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Two headed horse


"I counsel thee, Stray-Singer, accept my counsels,
they will be thy boon if thou obey'st them,
they will work thy weal if thou win'st them:
hold never in scorn the hoary singer;
oft the counsel of the old is good;
come words of wisdom from the withered lips
of him left to hang among hides,
to rock with the rennets
and swing with the skins."

Håvamål   133
The Counseling of the Stray-Singer

Ship petroglyph

The British Columbia Viking Ship Project

Digital Norseman: BC Viking Ship - Munin Viking Ship at Sundown

As the past Chairman of the British Columbia Viking Ship Project, it is my pleasure to welcome you to these pages!

I was Chairman in 1999 through 2001 which was the important period when we started the project, got things moving and finally launched the 40 foot Viking Ship "Munin".

BCVSP logo

If you're in a hurry, all the pictures start here.

"Munin's" 10th Birthday Celebration June 1-7, 2011

Munin is celerating her 10th anniversary this summer. Check the event calendar here and join the crew, if you wish, to help plan, organize and carry out the celebration.

Key links in the left sidebar

In the sidebar to the left you will find links to information about the project itself and to the large picture gallery documenting all the stages from dream to launch of "Munin".

"Munin's" heritage

"Munin" is a half scale replica of the Norwegian "Gokstad Ship". The "Gokstad Ship" is about 79 feet long and was found amazingly well preserved in an old Viking grave. It is currently on display at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, Norway.

How we got here

You can read the fuller background on the British Columbia Viking Ship Project here. The short version is that we started clearing the ground for the building site in July of 2000 and launched "Munin" on July 7, 2001 52 weeks later.

Quite a feat considering we started with $0 money down and raised about CAD$25,000 along the way one dollar at a time. All thanks to a truly great team of dedicated people who stepped up to the challenge and saw it through to a very successful end.

"Munin" today

"Munin" is moored at the Vancouver Maritime Museum and sails the Vancouver harbour waters several times per week year round although the weather does have its say about when not to go out.

The Vancouver Maritime Museum has been a great supporter right from the start and we did several events with the Museum. Without their generous donation of moorage space at their dock "Munin" would not be as easily accessible for excursions. This is a great benefit for all.

One of our key objectives for the British Columbia Viking Ship Project was to build an exiting cultural asset that could inspire people and instill a renewed interest in their cultural heritage. I thin it is safe to say that we accomplished this. We get more requests for appearances in events that we can safely handle. But we do our best.

We estimate 4-500 people now get a chance to row and sail a Viking Ship every year. What a treat. If you find yourself in Vancouver, you can go out with the team.

Row and sail in "Munin"

If you're interested and find yourself in the area, you can contact the "Munin" crew at the official email contact address:

vikingship.ca@gmail.com

and book a berth on the next sailing.

I should also tell you that the team has another "Munin" site that they maintain themselves. They have their own collection of pictures as well, of course.

Post script

I have hosted "Munin" since the inception which is my way of staying in touch as a supporter of the project even though I am no longer living in Vancouver and am thus prevented from taking an active part .

This site serves an important purpose, still, as the only site preserving a full picture archive of the building process and other important project details.

I hope you enjoy your browsing!

 

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