Ottar's summer voyage was planned to go to Sognefjord in Norway.
They started out in a strong northernly wind, and they were stuck in Isefjord for the first week.
When they finally got the opportunity, Ottar sailed directly to Gothenburg. The waves and the fresh wind unfortunately resulted in some small damage to the ship and sail. The sail was immediately repaired aboard, so it was ready for the sailing to Norway.
Unfortunately, it turned out that Ottar had an annoying leak. And after a long search, it was found that the leak was below the 16 ton ballast in the cargo room behind the mast.
After consulting the Viking Ship Museum's boatyard, Ottar unfortunately had to interrupt the Sognefjord plans, and sail back to Roskilde.
After a good sailing east of Læsø and west of Anholdt, Ottar is again in the museum harbour, where it is now checked by the boat builders. On Friday 12 July, the boat quild has emptied the 16 tons of ballast stones out of the ship and the area where the ship is leaking has been found.
The boat guilds sail the experiences home
Behind the Viking ships' summer voyages, there are about 300 volunteer boat guild members in the Viking Ship Museum's 7 active boat guilds. They do a great job of maintaining and sailing the ships.
Every summer, the boat guilds sail out on summer voyages. This is where the crew gets the ships under the skin and builds up the skills needed to sail and handle these lovely, admirable ships.
And this is where the Viking Ship Museum has unique opportunities to see the results of our experimental archeological work. See how the reconstructed Viking ships sail - and not least how they age.
Time leaves marks that can lead to new realizations
Ottar was launched in year 2000, and has sailed several long summer vouages to, among others, Gotland and Edinburgh in Scotland. As with everything else that is used, wear occurs.
The wear on the ships reveals whether we use the ships in the same way as in the Viking Age: Are there wear marks in the same places as on the original ship? Can we see if the ships in the Viking Age had similar challenges in the same places on the ship?
It helps to show how close our reconstruction is to the original ship - for the ships were not found with an answer key - no, not even intact - and that is precisely the core of experimental archeology; to try, ask questions, adjust and try again.
The ship's wear reveals whether we are on the right track
When the ship gets worn, it becomes really interesting and it teaches us something. Now the boat builders and the ship's reconstructor can add new pieces to the puzzle. They are forced to look at the original ship again, and consider whether there are other options than the solutions they used at first reconstruction.
You may even have to rethink the construction.
No sailing research without the Viking Ship Museum's voluntary boat guilds
The boat guilds' use of the ships is therefore indispensable for the further work of exploring the Viking ships. They carry out experimental voyages and test sailings and bring lots and lots of knowledge and experience back to the museum's 'data bank' of Viking ship know-how, which we must draw on for future buildings projects.
This year's injuries during the summer voyage are timid, but also incredibly interesting. Now there is documented, pondered, sweaty and sighing - both in the Ottar guild and at the boat yard.
During the winter, this year, thorough 'Nautic-mileage inspection' will be carried out, where the entire ship is reviewed so that it can be decided whether or not to replace planks or nails, so Ottar and the volunteers in the boat guild can complete their dream voyage.
