With a grant of 250.000 Danish crowns from the Agency for Cultural Heritage (Kulturarvsstyrelsen) the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde is now working in full swing on an upgrade of the digital communication of Sea Stallion's voyage to Dublin in summer 2007.
'Our ambitions are skyhigh. For the audience it should be possible to follow Sea Stallion on her seven-week voyage almost hour by hour by means of images and text. The digital communication shall be as close as possible to being on the ship oneself,' explains curator Martin Brandt Djupdræt from the Viking Ship Museum.
Wind, weather and life on board
For the curious person on land it will be possible to follow up with numerous information about the sailing via computer:
- The ship's current position, the route up to this time and the plan for the next 24 hrs.
- Current wind and weather conditions as well as weather forecast for the area Sea Stallion is going to sail in.
- Life on board with pictures and stories.
During the trial voyage to Norway in summer 2006 there turned out to be a huge interest to follow Sea Stallion's journey in the Skagerrak. On some days there were up to 5,000 individual hits on Sea Stallion's home page. The visitors were looking at the ship's position and news from life on board.
Digital diaries
During the historical voyage from Roskilde til Dublin next summer the media and the audience on land will be able to read several digital diaries.
The Skipper Carsten Hvid is going to write one containing information about the sailing and crew member Henrik Kastoft will share his thoughts on joy and trouble, big and small things on the way. Additionally there will be diaries which tell about the food on board, the ship and the crew's wellbeing.
'Sea Stallion's voyage is an enterprise, an adventure and an exciting research project. It is the first time in 900 years that a ship of this type is going on such a journey and it is one of the biggest maritime-archaeological experiments ever. People from all over the world follow the project. Therefore we will put a great effort into the communication of this unique project,' concludes Martin Brandt Djupdræt.