July 28, 2016 – When the crowd cheered the Draken Harald Hårfagre as it passed the east end of Navy Pier on Wednesday, the crew was simply too busy to notice at first. They had to lower the 853 square foot sail that had propelled them from Haugesund, Norway, and into a parade of exotic vessels that opened the Tall Ships Festival.

The journey across the Atlantic Ocean was cold and wet, says the captain of the largest Viking ship built in modern times, and the entire crew of 33 men and women, representing nine countries, lost weight.

Its biggest challenge would be as it left Canada and crossed into waters under the jurisdiction of the United States Coast Guard. A regulation on the books since 1960 said the Draken, like all foreign ships, must have a local pilot on board, to help with navigation, at a cost of up to $400 per hour.

The total six-figure expense is too much for the Draken and despite a fundraising effort, the expedition believes it can go only as far as one more stop after Chicago. At least four additional stops were scheduled, including Duluth, Minnesota.

On the deck of the Draken as it approached Navy Pier, Captain Bjőrn Ahlander wanted to make clear that the controversy is not the fault of the pilots.

“Of course we are not satisfied with the cost but we can understand that the pilots get upset if they are blamed for this,” said Ahlander (right). “It’s not the pilots. They follow the law and they are very good mariners. And we have a good cooperation with them and we try to find out what we can do.”

Ahlander blames “bad research” on the shortfall. He understands that the fees cannot be waived, nor can they expect pilots to volunteer their time.

“There are very few pilots for this area. They have a hard job. And they try to serve all the ships. There was a rumor that there were a lot of pilots who could volunteer here and come in and do it voluntarily but that’s not possible because they have a lot of work to do.”

(Left) Captain Ahlander communicates by radio with a nearby ship. At left is the pilot, Rory Grant, who is originally from Scotland and grew up in New Hampshire. His familiarity with the Great Lakes is from his time at Great Lakes Maritime Academy in Traverse City, Michigan, where he earned a National First Class Pilot license issued by the Coast Guard. He has sailed on the Great Lakes and is licensed to sail on oceans.

Ahlander hopes the experience of the Draken can inspire changes to the law. He says exceptions should be made for foreign ships, for example, participating in a race.

“Still, it’s the rule today and we as a foreign ship can’t come and tell the American people how they should run the country.”

Engine would lower cost but ‘this is a sailing vessel’

The hourly rate for pilots varies between $300 and $400 per hour, depending on factors such as location. When the expedition first realized they would have to pay the pilotage fees, the estimate to complete the trip was as high as $600,000. They were able to lower it closer to $400,000, and they could lower it even more if they used an engine on the Draken and not the sail.

“But this is a sailing vessel,” points out Ahlander. “We want to do a proper sail together with the other ships.”

Money raised by Sons of Norway, the Minneapolis-based fraternal life insurance company that is the Draken’s official fundraising partner, will go only to pilotage fees and extra fuel needed to get the ship to port at a top speed of about nine miles per hour. As of Thursday morning, Sons of Norway had raised $82,000 toward a goal of $430,000.

“We know that we have money enough to go to Green Bay [Wisconsin] after Chicago. Then we have not enough money.” Ahlander was retired as a commercial mariner for exactly 40 “lovely” days when asked to captain the Draken. He has been captain since the 115-foot-long by 26-foot-wide ship, owned by Norwegian entrepreneur Sigurd Aase, launched on June 5, 2012. At age 68, Ahlander is the oldest member of the Draken crew. (Right) The deck-dominating sail of the Draken.

(Above) Some of the young, multi-national crew at rest. While half the crew is on duty, the other half sleeps in a large red tent, containing bunk beds, in the center of the deck. (Click on images to view larger versions.) (Below) A crew member pours water in the ship’s galley.

(Above) Crew members work on deck with a replica of a Spanish galleon off the port bow. (Below) With the Chicago skyline in the distance, crew members pull ropes that tighten the sail on the port side.

(Above) Kristian Velle, engineer and deckhand, on the deck of the Draken with Chicago in the distance. (Below) Captain Ahlander keeps an eye on the deck as people on the north side of Navy Pier watch the Draken maneuver toward the dock.

(Above) Crew members rowing on the port side of the Draken Harald Hårfagre react to cheers they are hearing for the first time from a crowd on the east end of Navy Pier welcoming them to the Tall Ships Festival. (Below) …and back to rowing. With the oars sticking through small holes on the side of the ship, the rowers cannot see their oars in the water and rely solely on direction from the captain.

(Above) Powered by rowers on the starboard side, the Draken slowly maneuvers toward a dock on the north side of Navy Pier. Once moored, members of the Coast Guard came on board to inspect the ship. They asked Captain Ahlander to assemble his crew and run through an electrical fire drill. “Let’s get an electrical fire going here,” said one of the Coast Guard members. “I just want to see how the crew reacts.” (Below) The Draken on Lake Michigan, about eight miles out from Navy Pier.

The Draken is docked on the north side of Navy Pier, at the far west end. The Tall Ships Festival continues through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Entrance to the festival is near the southeast corner of Navy Pier, near the beer garden. (Left) Guitars and other musical instruments in a hold near the front of ship.