Sebbe Als
Encyclopedia
Sebbe Als is a replica of a Viking ship
, Skuldelev
wreck no. 5. She is the oldest sailing 'fiver' in Denmark.
A sailing trip with the Imme Gram and the then newly found Skuldelev wrecks became the inspiration for the creation of Sebbe Als.
She was built by a group of local volunteers, a large group of which were the local Scouts of Augustenborg
, and was launched in 1969.
The drawings were the first crude drawings, coming from the Skuldelev archaeological dig. The archaeologists were very keen on having an accurate replica, as the finished ship would provide invaluable information about the Viking ships in general.
She was built with copies of the original tools, mainly adze
s, manufactured by the local blacksmith after Viking age finds.
There was not a local shipyard with sufficient room, so she was built in a loaned building, in the then-existing Augustenborg Lumber Yard. Here she was also stored for the winter.
When the lumber yard was closed, and a new yacht harbour built in its place, a naust (a traditional Norwegian boathouse) was built about half a nautical mile from the harbour, on the south coast of the firth. Every winter Sebbe Als is pulled into the naust for storage and maintenance. This is quite a task, as everything is done by hand. She can be hauled up by 20-25 people, but more are better.
Sebbe is square-rigged, meaning that she has a big, roughly square sail
hung under a yard. A square sail is the simplest way of creating a large sail area on a relatively low mast
. During unfavourable winds, or manoeuvering in harbour or other confined spaces, she has propulsion in the form of oars.
Sebbe Als is owned by "Vikingeskibslaget Sebbe Als" ("The Sebbe Als Viking Ship Guild"), which is a self-owned association. The members are distributed all over Denmark, and some even in the neighbouring countries. It is not unusual for members from Aalborg
, Copenhagen
or Odense
to arrive for a sailing trip, or to do some maintenance.
Most of the maintenance and repair work is done in 'work weekends' during the winter.
The Guild also owns a smaller Viking ship - or, correctly, a Fareoe boat - the Ottar Als, that is used for training, or simply for pleasure.
A small GRP
boat with an outboard engine, Fie Als, is used as safety- and tugboat on longer trips, or trips with an unskilled crew. Fie is generally not used as pleasure craft. The awareness of the environmental impact is rather high in the Guild.
The Guild is currently accepting new members. No previous maritime training is needed, only willingness to learn.
Following the experiments, the shipbuilders of the Viking age have earned much respect. Sebbe Als is not very good at tacking
, at the best of times she goes only 45 degrees to the wind, but the speed is impressive, as she is approximately twice as fast as the original calculations indicated. She can easily run 12 knots (23.5 km/h) on a half wind. A motivated crew can row her to about 6 knots (11.8 km/h), and it is faster to row her straight against the wind than tacking. Sailing her at high speed has a definite 'fighter plane' feel.
Many of the experiences gained from the use of Sebbe Als has proved useful in the construction and handling of other replicas, including Havhingsten fra Glendalough
("Sea Stallion from Glendalough").
The type of ship is so unusual nowadays, that the Danish Maritime Authority - with great respect for the ship - has set special rules for crew and equipment. As an example, despite the low tonnage of the ship, the ship's master must at least hold a license as Yacht Master 3rd. class, and the ship must have a crew of at least 11. The rules are revised every few years.
Very often the ship is used for a quiet evening trip, for the purpose of a small picnic and a good time with other Guild members. On these trips, usually the ship is anchored in front of Augustenborg Castle. Now and again it has happened that these trips have occurred simultainously with a musical performance at the Castle, for example, by Eric Clapton
or Roger Waters
.
The longest sailing trip went from Hedeby (Haithabu - a trading city from the Viking age) in Schleswig-Holstein
, Germany
to Kaupang
(another Viking age trading city) in the Oslo
Firth, Norway
. The trip was made in order to put an old Viking saga
to the test. A Viking skipper claimed to have made the trip in just 5 days and 5 nights (120 hours). In the summer of 1972 Sebbe Als and her crew did the trip in 114 hours, and proved the veracity of the old saga.
The longest travel went to USA - she participated in the bicentennial
celebrations in 1976, mainly sailing on the Hudson River
at New York
. The event is still seen as cheating - Sebbe did not cross the Atlantic under sail, but as deck cargo on a modern ship. The crew traveled by air.
She and her crew are often used as actors in film or TV productions about the Viking age.
Viking ship
Viking ships were vessels used during the Viking Age in Northern Europe. Scandinavian tradition of shipbuilding during the Viking Age was characterized by slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together...
, Skuldelev
Skuldelev ships
The Skuldelev ships is a term used for 5 Viking ships recovered from Peberrenden by Skuldelev, c. 20 km north of Roskilde in Denmark. In 1962, the remains of the ships were excavated over 4 months . The recovered pieces constitute 5 types of ships and have been dated to the 11th century...
wreck no. 5. She is the oldest sailing 'fiver' in Denmark.
Construction
She was built by a group of local volunteers, a large group of which were the local Scouts of Augustenborg
Augustenborg
Augustenborg is a town with a population of 3,279 on Als Island in Sønderborg Municipality, Region of Southern Denmark in Denmark. The town lies at the head of Als Fjord. To the east is the Little Belt...
, and was launched in 1969.
The drawings were the first crude drawings, coming from the Skuldelev archaeological dig. The archaeologists were very keen on having an accurate replica, as the finished ship would provide invaluable information about the Viking ships in general.
She was built with copies of the original tools, mainly adze
Adze
An adze is a tool used for smoothing or carving rough-cut wood in hand woodworking. Generally, the user stands astride a board or log and swings the adze downwards towards his feet, chipping off pieces of wood, moving backwards as they go and leaving a relatively smooth surface behind...
s, manufactured by the local blacksmith after Viking age finds.
There was not a local shipyard with sufficient room, so she was built in a loaned building, in the then-existing Augustenborg Lumber Yard. Here she was also stored for the winter.
When the lumber yard was closed, and a new yacht harbour built in its place, a naust (a traditional Norwegian boathouse) was built about half a nautical mile from the harbour, on the south coast of the firth. Every winter Sebbe Als is pulled into the naust for storage and maintenance. This is quite a task, as everything is done by hand. She can be hauled up by 20-25 people, but more are better.
Sebbe is square-rigged, meaning that she has a big, roughly square sail
Sail
A sail is any type of surface intended to move a vessel, vehicle or rotor by being placed in a wind—in essence a propulsion wing. Sails are used in sailing.-History of sails:...
hung under a yard. A square sail is the simplest way of creating a large sail area on a relatively low mast
Mast (sailing)
The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
. During unfavourable winds, or manoeuvering in harbour or other confined spaces, she has propulsion in the form of oars.
Ownership
Aalborg
-Transport:On the north side of the Limfjord is Nørresundby, which is connected to Aalborg by a road bridge Limfjordsbroen, an iron railway bridge Jernbanebroen over Limfjorden, as well as a motorway tunnel running under the Limfjord Limfjordstunnelen....
, Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
or Odense
Odense
The city of Odense is the third largest city in Denmark.Odense City has a population of 167,615 and is the main city of the island of Funen...
to arrive for a sailing trip, or to do some maintenance.
Most of the maintenance and repair work is done in 'work weekends' during the winter.
The Guild also owns a smaller Viking ship - or, correctly, a Fareoe boat - the Ottar Als, that is used for training, or simply for pleasure.
A small GRP
Glass-reinforced plastic
Fiberglass , is a fiber reinforced polymer made of a plastic matrix reinforced by fine fibers of glass. It is also known as GFK ....
boat with an outboard engine, Fie Als, is used as safety- and tugboat on longer trips, or trips with an unskilled crew. Fie is generally not used as pleasure craft. The awareness of the environmental impact is rather high in the Guild.
The Guild is currently accepting new members. No previous maritime training is needed, only willingness to learn.
Experiments
The wreck of Skuldelev no. 5 was so well preserved, that wear marks from the original rig could be found. Sebbes mast and rig was reconstructed from these marks, but it was still necessary to experiment to clear many of the details. As a result, Sebbe now has a 45 m² square sail with only the top yard, and the steering oar has an angle of approx. 25° instead of the vertical position originally planned.Following the experiments, the shipbuilders of the Viking age have earned much respect. Sebbe Als is not very good at tacking
Tacking
Tacking may refer to:*Tacking or coming about, a sailing maneuver*Tacking , a technical legal concept relating to competing priorities between security interests arising over the same asset...
, at the best of times she goes only 45 degrees to the wind, but the speed is impressive, as she is approximately twice as fast as the original calculations indicated. She can easily run 12 knots (23.5 km/h) on a half wind. A motivated crew can row her to about 6 knots (11.8 km/h), and it is faster to row her straight against the wind than tacking. Sailing her at high speed has a definite 'fighter plane' feel.
Many of the experiences gained from the use of Sebbe Als has proved useful in the construction and handling of other replicas, including Havhingsten fra Glendalough
Havhingsten fra Glendalough
thumb|275px|Havhingsten fra Glendalough in Roskilde Harbour, 2005Havhingsten fra Glendalough is a Danish reconstruction of Skuldelev 2, one of the Skuldelev ships. The original ship was built around 1042 near Dublin.The original ship was built with oak from Glendalough, Wicklow, Ireland, hence...
("Sea Stallion from Glendalough").
The type of ship is so unusual nowadays, that the Danish Maritime Authority - with great respect for the ship - has set special rules for crew and equipment. As an example, despite the low tonnage of the ship, the ship's master must at least hold a license as Yacht Master 3rd. class, and the ship must have a crew of at least 11. The rules are revised every few years.
Use
Every year Sebbe Als undertakes a summer cruise, usually of 1 - 3 weeks duration, and has traveled along most of the Danish and north German coasts. Smaller sailing trips happen in accordance with the choice of the Guild's members, whenever a crew with skipper can be assembled. When the weather allows, every Thursday at 1700 a training trip starts from Augustenborg dam: if there are 3 to 10 people, Ottar is used, if 11 or more, Sebbe.Very often the ship is used for a quiet evening trip, for the purpose of a small picnic and a good time with other Guild members. On these trips, usually the ship is anchored in front of Augustenborg Castle. Now and again it has happened that these trips have occurred simultainously with a musical performance at the Castle, for example, by Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
or Roger Waters
Roger Waters
George Roger Waters is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. He was a founding member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, serving as bassist and co-lead vocalist. Following the departure of bandmate Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became the band's lyricist, principal songwriter...
.
The longest sailing trip went from Hedeby (Haithabu - a trading city from the Viking age) in Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to Kaupang
Kaupang
Kaupang was in Old-Norwegian a word that means a market-place. It is today used as a name of the first urban market-place in the area that today is Norway, also named Kaupang in Skiringssal...
(another Viking age trading city) in the Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
Firth, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. The trip was made in order to put an old Viking saga
Saga
Sagas, are stories in Old Norse about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, etc.Saga may also refer to:Business*Saga DAB radio, a British radio station*Saga Airlines, a Turkish airline*Saga Falabella, a department store chain in Peru...
to the test. A Viking skipper claimed to have made the trip in just 5 days and 5 nights (120 hours). In the summer of 1972 Sebbe Als and her crew did the trip in 114 hours, and proved the veracity of the old saga.
The longest travel went to USA - she participated in the bicentennial
United States Bicentennial
The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to the historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic...
celebrations in 1976, mainly sailing on the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
at New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The event is still seen as cheating - Sebbe did not cross the Atlantic under sail, but as deck cargo on a modern ship. The crew traveled by air.
She and her crew are often used as actors in film or TV productions about the Viking age.
External links
- Vikingeskibslaget Sebbe Als (in Danish)
- The school service about Skuldelev 5 (in Danish)