The Trip. Part 6. "Avast"

While Andy and I were on our trip east we had the chance to take a short sail on a ship with a fascinating history.  It was a three-mast square rigger, built in Delaware in 1997.  And it is called the Kalmar Nyckel.   The original ship was built in 1637 and made four trips to the area where the state of Delaware is now located.  The Swedish crew called their new home New Sweden and made plans to colonize the area.

As some of you know I was raised in a small town in western Illinois called Galva.  I was raised by Swedes although I have no Swedish roots in my ancestry.  Over eighty percent of my hometown and the nearby village of Bishop Hill have Swedish origins, having been settled by immigrants from Gavle, Sweden around the 1840's.  Galva was named for Gavle, a seaport on the east side of Sweden, bordering the Baltic Sea.

And amazingly, Kalmar Sweden is just down the coast to the south of Gavle.

I was glad to hear that two of the volunteer crew members on our sail were from Kalmar.  I wanted to speak with them, but, needless to say, they were busy working while I watched.

The Kalmar Nyckel is a floating classroom giving people young and old a taste of what it was like to travel on a tall ship long ago when our forefathers were just beginning to explore the New World.  The present day ship is manned mainly by volunteers who spend their vacations sailing up the east coast from Delaware to Cape Cod during the summer, stopping along the way to give people like me an experience like no other.

First of all, we learned what the word avast means.  It does not mean There are some loathsome pirates that I need to kill!  It means Hold onto to the rope that you have in your hand and don't let it go.  There were only two other people beside Andy and me on this particular sail, so we were recruited immediately when the sails needed to be raised.  The chant to time our pulling was 2,6, Heave!!!.  And heave we did.  Somehow the sails were raised and ready to catch the wind. All was well.

We sailed out for about an hour and then turned back to port.  I spent time visiting with several of the crew members who didn't have anything to do at that time.  Some were teachers.  Others were re-enactors who loved to travel from city to city and dress up like people from long ago.  A ship that sailed up and down the coast was a perfect fit for them.

When I sat by myself and looked out over the vast expanse of sea in front of me, I thought about those Swedes from long ago.  The pioneer seamen who left their homes and set out for foreign shores to seek out riches for their country.  Or in the case of my own town, searching for religious freedom.  How brave they were.

When we came back to port I climbed up the gangplank and, looking back, could see the smiling faces of the crew.  I waved to them, thanking them for a new experience.  Sometimes you have to get on board a ship to truly appreciate what you have always taken for granted.  Though I will never have to sail away to find my fortune or a new home, I'm thankful for those who did.