Imagine waking up one morning in Minnesota and announcing to your family that you’re going to build a Viking ship. And you’re going to sail it to Norway. Sounds a little crazy, doesn’t it? But that’s exactly what Robert Asp set out to do back in 1974.

Robert Asp

Robert Asp built his ship as a full-scale replica of the Gokstad Viking ship that I was fortunate enough to see in Oslo, Norway. When I learned that the Hjemkomst Center in Moorhead, Minnesota (right across the river from Fargo, ND), I knew I had to see it. My trip to the Viking Ship Museum was one of the most awe-inspiring museums I’ve visited. What did Moorhead, Minnesota have under that peaked white cover?

Beneath this cover was indeed a life-sized replica of a Viking ship, which makes this a genuine Viking ship! Robert Asp, a middle school counselor in 1974, wanted to build something. Something grand. His dream inspired others and by 1980, the Hjemkomst  was ready to set sail!

But first, they had to knock down the walls of the Hawley shipyard building where Asp and volunteers had painstakingly crafted this Viking ship in order to get the ship out and onto a trailer to haul it to Duluth, Minnesota where it set sail across the Great Lakes before making its way to the Hudson River in New York and out into the Atlantic.

The Voyage

Unfortunately, there were mishaps soon after setting sail in 1980, the most tragic being that Robert Asp had been diagnosed with leukemia that year and could only captain his ship through Lake Superior. He died four months later.

His children and the crew decided to embark on Robert Asp’s original plan to sail to Norway and set sail in May, 1982 from Duluth, Minnesota to Norway. How perfect! Hjemkomst  means “homecoming” in Norwegian and it was Asp’s Norwegian roots that had beckoned him.

It wasn’t long before the Hjemkomst  encountered a storm on the high seas. The tall dragon’s neck and head on the bow was quickly knocked to a 90-degree angle. The crew managed to rein it in with a rope, but one of the dragon’s ears broke off completely. This was alarming; the entire boat was made of the same wood.

They would later discover a crack in the hull, too, after bailing water for hours.

The Hjemkomst  Center

All of these tales and a peek inside the boat’s quarters are on display for visitors along with a short, but fascinating film of the voyage. I enjoyed my time inspecting this ship and reminiscing about all the Viking ships and stories I’d read about in Oslo. This Viking ship is a lot closer to home and is every bit as impressive.

Afterward, I stepped outside to the Stave Church also on display, and though it was beautifully carved, I felt lured back to the Hjemkomst ship as though Robert Asp and his sirens were calling to me…

Can you imagine waking up one day with such a grand dream? What would yours be?