CAPE CHARLES, Va. (WVEC) — A replica Viking ship that has been making stops along the East Coast this summer is coming to Cape Charles.
The Cape Charles Harbor Master announced the Draken Harald Harfagre is expected to arrive in Cape Charles harbor Thursday evening.
The ship is called "the world's largest Viking ship sailing in modern times," according to its website.
The ship was scheduled to be in Norfolk last weekend, but Hurricane Florence resulted in a change in plans.
The crew will be opening the ship to the public in Cape Charles starting Saturday and continuing Sunday and Monday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day, according to the harbor master's announcement.
Tickets to tour the ship are available dockside and online at www.drakenhh.com
There will be displays, memorabilia to purchase, crew interaction dockside and evening events including crew lectures and screening of a documentary. The location of the evening events is still to be determined, the harbormaster said in the announcement.
"This is an amazing piece of history so let the crew members take you on a deck tour, visit their exhibition and souvenir shop, enjoy a screening of the new Draken documentary film, 'Expedition America – a modern Viking Adventure,' and come and listen to Captain Björn Ahlanders lecture about the adventurous expeditions," it said.
PHOTOS: World's largest operating Viking ship
The ship is named after Harald Hårfagre, the king who unified Norway, according to the ship's website.
The ship's 2018 East Coast tour started July 9 in Mystic Seaport, Connecticut, the website said.
The Draken is scheduled to visit 14 harbors on the East Coast, from Maine to South Carolina. The ship was in Ocean City, Maryland, in August.
It is sailing down the Chesapeake Bay from its last stopover, in St. Michaels, Maryland, to Cape Charles.
Its stay in Norfolk has now been rescheduled for Sept. 27-30.
Draken Harald Hårfagre is a clinker-built Viking longship. It is not a replica of a known ship, but is a reconstruction of what Norse Sagas refer to as a “Great Ship," according to a description on the website.
The ship is 115 feet long, with a beam of 26 feet and a mast height 79 feet.
Its top speed under sail is 14 knots, or the ship can be rowed by one hundred oarsmen. The ship is equipped with 25 pairs of oars — each oar is powered by two people.
It has a crew of around 24 people from all over the world.
The ship's hull is made of oak, the mast is of Douglas fir, and the sail is made of silk, with hemp rigging.
In 2008, the Norwegian entrepreneur Sigurd Aase initiated the construction of the ship. Construction started in March 2010.
Its home port is Haugesund, Norway, Aase's hometown and the homeland of the Viking kings, according to the website.
“The aim of the Draken Harald Hårfagre project is to explore the world and embrace the Viking spirit — to look beyond the horizon and seek adventure and to inspire people to take on challenges,” according to Aase.
Tickets for deck tours are $12 each for adults, $6 for children 5-16, or $30 for a family pack, which includes two adults and up to three children.
