How It All Began

The Valkyrie Saga

The Valkyrie Saga is a tale about six generations of the Knudsen family — a great grandfather, grandfather, father (Knud) from Denmark, his son David and wife Cynthia, David’s sons Erik and Gerd, and the four grandchildren from Norway and the U.S.

Like sagas of old, this one contains important teachings for its audience. Keeping one’s word, perseverance, patience, integrity, the value of family support, building community and respect for differences are woven through the modern tale.

However, unlike sagas of old, the Valkyrie Saga is also about what is yet to happen. Although the story of the building of the ship with its twists and turns has valuable teachings, the most important content has yet to be written. The names of many of its characters are not yet known, as they will join the saga as it unfolds, bringing their ideas and dreams to be realized.

How It All Started… David’s Historie

Kapittel En (Chapter One)
How It All Started… David’s Historie

David with great grandfather and brother Jeff in Denmark

When I was a young boy I had the opportunity to travel to Denmark and meet my grandfather and great grandfather. I knew little about Denmark other than a few Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales that my father Heinrich read to me at bedtime. I came from a small Pennsylvania working class town. Most of the men worked in the trades, cheered for the Eagles and watched the Ed Sullivan show on Sunday evenings.

I didn’t even know that I had a great grandfather, or even what a great grandfather was, but I remember that he must have been very important and very wise if his name began with Great. He was in his early 90’s with curly gray hair and a twinkle in his eyes. I recall we sat down by the water and he took time to explain to me about our Viking heritage. He talked about what great explorers and traders our ancestors were and how they eventually brought law to Europe.

My great grandfather explained that our ancestors had names like Gorm the Old, Harold Blue Tooth and our direct relative, Knute the Holy, the fourth king of Denmark. Yes, they were all Vikings and they were great sailors, explorers, farmers and warriors. They would load up their sea chests in amazing ships with dragon heads and colorful shields on the sides and travel into unknown worlds for years at a time. I loved to feel a part of something that had so much a call to adventure!

Kapittel To (Chapter Two)
The Promise between a Father And Son

The Promise between a Father And Son

“Knud”

My father, Heinrich N. Knudsen was born in Vejle, Denmark. Because of financial reasons he was forced to leave home at the age of 12 and move to Copenhagen to find work. At the age of sixteen he joined the Merchant Marines and shipped out soon after. Two weeks later, Hitler invaded Denmark. Heinrich spent the next seven years traveling throughout Africa, Russia, the United States and Europe. He rose to the position of Chief Engineer and during that time he was torpedoed on three separate occasions going into the Mediterranean.

I never experienced a close connection with my father. I learned how to shake hands firmly, never share feelings for one another and never hug. Of course, this all felt quite normal at that time. All I knew was that my dad was a hard worker, an honest human being and someone I could always count on.

At the early age of 55 my father contracted Parkinson’s Disease. There was some thought that perhaps he contracted the disease from hauling manganese on the ship. He and my mother Mavis moved to Texas where for 20 years she selflessly and lovingly cared for him in their tiny home. At 75 he began to fade quickly. I remembered what a good friend had shared: “Whatever you do, get through with your father. Say what you need to say to your father before he dies. If not ,you will somehow regret it of the rest of you life”. So I booked a ticket and flew to my father’s home near the border of Mexico.

He was at a point where he could only communicate by blinking once for yes and twice for no. Upon arrival, I walked up to my father, looked him in the eye and told him I loved him very much. He teared up, I teared up and we both began to cry. I gave my father his first hug. It was very moving and I was caught up in the emotion of it all. Spontaneously I promised that I would one day build a Viking Ship to honor him.

Kapittel Tre (Chapter Three)
An Opportunity Presents Itself

An Opportunity Presents Itself

Cynthia and David Knudsen Building a Viking ship! Quite a promise and one that has been at the center of the ship’s long journey. Without this promise, the giving of one’s word, a son to his father, likely the project would not have come to completion. However, in 2010, after 45 years of running a successful wilderness program in Ontario, Canada, David and his wife Cynthia decided it was time to take on a new challenge. With the help of friend Geoff Briggs, a skilled seaman from Port Townsend, David began searching for a craftsmen who could build a Viking ship. As good fortune would have it, they came in contact with Jay Smith, a shipwright from Anacortes who spent many years apprenticing in Norway on the building of Viking ships. With the assistance of master contractor and carpenter, Spencer West, the monumental task began.

A Viking ship seemed the perfect vessel with which to continue the rite of passage work that David and Cynthia were committed to carrying out. Exploring the Salish Sea and eventually sailing the ship through the Inner Passage to Alaska was the exciting vision, providing the ultimate adventure for young people.

Since the first strakes were steamed to create the form for Valkyrie, many people have become a part of this inspiring story. Valkyrie’s saga is not only about the building of a Viking Ship, but also about building a diverse, talented and extremely committed community. Valkyrie has taken on a personality — some would say a soul, with the thousands of hours put into her construction.

Thus began the next chapter. The process of building Valkyrie has been an exhilarating and challenging journey, taking 11 years. The Valkyrie Saga stands for the following values: keeping one’s word, following one’s dream and not giving up no matter how daunting the obstacles.

Pictured: Rocky, Gerd Knudsen, Geoff Briggs

Kapittel Fire (Chapter Four)
The Next Generation…Erik’s Historie

The Next Generation…Erik’s Historie

When I was a young man, a college man, I determined that I would set a goal of being a sailor. I figured that the best time of life for that to occur would be in my fifties. I guess I just figured that by this point in life, I would have enough life experience, travel and adventures to be able enough for a fulfilling and challenging avocation at sea. I was not wrong in that regard.

My boyhood brimmed with outdoor adventures. True and challenging adventures, which culminated in leading many wilderness canoe trips in Canada upon swift rivers that flowed into Hudson’s Bay. While still a boy of nine years, I began to take my first of many wilderness canoe trips, going on increasingly challenging journeys each summer in the Temagami region of Ontario with my family’s program, Langskib Canoe Camp.

Many miles and days away from the docks of our camp, we paddled, swam, fished the waters, cooked our own meals, explored, got sunburnt, portaged our equipment overland, slept in tents and generally had a grand time on the water and land of Northern Ontario. Under the eye of our trip leaders, but sometimes not, we were able to swim rapids, climb trees, bombard stick boats with a barrage of rocks, harass squirrels, skip rocks, have mud fights and play capture the flag, sometimes at night. We collected firewood, tried to dry out our socks and poked sticks into the fire. We learned to drink black coffee.

At the end of such trips, we would return to basecamp. Our half dozen canoes would be evenly spaced in a single file lineup, each of us paddlers proudly and vigorously maintaining our magnificent and smart formation until we reached the shores. Our muscles were strong and our smiles broad. We were always greeted most warmly by everyone at the dock.

After a good home cooked meal, and having gone through our mail and packages, I remember standing just outside of the workshop overlooking the canoe storage racks. The journey was behind us, the packs and equipment had been cleaned and put back away. The next adventures had been scarcely dreamt.

In that moment, in that quiet setting, I paused to recollect my great desire, made palpable by this most recent long canoe journey. With my nine year old voyager companion and best friend Peter standing with me, I silently, breathlessly invoked the ancestors and then made a solemn vow that I would someday sail a Viking ship on the sea! I believe that Odin must have been listening because it is now nearly fifty years later and I am poised to embark on that very journey, first dreamt as a young boy.

In the years subsequent to my youthful canoeing career, I have noticed that most of my journeys in life have continued to take me ever closer to realizing this dream. Sometimes consciously, and often not, I have veered towards this station of being a Viking ship captain. I have given myself to it and have realized along the way that it is all about much more than me. For me, it is an exhilarating, life-affirming adventure. For the world, my deep and enduring hope is that Valkyrie is a vessel for discovery, for peace, and for joy.