Today’s our day for news of unusual travel; the solar plane story below is matched by the saga of a latter-day Viking ship, trying to follow the route of Leif Eriksson, the Scandinavian seafarer who sailed a long route and Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland and likely the East Coast of the United States over 1000 years ago.
With a Swedish captain in charge, the largest Viking ship built in modern times, was delayed a day in departing by bad weather, but will need to make up the time because, the captain told Swedish news, “we’ve got one month because the only gap, if you don’t want to battle low pressure and harsh winds, is May. That’s your chance to make it across.”
Unlike Eriksson’s original journey, the Harald Harfagre will have company on the trip, a modern boat to be on hand in case of trouble. And it has modern navigational aids, but will try not to use them. The boat is sizable: 35 meters, with a 24-foot mast. After that May passage of the Atlantic, it will make its way down the coast to Mystic, CT and New York City by September.
Schedule and more details from TheLocal.no HERE
