Mystic Seaport and the crew of the Viking longship Draken Harald Hårfagre announced today the ship will be open for public tours in Mystic this summer beginning June 30.
The reconstructed longship sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 2016 to explore and relive one of the most mythological sea voyages: the first transatlantic crossing and the Viking discovery of the New World, more than 1,000 years ago. After crossing the Atlantic, the ship sailed throughout the Great Lakes, down the Erie Canal to New York City, and concluded its voyage at Mystic Seaport where it spent the winter. At each stop along the way, thousands turned out to see this magnificent example of ancient seafaring.
“We are thrilled to partner with one of the leading maritime museums in the US,” said Emanuel Persson, Draken Harald Hårfagre CEO and Expedition Director. “It is an honor to share our ship and story of the Vikings with visitors of Mystic Seaport as we prepare for the next leg of the ship’s American expedition and tour of the US east coast in 2018.”
“The Viking story and their voyages across the Atlantic are part of our shared maritime experience, and we are very excited to be able to partner with the Draken Harald Hårfagre, so they can tell that story firsthand at Mystic Seaport. There is no substitute for actually walking the deck of a ship to understand what it takes to venture across an ocean,” said Steve White, president of Mystic Seaport.
The tours will be available Tuesday and Thursday, 1-5 p.m., and Friday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The last tour each day is at 4:30 p.m. The ship will be closed Mondays and Wednesdays.
Tours will run every 30 minutes and will cost $6 per person (Children age 3 and younger are free). Tickets will be available at the ship and online at www.drakenshop.com. The ticket is in addition to regular admission to Mystic Seaport.
Draken Harald Hårfagre is a clinker-built Viking longship launched in 2012. She is not a replica of a known ship, but is a reconstruction of what the Norse Sagas refer to as a “Great Ship” based on historic documents, archeological findings, and Norwegian boatbuilding traditions. She is the world’s largest Viking ship sailing in modern times.
Draken Harald Hårfagre is an open wooden ship, 115-foot long (35 meters) with a beam of 26 feet (8 meters) and a mast height of 79 feet (24 meters). It carries one large, square sail, which has driven the vessel to a speed of 14 knots. The ship can be rowed by one hundred oarsmen and is equipped with 25 pairs of oars—each oar powered by two crew members. During its transatlantic Expedition America 2016, Draken Harald Hårfagre carried a crew of 32 sailors.
The ship will remain at Mystic Seaport until spring 2018, when the crew plans a tour of the U.S. East Coast. The tours will run through September 4, 2017.
