The Voyage of the Argo - Talk by Mark Richards

In the footsteps of Ancient Greek Sailors

This summer’s film The Odyssey showed us some aspects of ancient Greek seamanship 

But what was it really like to crew a boat from Homer’s time? Find out with Mark Richards who took part in Tim Severin’s 1984 Jason Voyage in which he rowed and sailed in the reconstructed Greek bronze age galley Argo from Greece to Soviet Georgia in search of the Golden Fleece.

Tim Severin Explorer and Adventurer 1940-2020

Tim Severin was an explorer, filmmaker and author  who made several voyages in replica boats  retracing the legendary journeys of historical figures.  In 1976/77 he and his crew sailed  across  the Atlantic in a leather boat  to prove that Saint Brendan could have sailed from Ireland to America in the sixth century AD.  His other voyages include sailing a dhow from Arabia to China, steering a replica of a Greek galley in wake of Jason and Ulysses and crossing the Pacific on a bamboo raft. On last voyage he sailed on Ziska, a boat built in Arnside in 1903 trying to prove that Robinson Crusoe was shipwrecked on a desert island in the Caribbean rather than in the Pacific. 

The Legend of Jason and Argo

In the thirteenth century BC, the Greek mythological hero Jason set sail in a galley with a band of Heroes in search of the Golden Fleece. The boat was named Argo, after its builder, and the sailors are known as the Argonauts. But did they exist? And what was the Golden Fleece? Their journey took them from present-day Greece, across the Aegean Sea, through the Dardanelles and the Sea of Marmara, through the much feared Bosphorus into the Black Sea, and then along the entire north coast of Turkey, ending up in the state of Georgia. It was there, in ancient Colchis, that Jason found not only the Golden Fleece but also his bride, Medea, after taming the wild bulls, killing the serpent, and planting its teeth in the soil.  The story was made into a film in 1963, which is now regarded as a classic. The film is noted for its use of special effects including mythical giants and a fight scene with seven skeleton warriors

Mark Richards

Mark has had a passion for rowing for most of his life, both as a competitor and a coach.Mark and his wife Rosemary live locally in Leasgill.

Help support historic Morecambe Bay Boats

Ticket sales from the talk will be donated to help maintain the Sailing Club's historic yacht Severn and Spray, a Morecambe Bay Prawner built in Arnside in 1896