Military veterans complete Stormbird Viking longboat
Military veterans complete Stormbird Viking longboat
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Military veterans have completed a 30ft replica Viking longboat in a long-running project which boosts their mental health. Over the years, more than 100 former servicemen and women have helped to build Stormbird from an oak which was felled on D-Day in 2018. They have honed the traditional skills of wood-turning, as well as metalwork and other decorations to complete the project which is based in Darlington, County Durham.
Bob Marshall, chief executive of The Viking Boat Company, said the time and concentration required from veterans who have joined the build has helped with their mental health. Countless volunteer hours have been spent crafting the wood to make the replica which is based on a real, preserved Viking craft which was recovered in Denmark in the 1970s. Mr Marshall, who formerly served in the Royal Signal Corps, said: “The boat is a wonderful thing and it’s a beautiful piece of woodwork.
“The project overall is not about making a Viking boat, it’s about helping people to cope with the stress and trauma they have been through and putting it into a perspective that they can manage.”. The team are putting the finishing touches on the boat – which would have been used by Vikings to explore up rivers – and it will be put on the water when weather conditions improve later this year.
