Pictured below the four masted barque Viking moored at Lilla Bommen, Gothenburg as hotel “Barken Viking”
ABOUT THE SHIP
Launched 1st December 1906, Viking was originally built as a sail training ship for the rapidly growing Danish merchant fleet. At that time, seaworthiness and cargo capacity were given top priority. In July 1909, while carrying a full cargo of wheat from Australia, Captain Niels Clausen recorded a speed record in the ship’s log: 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph). In 1929 she was registered under the Finnish flag, and joined the Åland-based Erikson fleet where she remained until 1950. Viking was about to be scrapped in the late 1940s, but was eventually saved by the Swedish government in 1950 and moored in Gothenburg.
She participated in several of the Great Grain Races from Port Victoria, South Australia to Falmouth, Cornwall and won the Grain Race of 1948.
Today it is moored at Lilla Bommen, Gothenburg as hotel “Barken Viking”
More information about the ship
David Robb Muirhead, working on the Viking
SPECIFICATIONS
Rig: 4 Masted barque
LOA: 108m
Beam: 14m
Height foremast: 55.5m above deck
Depth: 7.33m
Sail Area: 3690sqm
