PROVINCETOWN – At 141 feet long, 105 feet to the top of the mast, and sporting a modern 1620s design, the tall ship Kalmar Nyckel sailed into Provincetown hoping to find folks to fund fourth graders that want to sail in Delaware.
The ship, a replica of the real Kalmar Nyckel, was, according to Captain Lauren Morgens, built as a merchant ship by the Dutch in the 1620s and then was purchased by Sweden to serve in Swedish Navy. The Swedes then decided they wanted a new world colony, said Morgens, and the ship landed in Delaware in 1638 – “a little bit later than the Pilgrims.”
So here was the replica of the ship that founded Delaware in the place the pilgrims first landed.
For $60 for an adult ($40 for children) the ship was taking out passengers on a three-hour trip, she said. The ship is a non-profit, taking school children out during the school year and then traveling during the summer to raise money, said Morgens.
“When people come sailing here, they are helping a fourth grader go sailing in Delaware,” she said.
— Brian Tarcy
