Last weekend, a replica of one of the most famous Viking ships in the world was called in at the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde on one of its last trips before retirement from seafaring duty.
The Gaia, a reconstruction of the Gokstad ship discovered in Norway in 1880, is coming to the end of its useful lifespan after more than three decades of service.
Just before it arrived at the museum, the Gaia also caught up with the Helge Ask, another famous replica Viking ship.
The biggest Viking ship
Gaia was commissioned by the Norwegian shipping magnate Knut Utstein Kloster during a series of events to celebrate Leif Erikson’s voyage to North America.
The boat was completed in 1989 and is an exact replica of the Gokstad ship, the largest preserved Viking ship ever discovered in Norway. Gaia stands at a length of 23.5 meters and a width of 5.25 meters.
The ship made its first major journey in 1991 when it embarked on an epic transatlantic journey from Norway to America via the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland.
Its final destination? The UN headquarters in New York, with its visit marking the 1,000th anniversary of Leif Erikson’s journey to the American continent.
Since that time, the ship has enjoyed 33 years of ocean and sea-going navigation.
- READ MORE: All you need to know about Viking ships
At Hundested Harbor, the Helge Ask, another Viking ship replica nearing retirement, rested following a summer voyage to Anholt and then joined the Gaia on the final leg to Roskilde. Source: Roskilde Viking Ship Museum
Aging ships in the night
Just before its arrival in Roskilde, the Gaia encountered another notable replica Viking ship, the Helge Ask, at Hundested Harbor, just west of the entrance to the Roskilde Fjord.
The Helge Ask, which is also scheduled for imminent retirement, was resting at the harbor after its summer voyage to Anholt, a Danish island in the Kattegat Strait.
The Gaia, on the other hand, had sailed into Hundested from Halmstad in Sweden before making its way to Roskilde.
After a late arrival the previous night, the crew of the Gaia had been resting most of the day but emerged to welcome the Helge Ask into the harbor.
After a short rest, the Gaia continued its journey to Roskilde the following day, with its counterpart, the Helge Ask, following soon after.
The new Gokstad ship, currently under construction in Tønsberg, promises to be an even better replica than the Gaia, thanks to recent studies. Source: Werner Karrasch / Roskilde Viking Ship Museum
Out with the old, in with the new
The decision to retire the Gaia has been taken due to its age: as a wooden vessel, it has experienced a significant amount of deterioration over time.
While consistent repairs have been made, travel will eventually become too hazardous for longer voyages.
Happily, work on a replacement ship is already underway. The new ship is currently under construction at Tønsberg in Norway, close to the site where the Gokstad ship was discovered, with contributions from the Oseberg Viking Heritage Foundation and Sandefjord Municipality.
The Roskilde Viking Ship Museum is also involved in the work, with its ship reconstructor, Vibeke Bischoff, helping to build the new hull and also supplying technical boat drawings to the boat builders in Tønsberg.
In comments to the Viking Ship Museum’s website, Bischoff noted that thanks to a series of new studies, the team believes the new reconstruction will be even closer to the original Gokstad ship than the Gaia itself.
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