Boat Review: Caledonia Yawl

Although updated for the contemporary sailor, the Caledonia’s still very visible lineage is part of her appeal.

Viking raids must have been shocking. Seemingly from nowhere a fleet of sleek, shallow-draft, square-sailed vessels would appear through the fog at dawn and run up to the beaches. Hordes of warriors hardened by weeks at the oars would swarm ashore wielding spears and battle axes and screaming like madmen.

Nik Worden’s Caledonia Yawl, Sutil. Photo Josh Colvin.

The Vikings were able to penetrate virtually any waterway in Europe in their narrow ships, some with length-to-beam ratios greater than 6:1 and as many as 30 rowing stations. Doubled-ended, they could reverse direction without having to turn around. The versatile longships epitomized Scandinavian naval power and helped to make the Vikings a dominant force until the middle eleventh century.