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Áttamannafar ‘KRÁKAN’

During my research visit at the Viking Ship Museum of Roskilde in 2011 I was drafted for the crew of KRÁKAN on the occasion of the Færøbådskonkurrence 21 at the  Vand & Vind Festival, a rowing & sailing contest. KRÁKAN is a traditional áttamannafar-type fishing boat from the Faroese Islands. Áttamannafar literally translates as 8-man-boat and with a hull length of 7.90 m and a beam of only 1.96m it is primarily a rowing boat, although it also has an auxilliary rig: It carries two lug-sails of a sail area of ca. 10m². Its characteristic brownish-red colour is a reflection of its treatment with a birch-bark extract to make it more resilient to rot. Despite the modest sail area, the boat was also very fast under sails, and indeed very nimble, as the mizzen sail increased the weather- helm which allowed for swift tacking.

A hectic moment: Taking in the oars and setting the sails (Photo: Werner Karrasch).

The Danish Atlantic Challenge team of the SOLIDARITÉ in the foreground and KRÁKAN in the background (Photo: Werner Karrasch).