ROWING LIKE THE ANGLO-SAXONS
The pitch-black wooden boat, with its flat, broad body and high prow and stern forms an ethereal presence gliding along the River Deben or moored in its resting place beneath the Woodbridge Tide Mill.
The trappings of a modern rowing boat are missing – there are no sliding seats, footplates or even gates for the oars – but Sae Wylfing ,the nearest thing to an AngloSaxon rowing experience, slips effortlessly through the water under the power of its eight rowers, and turns on a sixpence with its vast side rudder.
Its distinctive curled leaf silhouette means that the oars are of differing lengths, and they sit against a thole, a wooden crest of a wave, loosely tied with a rope and toggle. The oarsmen sit on wooden planks and, one behind the other, are restricted in how far they can reach for the length of their stroke.
It’s easy to get into a rhythm, listening to water lapping alongside with the narrow spoon of the oar tapping in and out, but the visibility for the helmsman seeking hazards ahead is restricted by a high prow.
Double the length, spanning 90 feet in total, with a crew five times the size, there are many more considerations in rowing the full-size reconstruction of the Sutton Hoo ship.
“We don’t know how they would get into the boat,” says Jacq Barnard, project manager at the Ship’s Company who is also a British Rowing coach. “We don’t know the dimensions of the oars, or if they would sit or stand to row. How would they hear instructions to row and how would the helmsman see to steer?”
Many of these issues may not be resolved until the ship is on the water, but in anticipation, Jacq is seeking to train rowers.
“My intention is to start a Saxon Rowing Club and call people in initially for land training. We need to establish such things as how to get the oars in place the minute you’re on the boat. With 40 enormous oars, there has to be a system!”
Sae Wylfing undoubtedly gives a fascinating insight to the Anglo-Saxon rowing experience. The name means “sea wolfcub” and the boat was initially built in 1993, to establish whether Anglo-Saxon boats could sail. Owned by the Gifford family in Southampton, Sae Wylfing has been loaned to the Woodbridge Riverside Trust and until recently has largely been shore-based, towed around the country to raise awareness and curiosity about AngloSaxon life. saxonship.org