Delaware’s state ship Kalmar Nyckel roared up the York River under motor (and with aft flag unfurled) to visit Yorktown briefly. This is a recreation of the ship that brought Peter Minuit to Delaware in 1638 to settle the colony. It remained largely a merchant ship except for occasional war duty, when all 12 cannon came aboard. Can you imagine getting shot at by this?
According to Wikipedia, “The name Kalmar Nyckel comes from the Swedish city of Kalmar and nyckel meaning key in Swedish. The name was also a tribute to Kalmar Castle which was a symbol of power during the time of the Swedish Empire when Sweden was a military great power. A replica of the ship was launched at Wilmington, Delaware, in 1997.”
Update: Yorktown enjoys tall ships of all makes and models every season. But they stopped coming in 2020 because of the Covid pandemic. Too few people showed up in Yorktown to conduct the tours, and the tours would have been in confined spaces. Let’s hope they resume in 2021. For a virtual tour, check out the video below.
Blessing of the Fleet
More than a dozen sailboats from York River Yacht Club rolled out of York River Yacht Haven as a bagpiper in kilts heralded the morning with a plaintiff tune. Then the day concluded with the traditional “burning of the socks” to welcome the warm weather of spring. During the solemn prayer of the blessing, a friend of mine roared up in his large motorboat and insinuated himself in the mix. I asked later why he crashed the blessing, and he replied, “I need all the help I can get!”
Ontario Sailors
Next, Claire and Keith Malek drove from London, Ontario, to spend their honeymoon in Williamsburg. They work in computer programming and instinctively got the dynamics of sailing when each took the helm. They sailed with another couple from Detroit whom they had never met, but who they had a lot in common with.
Their last names both started with M, they were staying in the same timeshare resort, they both visited Windsor a lot, three out of four smoked, three out of four had toured Cambodia, and they raved about the CHIVE website. Sailing is a small world.
Let’s See the Kalmar Nyckel at Yorktown
Scroll down Rates and pick a day for a sailboat charter. Scroll down Reviews on Trip Advisor. Go back to the Home Page of Williamsburg Charter Sails.
Kalmar Nyckel at Yorktown kalmar nyckel at yorktown kalmar nyckel at yorktown
