The replica of the Norwegian sloop Restauration is scheduled to dock along side the Mary A Whalen, Wednesday, October 15. The ship, which retraced the voyage of the first Norwegian immigrants to the US in 1825, will be here until Monday, October 20, when it returns to Norway. Pending approval by NYC EDC; on 10/1, we were told this would be soon.
We’re excited about this because Norwegians were a big part of Red Hook history - Norwegian section of RedHookWaterStories here – and many were crew on our ship Mary A. Whalen.
Tours of the ship will not be possible, so programs will be on the Mary Whalen where we can look down on the ship.
Related Norwegian PortSide events:
10/7 concert of Young Men’s Choir from Randaberg, Norway, a fundraiser for victims of the Red Hook fire at 481 Van Brunt.
10/17 book launch of Ole Brodersen from Norway with music by Brookynite Cassandra Jenkins
On July 4, the replica Restauration set sail from Stavanger, Norway to memorialize a trip across the Atlantic 200 years ago which is regarded as the first organized emigration from Norway to the USA, sometimes called “the Norwegian Mayflower.” Follow their voyage here. She is due to arrive in NYC on October 9, and would come to PortSide around October 16 and leave on October 20, before sailing back across the Atlantic with another crew.
The Restauration is a very small ship at 53’ to have made this voyage 200 years ago, especially carrying 52 passengers! And they arrived with 53 because a woman gave birth aboard. She is 52’ 7” long, beam (width) of 17’ 3” and draft of 5’ 11”. Compare that to another replica sloop which visits us, a type that would have been sailing at the same time, the Clearwater, at 106’ long, beam of 25’ and draft of 8’ 11”.
According to Wikipedia, “For a vessel of her size Restauration had far more passengers on board than were allowed by American law. This resulted in a severe fine, confiscation of the ship and the arrest of the captain, L. O. Helland. The situation was solved when President John Quincy Adams pardoned the captain on 15 November, released him and the ship, and rescinded the fine. The people who made this voyage, who are sometimes referred to as the "Sloopers", moved onward to their first settlement in Kendall, Orleans County, New York.”
