How to launch a Viking ship to sea (or bay)? With mead, and wishes of blessings from Norse gods, and lots of hoopla, of course.
How, after retiring in 2018, he came in “like Swedish clockwork” at 9 a.m. sharp every day, said Karl Miethke, 61, of Vista, who watched Kottmeier, who is of Swedish descent, begin to construct the boat at a cultural nonprofit that provided space for the project. That was in early 2020, and the nonprofit was the Sons of Norway Lodge in Vista.
How friends rallied and helped: his companion in shipbuilding, Ivar Schoenmeyr, hammered in more than a thousand copper rivets and used his engineer’s mind to solve problems. Bradley Jensen, a lawyer, drafted up a liability waiver for the boat’s passengers with a Viking twist. On Sunday, the big moment came. Was the Sleipnir seaworthy?
A little before noon, under a blustery sky that seemed lent from Sweden or Norway for the occasion, Kottmeier and a joyful bunch of Scandinavians, Viking impersonators, sailors, children, fellow dreamers and intrigued onlookers met up at the De Anza Cove boat launch ramp in Mission Bay for the boat’s maiden voyage.“In the name of Odin, we name you Sleipnir,” his two granddaughters said in unison and poured fragrant mead over the boat.
Some people cheered as the boat took to the water and rowers started guiding it toward a nearby dock.
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