WE LAUNCHED SLEIPNIR!

On Sunday, March 12, we launched Sleipnir with a crowd of about 80 people attending, some dressed in full Viking attire! KPBS, CBS-8 and the San Diego Union Tribune Newspaper were there to report on the event. It was a complete success, with a speech by Britta Armstrong, Consul Emeritus of Sweden, and a “Sleipnir” story by James Nelson-Lucas.

After launching we did short rowing tours of Mission Bay with 8-10 people aboard, and we learned that she indeed floats, was very stable, and easily moves through the water. The rudder is quite responsive, which is something I was concerned about.

We did not sail, as the rig is not tuned up nor tested, and besides we need to practice before we take people out sailing! Nevertheless the mast was up, as were the pennants of Sweden and Norway, which were raised to much enthusiasm from the crowd.

We found we need to make some alterations to the trailer to make it easier to handle the ship, and once we do that we’ll be going for sails in San Diego harbor.

And after that we’ll plan on taking people out for sailing adventures! I will post when we are ready, so if you are interested in going sailing please start planning: we can take groups of up to 6 at a time.

I have had requests for T-shirts, and they are available in sizes from children’s to 2XL: if you would like one, please send me an email with your phone number so I can call you and get your information. They are $20 each plus $6 shipping per package.

Here is the link to the KPBS story:

https://www.kpbs.org/news/local/2023/03/14/san-marcos-mans-viking-ship-takes-to-the-water-of-mission-bay-for-maiden-voyage

Here are some pictures by Glenn Keith (thank you Glen!) which I really like! If you were at the event and have pictures that you would like to share, please send them to me tom@tomkottmeier.com so I can post them here.

I’m going to set up a public “gallery” where both I and you can post pictures of Sleipnir events for all to see… I think that will be great fun! Again, thanks to Glen for the suggestion!

I am completely blown away by the enthusiasm people have shown about my ship! Never in a million years did I imagine there would be so much interest, and that so many would find the ship so significant personally and culturally! It makes my work so much more meaningful and rewarding. Thank you!