Home-grown Vikings ahoy!

Writer & Photographer: Sarah Taylor.

The traditionally constructed, sustainable wooden Viking longboat that graced Hermanus New Harbour recently arrived safely at its next port of call, Gordon's Bay, after a successful 11-hour, 40-nautical mile journey, combining rowing and sailing.

The 35-foot (10m) rowing vessel, Midgard 'Heron' is conducting the southern African leg of the expedition, which began in Struisbaai this month and will end in Hout Bay in a few weeks' time.

The expedition’s founder, Bjorn Heyerdahl, is a passionate environmentalist and a grandson of the famous Norwegian anthropologist and explorer, Dr Thor Heyerdahl, whose adventurous spirit Bjørn has clearly inherited.

The traditionally-constructed wooden Viking boat that recently moored at the New Harbour while on the southern African leg of the Midgard Expedition.

Crew members, most of whom are professionals in their fields and have day jobs, will meet up every few weeks or months to complete a section of the route.

Rounding the southernmost tip of Africa at Cape Agulhas was a world first, as the only recorded navigation of this global landmark in a Viking longboat. The longboat will be shipped to Oslo, Norway at a later stage and then continue sailing across to the Caspian Sea, retracing ancient Viking shipping routes.

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