Having a crew from three continents and more than ten nations Sea Stallion from Glendalough is already an international project.
But the ship and its historic voyage from Roskilde to Dublin arouse global interest.
When the Australian Wooden Boat Festival turns Hobart upside down between 9th and 12th February 2007 Danish Mads Brockhuus is going to tell about life on board the Sea Stallion as a crew member.
Trial voyage turned into friendship
During the trial voyage in Skagerrak this summer the two crew members Mads Brockhuus from Denmark and Andy Gamlin from Australia met in the midship section of Sea Stallion. Andy Gamlin, who is the director of the Australian Wooden Boat Festival, has now invited his Danish friend from the Sea Stallion to give a lecture on Sea Stallion and the Dublin voyage.
'The festival is like a big meeting. We gather to share our common passion for wooden boats, to get to know each other and – of course – to gain knowledge. Wooden boats have played a main role in people's daily life for hundreds of years … or thousands of years to be more precise. Especially in the field of transport, trade, fishing and leisure time,' says Andy Gamlin.
The festival takes place every second year and attracted 40.000 visitors in 2005. That year the Scandinavians and their seafaring skills were represented too – with two Viking ships from the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde.
The Vikings moved limits
Andy Gamlin nærer en dyb beundring for vikingerne og deres sømandsskab:
Andy Gamlin is a great admirer of the Vikings and their seamanship:
'The Vikings set many mile stones in the development of seafaring. They explored the limits of light constructions with great seaworthiness, they completely understood the use of local materials and simple tools, they refined craft traditions and felt strongly attached to the sea,' says Andy Gamlin and continues:
'The Vikings set entirely new standards for speed, safety, cargo capacity, manoeuvrability and the handling of ships. Many of these factors are still relevant today when designers try to reach the desired result with the ships they draw.'
Brave museum
'I have invited Mads Brockhuus to tell about the Sea Stallion. I believe it is brave of the Viking Ship Museum to throw themselves into a voyage to Dublin. It is an enormously difficult task the museum intends to do. And it is in every respect a project that makes you think, in a time when most things are about making life more comfortable - the easy things shall even easier.'
Andy Gamlin thinks that most of the festival's visitors remember something about Viking history from history lessons at school.
'As a crew representative from the Sea Stallion Mads can help to fill in some of the holes with knowledge.'
» <link http: www.australianwoodenboatfestival.com.au _blank external-link-new-window>Link to Australian Wooden Boat Festival...