Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Roar Ege rounds Fastnet Rock

Back to the story about Sharp-Tooth-Isle. There are so many beautiful boats to sail. This time - as so often before - I simply logged in to Tradewinds Yacht Club and there she was; I was excited, because I have seen that particular boat many times - in real life. Moored in Roskilde. Sailing in Kattegat.
Back to the roots
It is of course the Roar Ege, aka Skuldelev 3, a viking merchant ship built around 1040 A.D. Beautifully rebuilt from scratch by the Viking ship museum in Roskilde, and now beautifully replicated into SL. I immediately contacted the builder, Linteus Dench and asked for a ride. He responded right away - and next time I logged in, it was time to take Roar Ege down south to the Blake Sea.
Me and Roar Ege rounding the Fastnet Rock in the sunset.
I so wanted to round the Fastnet Rock in Roar Ege; Always thought Captain JP's topbar picture was fantastic. This was my opportunity to take a perfect picture of a historic boat rounding a historic rock. The images are hi-res, so click'em to full screen, lean back and dream a little.
Full speed ahead...
So what's it like sailing Roar Ege? She sails well. Upwind sailing might not be her favourite, but apart from that - it is a pleasure. Easy to handle, nice sounds and the lovely BWind sailing engine for a natural sailing experience. Above I am going south - south-west of the Blake Sea, - after passing the Fastnet Rock. I forgot to note the speed, but from the picture I'd estimate we're close to top speed; The Roskilde site tells me, that's around 8-10 knots.
Have a look at the details.
The boat is full of tiny details, ropes, knots, steering oars and what not; I took a million great pictures and, I'd really like to put them all up here. However, these here will have to do, or the blog will be flooded. Besides, I am off to RL for for some real sailing; What can I say... priorities.
More details
Get a viking ship yourself, and go explore the seas of SL.You can catch a few more pictures of the boat at the Tradewinds blog, if you're hungry for more. I had a great time sailing the Roar Ege, and now I am looking to book a trip in the real thing. Yes, it's possible.

See the amazing view from Fastnet Rock.
Roar Ege is a little too old school for you? Check the Foiling Moth or the Q2m.

4 comments:

  1. Very nice and rather appropriate - Vikings founded Dublin and I saw a full scale replica Viking Ship called Sea Stallion there when visited a couple of years back.

    It had been sailed there from Denmark, so you might have seen it

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  2. Yeah! I've seen Havhingsten in Roskilde. Not sure I ever saw it sailing. Check www.havhingsten.dk if you feel like a reunion.

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  3. Thank you for your words Noodle, really appreciated. BTW, JP, a copy of the sea stallion is moored on SL, near the Roskilde Vikingships Museum replica.
    Good winds!

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  4. Linteus made a very good replica of ancient vessels, all of them has a precoius spirit of past times. I just remember when coming from København hills to the Røskilde fiord, the lanscape become a fabulous bay filled of lil' islands and more hills surrounding the sea. Was in '96 summer.

    Have a look on the link, it worth the sight…
    http://marinasportracersailingclub.posterous.com/?sort=bestmatch&search=linteus
    …and visit Ars Navalis by Linteus Dench.

    Fair winds, Ahoy!!!

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