Okay, okay. I'll admit it right out front. I have a mental block. I can't think of anything to write. So I asked another friend to give me a random noun and verb. The last time I had to do this, it was about binder sniffing.
"Boat Jumping, the Lost Sport"
By Abby Norman (who else?)
"Boat Jumping, the Lost Sport"
By Abby Norman (who else?)
Did you know at one time the vikings had a sport called boat jumping? Apparently the vikings (around the time of 873 A.D.) of Orkney were limited to raiding the British Isles to only a few times a year, and had to do something with their time. Off the shores of Orkney, the water is very shallow about a mile out. Because of this shallow water, the vikings were able to take out a 23.33 m long and 5.25 m wide ship with only twenty sailors in it. Ten people a side, and they would insert their paddles into the water, until it was firmly grounded into the bottom. They then would push down and foward, lifting their boat into the air, slightly moving forward, and back down onto the water. Thus, this was called, "boat jumping". This feat took much strength, as evidenced by the vikings' bulging muscles in their portraits in rock. They often had many competitions, but the team with Björn Ironside almost always won. This sport caused the vikings to grow large in stature (on the upper-half of their bodies, anyway...).
There are rumors that the vikings would often have competitions against other vikings from other islands. They would often liven the competition with a few weapons, such as daggers, spiked clubs, etc. Even though cheating may have been involved in competitions, the vikings always seemed to enjoy the race.
I believe that we should reignite the wonderful sport of boat jumping, and bring it back to the world, even though most races would occur in a very small short pool, since no human today (except for body builders) could possibly endure more than 10 yards of boat jumping.
*Many facts are in actuality, and many facts are made up. Thanks to the almighty Wikipedia to the "true" facts, and thanks to my silly head for the other facts.
**Idea attributed to Annika.
2 comments:
I like the idea of boat jumping. However, I do believe my incredibley weak upper body would prohibit me from ever become a champion at this fantastical sport.
Hey, I have a certain article of clothing that I need to return to you. Expect a surprise visit from me sometime this week. What times are you actually going to be home?
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