The ships
No port without ships - no Viking port without Viking ships
- Sea Eagle
A smaller version of the Norwegian "Gokstadsskib" - Ravnunge Bork
Copy of ship found at Skulderlev in Roskilde Fjord - Byrjargol
Reconstruction of Norwegian ship from Gokstad - Gere and Freke
Traditional Faroese fishing boats, named after Odin's two wolves.
Read more about the ships further down the page.
White-tailed eagle
The Sea Eagle is a reconstruction of a ship from the excavation at Gokstad in Norway. The ship has 16 pairs of oars, could have a crew of about 35 men and is dated very precisely to 895. The original ship was eventually used as a burial ship. Among the finds in the grave are lifting rings (ship's tents), a horse-drawn carriage, a sleigh, a game board, a chair and various household utensils. The grave is so rich and beautiful that it may have been the grave of a queen in this part of southern Norway.The sea eagle at Bork Vikingehavn is 2/3 the size of the Gokstad ship. Therefore, there are too few oars for it to be a longship, even though it has the hull shape characteristic of a longship. The proud ship has seen a lot in its lifetime: It has traveled to the Faroe Islands, where it was wrecked off Thorshavn. Later it traveled along the Russian rivers all the way to the Black Sea, and now the Sea Eagle is enjoying a well-deserved retirement at Bork Vikingehavn.
- Crew 12 - 20 men
- Material: oak on oak
- Length: 15 meters
- Width: 3.5 meters
- Draft: 0.8 meters
- Sails: square sail, 103 m2
- Number of oars: 9 pairs
- Speed under sail: 14 knots
- Speed for oars: 4-5 knots
- Launched: year 1984
Ravnunge Bork
Ravnunge takes its name from a rune inscription found in the cemetery of Læborg church near Vejen. The inscription reads: "Ravnunge Tue carved these runes after Thyre his queen". The original ship was found in the 'Peberrenden' at Skuldelev in Roskilde Fjord. Five ships were sunk here to block the enemy's entrance to Roskilde. The ship was built at Sognefjord in Norway in 1030. The large number of oars indicates that it is not a ferry or perhaps a whaling ship. At some point the original ship's railing was raised, after which it was used as a cargo ship ('Ravnunge' is a reconstruction of the first period without raised railing).
- Crew: 7-16 men
- Material: pine on oak
- Length: 12 meters
- Width: 2.5 meters
- Draft: 0.6 meters
- Sails: square sail, 27 m2
- Number of oars: 7 pairs
- Speed under sail: 8 knots
- Speed for oars: 4 knots
- Launched: year 2007
Byjagol
Byrjagold is Old Danish and means good tailwind. Byrjagol is a reconstruction of a boat found at an excavation in Gokstad, Norway. The vessel is the largest of three smaller boats found in a large ship and dated to 895. In the original, the stern of the ship "omitted" a set of oar forks, so perhaps the helmsman had his place here. On Bork Vikingehavn we have added the "missing" set on the copy, as we need the extra muscle power in the windy West Jutland. The original is intended for the Norwegian fjords.
- Crew: 5-9 men
- Material: larch on oak
- Length: 9.5 meters
- Width: 1.7 meters
- Draft: 0.5 meters
- Sails: square sail, 16 m2
- Number of oars: 4 pairs
- Speed under sail: 10 knots
- Speed for oars: 4-5 knots
- Launched: year 1994
Gere and Freke
Gere and Freke are Bork Vikingehavn's two ferry boats. "Gere" and "Freke" mean "the ravenous" and "the greedy". These are the names of Odin's two wolves, who always lie at his feet.The wolves eat all Odin's food, he himself makes do with the wine.Gere and Freke are traditional Faroese fishing boats. They were used for jigging on the Atlantic Ocean. The type of boat dates back to
early Middle Ages.
- Crew: 2-5 men
- Material: larch on oak
- Length: 5.3 meters
- Width: 1.4 meters
- Draught: 0.3 meters
- Sails: raw sail, 5 m2
- Number of oars: 2 pairs
- Speed under sail: 6 knots
- Speed for oars: 4 knots
- Launched: year 1999
