But there is more than just the horses on land for Laura: The largest one is called the Sea Stallion and here
Laura is crew member in the fore part of the ship.
”During the summer of 2005 I heard that sixty five crew members were going to sail a Viking ship across the North Sea to Ireland and I immediately thought … I want to join them”, says Laura.
To the Easter Island in Mary
And she is definitely not a novice in sailing – or an inexperienced ships assistant for that matter.
”In 2004 I was a student at the training ship ’Danmark’. I have also sailed on the galleasses ’Vesterby’. When we came home from Norway last summer Bianca and my self bought a Flying Fish 11, Bianca, is a crew member in the stern of the Sea Stallion. It’s a yellow racing dingy with holes in the hull. She is dangerous to sail, but she only set us back a case of beers,” says Laura with a smile.
Now the dingy is on land, getting patched up at the harbour in Frederikshavn. But it might take a while, because Laura has fallen in love:
”That’s true…..I have just bought a gaff rigged steel ship. She’s approximately 15, 4 metres long. She’s from1948… but lovely; Mary! I have to live on her to afford the down payments. And wait! I also have a rubber dingy, which we have named ‘Rulle’. I actually don’t have a lot of sailing experience, but I expect to learn while sailing Mary to the Easter Island”.
Going to the toilet and grumpy crew members
Laura thinks that the project of sailing the Sea Stallion to Dublin is extremely exciting and can hardly wait to get going.
What is the best thing about sailing the Sea Stallion?
”Definitely the crew members, which are all very different, but lovely people – and then the amazing ship. I’m really looking forward to sailing across the North Sea and arriving in Dublin. But I’m also looking forward to the late night watches, where we get to exchange tales and see the sun set.”
And what is the worst thing?
”Unfortunately going to the toilet when it’s raining and people being grumpy. And then of course the fear of; the ship sinking and us getting caught under it.”
What does your family and friends say?
”My family thinks it’s exciting, but would never do it themselves. My friends think I spend to much time in Roskilde and one responded; you are crazy to think that you can row all the way to Ireland…………..I kid you not! - one of my friends actually thought that we were going to do that,” Laura says smiling.