The Viking galley at the centre of this year’s Up Helly Aa celebrations has been unveiled following months of hard construction work.
The boat, named Ethena, features a stunning mix of blues and silvers, and will sail through the streets of Lerwick on a journey to its final fiery destination tonight.
For more than 150 years, the final act of Up Helly Aa throws blazing torches onto the wooden galley, setting it alight.
It is quite the spectacle – the ferocious fiery flames illuminating the cold, dark Shetland night, quickly reducing months of construction work to ash.
The 20-strong group who designed, built and painted the galley spent most of the winter – around three months in total – crafting the impressive vessel.
The 30ft spectacle was designed on instruction from Guizer Jarl, Richard Moar, to reflect the colours of his costume, ranging from dark blue to light blue with silver accents.
2024 galley’s striking blue gradient colour mimics the sea waves
The head has dark red spikes, a long red tongue, a fringe beard and fiery yellow eyes, giving the galley a unique character.
The sturdy design will ensure it weathers the fierce Shetland winds as it joins the 64 guizers, part of the Jarl squad, which for the first time ever will contain female participants.
Galley foreman Neil Fraser, who is due to become Jarl in 2032, says “thousands of man hours” have gone into creating the galley.
The design is kept top secret until the morning of Up Helly Aa when it leaves the shed for the first time.
Neil said: “It’s a huge amount of work and it’s not something we really advertise.
“One of our ex-Jarls said, ‘You want to open the galley shed on the Tuesday morning, have Up Helly Aa and then close the door and put it away for another year’.
“He says you don’t really speak about what goes on behind the scenes.”
Neil says the skills passed on through generations, such as joinery, woodwork and painting, are “crucial” and help keep the spirit of Up Helly Aa alive.
One of the biggest aspects of the Up Helly Aa preparations is how social the process is, with the team working through the winter twice a day.
Neil added: “Guys gathering together, helping each other out, working for a common goal, I think that is even more invaluable.
“The friendships that the guys have in here are life-long, it’s a very tight-knit gang.”
This was echoed by Erland Isbister, who has been a part of the team for six years and always looks forward to getting started on helping to build the next galley.
He has taken over from his dad and brother who were responsible for spray painting the head and tail, and this year was his first working solo.
He said it usually takes a couple of days to complete, with the head usually being the most striking part of the boat’s design.
Describing the team as a “good bunch of guys”, he said they all feel a huge sense of pride when the boat is finally revealed and is brought out into the daylight.
He said: “It’s something I really look forward to, and it helps fill in the winter when it is dark and cold.
“It’s great to work with so many people you can count on. I live near the park, so the morning procession is my ‘alarm clock’ for Up Helly Aa.
“It’s always exciting in the run-up to Up Helly Aa, the town has a real buzz, a lot of hype.”
Final preparations
On the other side of the Lerwick yesterday, around 30 volunteers were preparing more than 1,100 torches for the evening procession.
The process consists of soaking 90 torches in paraffin for two hours and then transferring them to another container.
Tonight, around 40 marshals will be ready with a flare to help light the hundreds of torches for the procession through the town.
This year’s galley is the last for foreman Ryan Leith, who will be Guizer Jarl in 2027.
He is stepping back and allowing Neil Fraser to oversee the build next year.
Mr Leith has been involved with the festival since he was five years old and is the second Guizer Jarl in his family after his father in 1978.
He said: “When the galley leaves the shed and seeing people’s reactions, it’s such a proud moment.”
You would think having all the hard work of building the galley, only for it to go up in flames would sting, but Ryan says that is his “favourite part”.
He added: “It’s not just a visual spectacle. When you’re here, you can appreciate the smells the burning of the galley gives off and the sounds when the torches get thrown in, it can be very loud.
“It all adds to the atmosphere.”
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