The Viking "drakkar" and the Kozak "chaika"

Replica Longboat 'Viking' 

Continuing my exploration of parallels in Irish and Ukrainian culture, I come to yet another connection, a connection that both Ireland and Ukraine had with Vikings. Vikings? 

The Vikings sailed down the rivers of central Europe to found Kievan Rus, the name of the territory and people who populated the region now known as Ukraine. The brothers Kiy, Schek and Khoryv with their sister Lybid founded Kyiv, what is now the capital of Ukraine. 

Vikings also sailed to Ireland and founded settlements along the shores including Dublin and Galway. Dublin is the capital of Ireland. So both Ukraine and Ireland assimilated Vikings and their ways. 

It makes sense then that Viking longboats called drakkar visited both Ukraine and Ireland. And the vessels in Ukraine used by the Kozaks on the Dnipro river and out to the Black Sea were very reminiscent of Viking longboats. They were called chaika. I found an article by Ihor Lysyj that compares the two designs in Ukrainian Weekly.  

The Viking drakkar was 71 feet long, 16 feet wide, with 15 pairs of oars and a nailed-down deck. It was planked using the clinker design, with slightly overlapping oak boards nailed together. The Kozaks chaikas were built about 60 feet long, 12 feet wide, and 12 feet deep. Moreover, they were clinker-built and usually equipped with 10 to 15 oars on each side. Both could carry sails. 

Illustration of a Zaporozhian cossack "chaika" boat (warship of Ukraіnian Cossacks in 16-17th c.) from Guillaume Le Vasseur de Beauplan's book "Description of Ukraine" 1660

Schematic drawing of a longship construction representing the Sebbe Als ship. It is a reconstructed snekke from Denmark. Steen Weile, Notmark, Denmark.

Both images found in Wikimedia. 

Viking longboats have been found on the lochs of Ireland, particularly Loch Corrib near Galway which had a Viking Settlement. It may be that the 12 boats identified in Loch Corrib, aside from the one Bronze Age vessel carved from a single tree also found there, were actually being built in Ireland although no records are known. Ireland had already adopted the currach boat sailed by St Brendan. It was made by stretching animal hides over a wooden frame. The currachs were also rowed and sailed. The early Christians had to arrive in Ireland by boat so the design of the currach must have been Roman or evolved from similar designs in the British Isles. 

Saint Brendan the Navigator is said to have sailed a currach from Ireland to North America, grounding along the way on what was determined later to be a whale. Tim Severin recreated that voyage and wrote about the experience in The Brendan Voyage, proving it was possible. Tim passed away just last January 2021 in Cork. RIP.