Viking vessel lands in Ireland over 900 years later

DUBLIN, Aug 14 (Reuters) A reconstructed Viking ship pulled into Dublin today nearly 1,000 years after the original sank off Denmark's coast, with its crew retracing the gruelling voyages made by marauding Nordic raiders on Ireland.

The Sea Stallion's weather-beaten, 65-member team set sail from Roskilde in Denmark on July 1 using oar and sail power, journeying over 1,000 nautical miles and aiming to address unanswered questions about Viking ship-building and travel.

Church bells rang out and a flotilla of sail boats greeted the arrival of the boats entry into Dublin's port today.

''You have come here on a voyage of discovery,'' said Dublin's Lord Mayor Paddy Bourke as the vessel and its mixed volunteer crew docked.

Crafted from the wood of 300 oak trees, the 30-metre long, 4-metre wide Sea Stallion is the world's largest reconstructed Viking vessel, its builders say.

The original ship was built in Dublin in 1042 but sank 30 years later in Roskilde fjord, around 50 km south of Copenhagen, and lay there until excavation began in 1962. The Sea Stallion was completed in 2004 after work started in 2000.

In an ambitious project, the Sea Stallion aimed to mirror the conditions faced by the feared Nordic warriors who unleashed bloody raids on Ireland and England 1,000 years ago.

The ship's captain, Carsten Hvid, said the toughest moment was coming into the Irish Sea, as high winds and 5 metre waves battered the boat.

''We put on our survival suits and prepared the life rafts,'' Hvid, told reporters after arriving in Dublin. ''No one was washed aboard.'' The vessel was towed for a small part of the trip. Most of the voyage was spent braving the elements on an open deck, with just a square metre of living space for each crew member.

Some of the assembled team spent stints on a support ship due to hypothermia or minor injuries.

''You were so tired, but you still had to work together. It has been a great experience,'' said Hvid.

In the old sagas, it was not uncommon for Viking captains to spend weeks, months, or even an entire winter, waiting for the weather to shift in their favour.

''There was cold, lashing rain on some days from the morning until the following morning,'' the ship's project manager Prieben Rather Sorensen told Reuters.

''We did not have the time that the Vikings had as we had to be here today,'' he added. ''That was one of the challenges.'' Researchers will analyse the data that was gathered during the voyage from an onboard computer and film that was shot.

The vessel will go on display this month at Dublin's National Museum until next year when a crew, captained by Hvid, will make the return voyage home.

Sorensen said he was already counting down the days to setting sail again. ''It is like a narcotic -- you cant live without it,'' he said.

REUTERS RSA KP2325