Voyage, Voyage

The Voyage statue was a gift to Hull from Iceland in 2006 to commemorate the close seafaring ties between Hull and the Icelandic fishing town Vík (full name: Vík í Mýrdal). It is made of brass and overlooks the Humber estuary near Victoria Pier with its face towards the sea. For about 1,000 years trawlers from Hull would head towards Iceland to fish near the shores of Vík 1,534km north-west of Hull. Seamen would help each other out and Icelandic fishermen often came to the rescue when a British trawler got into trouble. In Vík Voyage has a sister statue, which also looks out towards the sea. I have yet to go to Iceland and take a photo of it so in the meantime you can check it out here.

Voyage in 2010

The ties were tight and amicable for ten centuries (if we forget about the occasional neighbourly Viking rape and pillage spree along the British coast). But then the Cod Wars started in the late 1950s. Iceland and England began arguing over fishing grounds in the North Atlantic. Iceland proclaimed its authority over fishing grounds 200 miles from its coast, which British trawlers chose to ignore. The decline of fish stocks poured even more fuel into the fire. Nets were cut and ships were rammed. The conflict wasn’t resolved until 1976 when NATO intervened and an agreement was signed. For six months 24 British trawlers were allowed to catch a fixed amount of fish within the 200 mile zone. After that no British vessels were to fish in the area anymore. 1,500 fishermen lost their jobs and another 7,500 jobs were lost on shore. Hull’s once thriving fishing industry never recovered from that blow. The twin statues pay tribute to the long history connecting the two places.

The New Voyage Statue by the Humber River

But in July 2011 the original 6ft Hull Voyage statue was stolen, much to the embarrassment of numerous Hull officials. It weighed 300kg and must have been difficult to get down from its plinth but nobody was ever charged with the theft. Rumour has it that the thieves sold the statue for its copper for an estimated £1,500 to £3,000.  

Hull City Council decided to spend £40,000 from its insurance reserve on a replacement working closely together with the Icelandic artist of the original statues Steinunn Thorarinsdottir. Given that Hull is one of the poorest areas in the UK not everybody thought this investment was justified but there we are. We have a Voyage again! Hopefully they screwed it onto its plinth a little tighter this time :)