{"product_id":"hc-dj-copy-44","title":"A Viking Voyage by W. Hodding Carter (HC\/DJ)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eW. Hodding Carter admits he cannot sail a Sunfish, hates to be cold, and panics when he's lost. So why did Carter devote three years of his adult life, not to mention a small fortune, to dodging polar bears and icebergs on an open-decked wooden ship resembling an over-sized canoe?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHe wanted to be a Viking. Obsessed since childhood with Leif Eriksson and his triumphant voyage a thousand years ago from Greenland to North America, Carter hatched the admittedly crazy idea of reenacting Erikson's voyage in a replica of the precarious square-rigged Viking cargo ship known as a knarr. Never mind that he had a wife, twin daughters, and another baby on the way. Carter was going to make it happen. This enthralling, inspiring, occasionally hair-raising, and genuinely hilarious book is the account of how he pulled it off.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWith funding from Lands' End and expertise gleaned from Viking enthusiasts all over the world, Carter had the knarr constructed by an eccentric boat builder on a small Maine island. He then arranged to have the Snorri, as he dubbed the craft, shipped to the southern tip of Greenland, where he and his grab-bag crew of eleven would embark in midsummer. The departure was inauspicious, to say the least: for two solid weeks, the Snorri tacked back and forth in the windy fjord by Erik the Red's ancient farm, covering a grand total of eighty miles.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAlthough that first attempt ended in defeat in the middle of the Davis Strait, Carter, his prudent red-haired captain, and their crew were not about to surrender. The next summer, in even worse weather, the Snorri was back on course and these latter-day Vikings were ready to handle anything Mother Nature dished out atop the icy, open sea.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWell, almost anything . . .\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBy turns thrilling and slapstick, sublime and outrageous, A Viking Voyage is an unforgettable adventure story that will take you to the heart of the most magnificent, unspoiled territory on earth, and even deeper, to the heart of a journey like no other. A celebration of the people and places Carter visits and a treasure-trove of fascinating Viking lore, this is a mesmerizing story of friendship and teamwork--and of accomplishing a goal that once seemed impossible.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Friends of the St Mary's County Library","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48671559123193,"sku":"0138","price":3.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0475\/5806\/6334\/files\/101_9129.jpg?v=1784133033","url":"https:\/\/folstmarys.com\/products\/hc-dj-copy-44","provider":"Friends of the St Mary's County Library","version":"1.0","type":"link"}