A sure sign of spring in Roskilde is beginning activity in the museum harbour and around the Viking ship, that side by side have spend the winter on land.
The last couple of days boat builders from the Vikingship Museum have taken of the winter cover on the world biggest reconstruction of a Vikingship; The Seastallion of Glendalough.
In the following weeks to come the thirty metres long warship is made ready for a new season – a season out the ordinary. On the 1st of July the Seastallion and its sixty five crew members are taking a voyage from Roskilde to Dublin, a voyage, no one has dared since the Viking Age.
Long road ahead
But before the ship is ready for this historical sail to Ireland maintenance is needed on the small damages inflicted during the last two years of test sailing.
The large group of crew members, with a majority of volunteers from ten different countries, are getting together in Roskilde on Saturday the 31st of March. For two days they will be working on the ship getting it ready for the launching on the 14th and 15th of April.
The first sail this year will be in the beginning of May. Three hole days of test sailing and training of safety procedures is planned, before the ship in July is setting sail for The North Sea and the waters north west of Scotland.
The sail is getting coloured
One of the bigger jobs is getting the sail coloured. Today the 112 square metres sail made of flags is in natural colours, but when the Seastallion on the 1st of July 2007 is sailing out of the museum harbour the sail will be in beautiful red and yellow colours – the same colours seen on the famous Bayeux-tapestry.
Another job this spring will be chancing the strake that broke when the ship in during its summer sail in 2005 smashed against the bridge in Frederikssund in the northern part of Roskilde Fjord because of strong current and wind coming in from the side.
We will return with further information on the maintenance, the colouring of the sail, the chancing of the broken strake and the launch in the next couple of electronic news letters from the Seastallion.