

This replica of a Viking ship was sailing to Liverpool, England on her maiden voyage when a storm wind and waves broke the mast causing a delay as the ship was forced to use emergency motor power to gain port in Liverpool. Timber for the new mast had to be flown to the craftsmen and repairs are underway as the Viking ship lays at anchor.

The timber has been found and woodworkers have been working to shape the tall mast. At the latest report, the crew has been readying the lines and the sail for installation. Plans to get underway  for the return voyage to Norway are on schedule. The big square sail will be hoisted and the trip underway August 3rd.

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A carving of a 16th century English birlinn

The era of the Vikingship began to ebb in 1100. All throughout the 13th century, European ship designs were moving away from the light, swift, and maneuverable Viking style designs. They began choosing  heavier, stronger, more powerful sailing fortresses capable of ramming other ships, with the ability to become gun-carrying platforms.Using the Viking influence, a ship called a "Birlinn" appeared. This was a wooden vessel using the sail and oars, but modified to fit naval guns designed to attack the opposition while carrying heavy cargo over long distances.

  

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The concept of a ship carrying more than one mast, to give it more speed under sail and to improve its sailing qualities, evolved in northern Mediterranean waters: built by the various East India companies (Dutch, English or Scandinavian) to bring back tea, china, silk and spices.

The trend to additional masts to accommodate additional wind  power led to the three-mast standard that is still  recognized today. Although  modern diesel engines are the most efficient and reliable means of sailing power, the tradition of the three-masters is not to be forgotten.

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At the present time, vessels and sails are popular among watercraft operators both in recreation and those who compete in various annual sailing events. One of these annual European events began in 1956 and is underway this month. A total of 69 sailing vessels are taking  part in the "Tall Ships Race" segment in Fredrikstad, 22 of them so-called “Class A.” They’re the biggest of the vessels and include Norway’s  three high-masted ships Statsraad Lehmkuhl, Christian Radich and Sørlandet. 

 The Sørlandet is the oldest of the three Norwegian Tall Ships and the oldest full- rigged ship in the world still in operation.

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Thousands of spectators were expected in Bergen to admire the ships and follow the regatta as it continued from its starting point in Harlingen in The Netherlands, July 6th to its final port in Esbjerg, Denmark, August 5th.

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The Tall Ships Races are races for sail training on sailing ships. The races are designed to encourage international friendship and training for young people in the art of sailing. The races are held annually in European waters and consists of two racing legs of several hundred nautical miles, and a "cruise in company". Over one half  of the crew of each ship participating in the races must consist of young people.

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The three legs of the race.

All ships are manned by a largely  trainee crew who are partaking in sail training, 50 percent of which must be aged between 15–25 years of age with or without previous experience. Thus,"tall ship" does not describe a specific type of sailing vessel, but rather a sailing vessel of at least 30 ft that is conducting sail training and education under sail voyages.

Norway's Christian-Radich" , the winner in 2010.

There have been some changes since the Vikings began their voyages, however, sea-travel traditions continue.

The Nordmen Are Coming! The Nordmen Are Coming!

The nordmen are coming....

English sentinels scanning the ocean horizon sighted the dreaded dragonships of the invaders from the east, known as The Vikings, and rush to spread the warning.. Constant invasions have resulted in complete chaos, pillage and bloodshed as the men from the north, upon landing, overwhelmed the helpless defenders. Fierce dragon-heads on the  bows of the invading ships were meant to scare away ocean monsters and succeeded to also terrify any opposition. Their arrival was not a good event, and this has been going on  since the year 793 .

But this is the year 2014, and again, a Viking ship has set sail from Norway on a mission bound for English soil. However, this mission has a very different outcome.

On-board the Dragonship

The world’s largest Viking ship, The Dragon Harald Fairhair set sail in early July, 2014 for England on a voyage was expected to last three weeks.
The Dragon Harald Fairhair ( In Norwegian: Draken Harald Hårfagre) and named for the Norseking is a replica Viking longship built in the municipality of Haugesund, Norway. The Dragon Harald Fairhair brings the seafaring qualities of a warship from the old Norse sagas to life. It is a ship that combines ocean-crossing sailing capabilities with a warship's use of oars .Building began in
March 2010 while the launching of the longship took place in the summer of 2012. Because no one today has real experience handling a Viking ship of this size, the initial period was one of exploring how to sail and row the ship. By summer 2014, it was expected that the longship should be ready for its first real expedition.The Dragon Harald Fairhair is the largest "Viking ship" built in modern time and this was to be the maiden voyage.

A typical Viking Ship at sea.

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All went well for the first three days and the crew was settling in for the long voyage when, approaching the Orkney islands, they sailed into stormy seas and  a huge wave driven by high winds. The wave and winds broke the high mast, sending it, along with the huge 2,800 sq. foot sail of pure silk overboard. There would be a slight change of plans!

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Ship's crew including the Liverpool Victoria Rowing Team

This longship is a '25-sesse' (25 pairs of oars) – in other words, it is equipped with 50 oars. Each oar is powered by two men and the ship must have a minimum crew of 100 persons. When under sail, it requires a crew of 18–24 people. Luckily, on this voyage, the crew includes the Rowing Club, a team from Liverpool Victoria who had

travelled to Norway last year to train onboard the Viking ship in order to take part in the maiden voyage of The Dragon Harald Fairhair. They put their talents to good use as they rowed the large boat aided by modern motors that had been installed for an emergency.
They rowed and motorized to the nearest port, that being Orkney, the site of a Royal Navy site at Scapa Bay, which played a major role in World War I and II. However, timber to replace the huge mast was not available, and their rowing, motorized journey had to be continued from The Shetland Islands. The Draken left port using the motor,
 voyaging south past Orkney, then down the east coast of Scotland, crossing through the Caledonian Canal to the west coast of England.

They were then forced to motor on to their destination of Merseyside,Northwest England, trying to keep to the original schedule on their 115 foot vessel that had a displacement of about 70 metric tons constructed of oak.
The longship had been set to arrive, after a three-week passage under sail, on July 18 to be a highlight of the nationally recognized  British Open Championship at the Royal Liverpool golf club in Hoylake, but arrival times had to be revised as the Norse longship made its way through the Caledonian Canal.
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The shipbuilders sailing with them were expected to fly on to Scotland after reaching port to begin  the search for timber for a new mast, which will have to be constructed and then delivered for installation.

Awaiting repairs...waiting.

Once the Draken arrived , repairs were expected to be undertaken  and ready for the longship’s long journey home to Norway. Their "tee-time" mission to highlight the golf tournament in England was missed and the  remainder of their maiden voyage was in doubt.

 However, English Rowing Club members proved invaluable as mission plans were changed and their voyage probably not forgotten.

The rowers will get a rest, as the replacement mast will be installed, the new sail will be hoisted and The Dragon Harald Fairhair will be homewardbound  for Norway August 3rd.

A Day To Show The Flag

July 4th is the most celebrated national holiday in North America. Much has been written, documented and  respected by every American schoolchild and adult.

History lessons tell us of the colonists who arrived from Europe to The New Country banded together for survival and, in time, began to resent the demanding ties to Europe.
This resentment grew when European authorities imposed a new tax on the imported tea, a commodity loved by all. Rebelling colonists decided to take action .

           
 The  Boston Tea Party  was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, on December 16, 1773.  They boarded the ships and threw the chests of tea into Boston Harbor, ruining the tea. The British government responded harshly and the episode escalated into the American Revolution.
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 The Declaration of Independence is the usual name of  statements adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies, then at war with Great Britain, regarded themselves as thirteen newly independent sovereign states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. Instead they formed a new nation—the United States of America.

The first official U.S. flag was created during battle on August 3, 1777 at Fort Schuyler  during the siege of the fort . Soldiers cut up their shirts to make the white stripes; scarlet material to form the red was secured from red flannel petticoats of officers' wives, while material for the blue union was secured from Capt. Abraham Swartwout's blue cloth coat.Although the Betsy

Ross legend is controversial, the design is among the earliest 13-star flags featuring a circle of stars of 5 points. The story credits Betsy Ross for sewing the first flag from a pencil sketch handed to her by George Washington, however no evidence for this exists.

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The design of the flag has been modified 26 times officially since 1777. At the time of the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress would not legally adopt flags with "stars, white in a blue field" for another year.

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First section arrives

The latest flag-raising activity has taken place in Eastern Wisconsin. Sheboygan-based Acuity Insurance company has raised  the tallest free-standing flagpole in North America, this being a  400-foot flagpole flying an American flag measuring 60 feet high by 120 feet long.
 This is the third attempt to build such a flag pole to accomodate such a large flag. Their  first flag-pole attempt was  erected in 2003, and was 150 feet tall. Later, it was extended to  200 feet, but winter lakewinds sent it to the ground.  The next attempt  was 300 feet, and again, replaced by a 338-foot pole. In April of 2008, it also was succeptable to the winds and was considered unsafe and dismantled. This newly constructed flag-pole has been built by a Manitowoc company known for wind-turbine towers and engineered for Wisconsin winds and winter temperatures.The pole is eleven feet in diameter at its base, and five feet in diameter at its end.

Each star is 3 feet high and each stripe is 4 1/2 feet long in this flag that weighs 300 pounds. Acuity employees took part in the dedication In April 2014, Acuity announced that this latest attempt at the nation’s largest flagpole was to be erected in time for the 2014 July fourth celebration.The flag was raised for the first time on May 22, 2014.
More than 1,000 people filled the Acuity parking lot to take in the pole’s dedication. Danny Gokey, an “American Idol” finalist from Milwaukee, sang the National Anthem.

President Reagan proclaimed 1986 the Year of the Flag. “The colors of our flag signify the qualities of the human spirit we Americans cherish,” Reagan said. “Red for courage and readiness to sacrifice; white for pure intentions and high ideals; and blue for vigilance and justice.”

Enjoy the celebrations and remember....