History Forum / General / British History / July 2007

"Vaughan Sanders" <vjs@jamie-san.demon.co.uk> wrote in message news:...

You can follow the Sea Stallion's progress here.

http://www.havhingsten.dk/index.php?id=644&L=1

Four crewmembers have gone down with hypothermia already, must be global
warming; the Vikings didn't have the latest Musto sailing suits.

Apparently two of the crew members are from the BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbhistory/F7679059

Jamie

"The was blowing from the WNW and we were heading round from the
southernmost tip of Norway so were mainly on a NW heading, so yes we were
crossing from the starboard to port tack.

The ship can be tacked just using the sail if the conditions are good, but
generally the oars are used on one side to help bring it around.

Hope that answers your question."

Jamie

"Yup - the wind was blowing them too far south so they had to tack north to
get back on track.

Mind you , the wind has picked up so we're making a good speed now, about 8
knots.

Should get to Orkney around 1am I think.

Enjoy your warm bed!"

"1500 - We had a good nights sail with a gentle but steady following wind.
It was clear but cold.
We've just sailed round Cape Wrath in NW Scotland and are now heading more
southerly.

The plan is to get to make landfall at Lochinver, hopefully tonight.

The swells were less fearsome than expected and the ship handled it
beautifully."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbhistory/F7679059?thread=4389097&latest=1#p51199077

Cape Wrath is derived from "hvarf" (turning point) in Old Norse

Jamie

"We're now moored at Inverie on the Knoydart peninsula. We arrived here in
the early hours of the morning after an eventful night. The wind had died
and the crew had to row most of the way, over 5 hours of rowing in the dark
and in the driving rain. After midnight the wind picked up and the sails
were raised, but then the wind suddenly died. This left the ship at the
mercy of the currents which were driving it towards the rocks. The shore was
close enough to hear the waves crashing in the darkness. The skipper ordered
the sail to be lowered so the oars could be used but a rope got tangled
making that impossible, so they had to get the oars out as quickly as
possible to get clear. They made it but it was closer than anyone would have
liked.

The ship eventually made it to Ineverie where despite arriving after 2am
there was a boistrous crowd there to welcome them. Unfortunately the crew
were too exhausted to join in the party and only just had the energy to make
it to their tents and crash.

Today everyone has been recovering and enjoying the beautiful scenery (in
the brief spells between heavy rain). Good winds are predicted tomorrow and
we'll aim to set off south."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbhistory/F7679059?thread=4410876&latest=1#p51466811

Apparently she goes just as fast with only half the oars deployed, so can be
rowed in shifts.

Jamie

"Vaughan Sanders" <vjs@jamie-san.demon.co.uk> wrote in message news:...

"Sunday - 1400
We've had a great weekend's sailing so far.
We left Knoydart saturday morning with a good easterly wind. We hit some
swells when we left the shelter of Skye but the ship handled it well.

We sailed all day and ended up in a beautiful loch. We stopped on the shore
near Carna island where we'd been invited by the local landlord. The crew
camped in the wild and spent the night singing songs round the campfire and
skinny dipping!

Today they had to row out of the loch with a strong headwind, which meant
lowering the mast. They're now having lunch before raising the sail and
heading onwards to who knows where.

Carna island in Loch Sunart"

I would assume that they are beating out of the Loch at the moment and will
have to go east of the Island of Mull.

Jamie