Representatives from the Canadian Embassy in Copenhagen, the Danish Canadian National Museum in Edmonton, Canada, the Danish Canadian Friendship Association, the Viking Ship Museum's boat builders and a further 50 people who had come along when the incredibly beautiful Gokstad Færing was ready for launching at the museum’s harbour.
The building work started in November 2008 and the boat builders have been very busy all winter. Although the boat is quite small, it requires exactly the same building processes as a large longship and the construction is in many ways similar to the museum’s largest reconstruction, the Sea stallion from Glendalough. Now the boat is finally finished, newly tarred and with a fine square sail, and the boat can dip it beautiful lines into the cold waters of the fjord. Now it is time to set sail for Canada. The first stop will be Halifax in eastern Canada, where it will be displayed at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, where the Tall Ships' Atlantic Challenge will pass by in July. Then it will continue on to Edmonton, more than 7,000 kilometres from the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde.
Before the boat was launched, it was named ‘Freydis Joanne’ by Kirsten Asperud. She is the daughter of Kresten and Karen Sommer, who financed the building of the boat. The family emigrated to Canada in 1957 and had left money in their will for the construction.
“It is a fantastic project and a wonderful ship”, exclaimed Carl Sorensen from the Danish Canadian National Museum with enthusiasm during the first trial run in Roskilde Fjord. And the Viking Ship Museum’s boatyard shares his enthusiasm. “We never get tired of building the Gokstad Færing. It is a wonderful challenge every time and a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate Viking boat building for a wider audience”, explains Søren Nielsen, head of the museums department for maritime craftsmanship and reconstruction.
