Replica Viking Ship May Fall Short Of Duluth's Tall Ships Fest
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A ship claiming to be the largest Viking ship in modern times has sailed all the way from Norway, but may not end up making an appearance at a popular Duluth festival.
The Draken Harald Hårfagre is a 114-foot-long edifice, named after King Harald Fairhair, who organizers of the ship's voyage pointed out united Norway into one kingdom.
The ship's captain, Björn Ahlander, said there would be "great disappointment for us and more importantly to the people we already committed to" if they couldn't make the series of festivals throught the Great Lakes, including Tall Ships Duluth, which is scheduled for August 18-21.
Ahlander said that the ship's project to sail from Norway into North America this summer was in jeopardy because they lacked the funding necessary to traverse the entire Great Lakes.
The Star Tribune reported that it would require $400,000 from them to secure a guide through the Great Lakes.
"We wanted to be able to bring the ship to the people. We are overwhelmed with the interest and engagement people have in our project and we will fight to continue this expedition," he said.
While the crew said they were working to continue on, the owner and curator of the Draken Harald Hårfagre, Sigurd Aase, said that the ship would be forced to leave the Great Lakes if funding was not available to pay the necessary fees.
The Star Tribune said efforts are underway in Duluth and other cities to seek a waiver for those fees, and a petition has gone up on Change.org.
