Sail the World’s Largest Viking Ship from Europe to America

viking ship“Draken Harald Hårfagre (that’s “Dragon Harald Fairhair” in English) is a modern interpretation (rather than an accurate replica) of an old Viking longship that was built in Haugesund, Norway, and launched in 2012.

In May next year she will set out on a voyage from Norway to Newfoundland via Iceland and Greenland, and the project organizers have just announced they are accepting applications for volunteer crew.

You need at least two months of free time to do it and presumably should have some sort of useful skill to boost your chances of being selected.

Conditions aboard look to be very Spartan by modern standards, with no shelter except for a tent on deck, but by traditional Viking standards it should be a veritable luxury cruise.”

Read more: Calling all Vikings. More sailboat news.

Barge Haulers on the Volga (1870-1873)

Barge haulers on the volga

Barge haulers on the Volga“, a late 19th century painting by Ilja Repin.

How to Ship an Obelisk

how to ship an obelisk

In the 19th century Egyptian rulers gifted several large 1500BC obelisks to Paris, London and New York, all of which are still standing today. We already know how these things were erected, but how did they get there? The images above and below (from a 1878 article in the French magazine “La Nature”) show the vessel used for the transportation of the fragile 250 tonne heavy granite stone which is now in London.

A special vessel (the “Cleopatra”), was constructed around the obelisk, rolled into the sea, and then towed across the Mediterranean and the Atlantic to England. It sank on the way, but miraculously drifted to shore and was saved. The barge consisted of a steel cylinder enveloped in wood. The Americans, the French, and (much earlier) the Romans used different methods.

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Ship mills

Ship mills on the rhine anton woensam

Boat mills: water powered, floating factories” at Low-tech Magazine. Some extra images below:

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Airplanes & Volcanoes

Screenshot Low-tech Magazine web traffic analysis

Stop searching. They don’t exist anymore.

Floating Citadels, Powered by Wind and Water Mills

floating citadels

This engraving, published in 1798, shows the gigantic St. Malo raft, designed in 1791 during the French Revolution. The engraving informs us that this extraordinary structure was 600 feet long by 300 broad, mounts 500 pieces of cannon, 36 and 48-pounders, and is to convey 15,000 troops for the invasion of England. In the midst is a bomb-proof, metal-sheathed citadel.

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