There probably won’t be any more posts from me this week. I’m heading up to Moorhead, Minn. tomorrow, for the upcoming Scandinavian festival at the Hjemkomst Museum.

You might be interested to watch the video above, telling the story of the strange adventure that brought the Hjemkomst Viking ship into existence. Bob Asp, a guidance counselor from Moorhead High School, conceived the idea of building a replica Viking ship (based on the Gokstad Ship) and sailing it back to Norway. It seemed like a crazy idea, but he was able to get support and build the ship. Sadly, he did not survive to actually make the voyage, but his sons, his daughter, and others did accomplish it. (I was a young man then; I wish I’d gotten the opportunity to be part of that.)

Today, replica Viking ships are fairly common in the world, but this was (I believe) the first serious attempt to build a true sailing model since the Viking ship that made it to the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Replica ships are archaeological experiments, and we’ve learned things since then that Bob Asp didn’t know – his ship’s example served as a corrective for later builders.

For instance, we know now that Viking ships were built with planks split out of logs in a sort of pie-slice pattern, then planed flat. Bob Asp’s ships used sawn boards, which are less resilient and crack more easily. Also, the Vikings used green wood to build, then let the planks season in place after fastening. This helped them maintain their shape (some of the planks on Asp’s ship, I have read, tended to pop out of place).

Still, Bob Asp had an epic dream and he got it finished. Not everybody can say that.