Renaming Ceremony Update

Two days till our Renaming Ceremony! 
Preparations are well underway and it looks like we’ve attracted the attention of some real life Vikings! Mitch Luke and his friends (from the medieval reenactment group, Iron guard) will be travelling down from the Blue Mountains this Thursday to attend the ceremony. They are sure to add a touch of authenticity to the event in their full Viking costume, beards and all!

Renaming Ceremony Update

Nine days and counting till the Viking longship renaming ceremony, SAGA ETERNITY. 
Whether rain, hail, lightning or shine the ceremony will be held on the 20th of March, 6pm till 8pm, during the Autumnal Equinox. Who knows, a big weather event could make a true connection between the longship and the environment - a fitting beginning to the Aegir's enVironmental mission (the capital v is for Viking!). Our Artistic Director/President Anna is finalising the banner design as we speak - below is a sneak preview. This will be the banner that everyone will be invited to sign on the evening. Promises to be a fun event. Bring a picnic!

Location:  

• Come along and help commemorate a new beginning. The renaming will occur at sunset - 7:06 pm.

Bicentennial Park

2 Chapman Road, Annandale, New South Wales, Australia 2037

View Map · Get Directions

Saga Eternity

PHBC is creating a special maritime cultural event that everyone can be involved in. Be a part of the Viking Ship Renaming ceremony for our viking longship. We need your ideas! Check it out and get involved here!

Jorgen Jorgenson - ANMM video

The Australian National Maritime Museum has made a nice little video documenting some of the work carried out on the ship, sponsored by them, leading up to the Vikings – Beyond the Legend exhibition.
Click here to watch the video on Youtube.

Communicare Inc.

PHBC would like to acknowledge the invaluable long-term support that Communicare Inc. Rozelle have provided the club’s programs, in particular the club’s Viking Longship Project.

Back in 2010, Hanna Marzec from Communicare immediately saw the unique potential of the Viking Longship Project to engage with program participants and the broader community, and, together with the club, developed work experience programs connected to the ship. Since then, Communicare have provided three years of committed and passionate interest in the Viking Longship Project and related PHBC activities. Without their support the club would not have been able to engage the participants that we have. Other organisations such as the Salvation Army have since joined to support these programs.

We are thrilled that Communicare have also extended ongoing support for this exciting project as it moves into new stages of activity and engagement on Sydney Harbour and offshore.

ANMM Vikings Exhibition - Beyond the Legend

Earlier this year the Australian National Maritime Museum approached the PHBC requesting the use of our ship as centrepiece for their Vikings - Beyond the Legend exhibition (September 2013 - February 2014). We were thrilled by this proposal and began a partnership process to facilitate this.

In the months leading up to the exhibition, the ANMM supported the ship through an accelerated restoration process to prepare her for display at Darling Harbour. They provided materials, labour and services, as well as wages for our shipwright to do some vital work on the ship. Check out the museum's Curator Blog for photos and info about this period of work on the ship.

This amazing opportunity has provided the Longship Project's progress a massive leap forward. New partnerships, exposure, as well as works completed on the ship are all wonderful outcomes, helping propel the ship rapidly towards becoming a fully functioning sail training vessel in Sydney and beyond.

Thankyou to the ANMM, and all sponsors and supporters who came on board at this time. 

Ship components completed during this time include:

• Fish for the mast and boom crutch 
  
   

• Steering oar
  
   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Complete strip-back and new coatings inside and out 
  

• Mast and rigging 
  
   

• Lightweight sail 
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• Thirty-two sea chests and shields 
   

Our Sister Ship, The GAIA - Ambassador for Children and the Environment

Our sister ship, the Gaia, was built in 1990 in Bjørkedalen, on the west coast of Norway.  Like our ship, the Jorgen Jorgenson, the Gaia is a replica of the original Gokstad ship. 

In 1991 the Gaia sailed to North America, with the aim of drawing attention to the world’s environmental problems and the future world of our children. In New York, the Gaia was appointed Ambassador for all the children in the world. The Gaia team worked with the UN to develop the ship as a platform for environmental work focused on children.  While voyaging to Rio for a UN conference, the Gaia received thousands of drawings and messages sent by children to world leaders, which were passed on. 

Today, the Gaia is based in Sandefjord, Norway, where she has a regular crew who continue her work with environmental education and children. Programs are in place which welcome participants to learn about maintenance of the ship as well as sailing. People from across the community, young and old, are invited on day sails, weekend trips, or for an annual two-week trip during summer. Those trips must be, without a doubt, truly unforgettable sailing experiences for anyone lucky enough to join them. 

How does this relate to our project here in Sydney?

We envisage the future of the Jorgen Jorgenson as a vessel offering inspiration, education and experience for children in our communities. Children hold the future in their hands, and they need, more than anything else, opportunities for real engagement with the world around them. 

The enthralling, hands-on nature of sailing a traditional ship such as ours allows learning experiences to be experiential, new and exciting. Sailing the Jorgen Jorgenson will offer vital and powerful real life participation, in an age where the digital realm is so prominent in many children’s lives. This “doing” can lead to deeper understanding and capacity for engagement.

Sailing trips on the Jorgen Jorgenson, both on Sydney Harbour and at sea, will include opportunities to learn first-hand about:

- water quality
- marine animal and plant life
- weather patterns
- whale watching
- pollution
- and the impact our daily lives on the land can have on all of this…


Young children will benefit from being aboard the ship as it travels like a snake through the water, immersed in the wonderful world of a traditional wooden boat in action, and older children can try their hand at rowing, pulling on ropes, and bailing. Being ‘part of the crew’ can also provide invaluable experiences of comradery and self-worth for any person, young or old.

We hope that, with support, the Jorgen Jorgenson - like the Gaia - can be a core from which communication and networks within and across our communities develop, and awareness of the importance of our relationship with our environment can grow. 

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