The fastest longship in the world is being built in the heart of Toulouse
A group of Viking enthusiasts have settled at the Pont des Demoiselles to build the fastest longship in the world. Boarding scheduled for early May 2024 to cross the Atlantic.
It all starts with a group of friends in high school. Teenagers have fun building all kinds of objects. Growing up and not to lose sight of each other, they decide to create a common project.
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Passionate about history, the Batar, thus nicknamed, then plunged into the universe of the Vikings and built catapults, and even longships. Today more ambitious than ever, they decide to create the fastest drakkar in the world. Against 80,000 euros of materials for their previous boat construction, this new project will cost two million euros. The sail now measures 25 m2 and weighs 60 kg. But they are allocated 187 m2 for the next one. This boat, whose construction will begin at the end of 2022, will be 28 meters long and 6 meters wide. “It is the northern route that the Vikings would have taken a thousand years ago that our Toulouse Vikings will follow to reach New York”, explains Alex Arnaud, a representative of the Batar, “the journey will last between one and two months and will pass through Iceland where we will spend a maximum of 6 days without touching land. »
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Copy of an ancient longship
In a Scandinavian museum, longship wrecks are fished out and renovated. From these wrecks, plans are drawn. Plans that the Batars, like many other Viking boat enthusiasts, came to look for to build their model.
If the plans are original, the materials vary according to the objectives. The Toulouse boat will benefit from recent materials which will allow an increase in speed and will make it the fastest longship in the world.
The boat is being built in the dry dock, where the barges that sail on the Canal du Midi are maintained. The place is thus perfectly placed to leave on the canal towards Bordeaux and reach the Atlantic Ocean. Work has already started.
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