Community

Viking ship Draken Harald Hårfagre set to arrive in Greenport Wednesday

A 115-foot-long Viking ship is set to dock in Greenport Wednesday.

A welcome party will be thrown at 4 p.m. to celebrate the arrival of the Draken Harald Hårfagre, its captain, Björn Ahlander, and his crew. The event is free and open to the public.

Numerous events are planned for the weekend of Aug. 16-18, including a Draken exhibit, deck tours, a lecture with Capt. Björn Ahlander and a screening of the documentary “Expedition America — a Modern Viking Adventure” followed by a Q&A session with the crew.

Deck tours cost $6 for children ages 5 to 15 (children ages 4 and under are free) and $12 for adults and can be purchased online or on-site. The 30-minute tours begin at 10 a.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Tickets for the lecture with Capt. Björn Ahlander and the documentary screening are each $20.

There will also be land-side views of the ship, Draken merchandise, a Highland Park Whisky hospitality tent, local food and beverage vendors and more as part of the Draken Village, which is free and open to the public.

More information on the events is available here. The ship will be docked at S.T. Preston’s dock at 102 Main St. It’s planning to leave at 5 p.m. Saturday.

The Draken Harald Hårfagre hails from Norway and calls itself the “largest Viking ship sailing in modern times.” An open boat with 50 oars and an engine, it has sailed across the Atlantic Ocean.

The crew consists of 35 men and women from all over the world and is currently accepting applications for public volunteer crew positions.

Greenport is the seventh official stop on the ship’s Expedition America: East Coast Tour 2018. Its next stop will be in Ocean City, Md. It launched the tour in July.

Photo caption: The Draken Harald Hårfagre is set to arrive Wednesday in Greenport. (Courtesy photo)

[email protected]