In late November, Sète is preparing for a new round of work, as the Viking longship Orkan plans to depart Sète in the month of June. The passionate members of the Bâtir association will sail past Gibraltar on their way to Brest. The journey to the United States has been postponed for a year.
Little by little, we are getting used to seeing Orkan’s sleek profile along the quay of the Republic in Sète. Arriving last November from Toulouse via the Canal du Midi and then from the sea after a transfer to Port-la-Nouvelle, Orkan, the Viking longship, has truly become part of the unique maritime landscape.
Heading to Brest and Nordic countries
His departure will surely leave a void. However, the 500 volunteers of the Bâtir association who built it in Toulouse must continue the adventure. It is in the middle of June that the 28m long sailboat will definitively leave the waterway. “We will head to Gibraltar and then up to Brest,” explains Anne-Laure, one of the core members of the association. “If all goes well, we should then tour the Nordic countries (Norway is being considered). After that, we will return to Brest for the winter.”
Why is the departure a turning point for the volunteers?
The grand departure towards the United States on the path of the Vikings, via Iceland and Greenland, planned for this year, has been shifted to next year. The challenge will be significant as the thirty or so crew members on board will aim to break the speed record set by a Danish longship a few years ago. The Bâtir association believes that Orkan is “the fastest in the world,” thanks to its lightweight design (laminated carbon fiber structure and absence of oars, among others). The initial tests have been successful.
Work to be done and activities to carry out
In the meantime, the volunteers, supported by locals, will begin a new campaign of work by “spartanizing” the sleeping spaces under the deck that must also be waterproofed. At the same time, they are considering activities such as during the stopover in Sète where they offered breakfast in the mornings and some refreshments in the evenings.
