MORGAN — When thousands of Mormon emigrants sailed from Europe to America about 150 years ago, some had to sell all they had to pay for passage on sailing ships.
Sea Trek 2001, an event that hopes to retrace the sailing voyage of those emigrants next year from Aug. 7 through Oct. 4, may also pose a financial barrier for modern-day participants. It carries a hefty price tag of about $8,000, including airfare to England where the ocean crossing will begin.
However, a Utah woman has been using some innovative fund raising to pay for her fare on Sea Trek.
When Bonnie Jackson, 36, of Morgan, heard in August about the upcoming event, she was elated. Her ancestors migrated from Europe, and it has been a dream to sail the ocean along the same route they took to America.
"I just had an overwhelming feeling to do this," she said. "I was driven from deep inside."
The big obstacle was the money. Where would $8,000 come from? As a homemaker with four children, ages 4-13, and a husband who is seasonally employed in the construction business, that was the challenge.
She contacted William K. Sadleir, founder/organizer of Sea Trek, and he advised her to find some sponsors.
Her first idea was to approach the Morgan School District about having her journal available on the Sea Trek Web site as a resource for history, geography and other subjects for children in grades K-12. That proposal got a great reaction.
Then she approached some businesses, and the Jubilee Food Store in Evanston, Wyo., donated a hunting rifle and $50 gift certificate to her cause. Jackson then raffled the gun and certificate in mid-October, just before the deer hunt.
She earned $4,000 from the fund-raiser.
One man gave her $100 and didn't even buy a ticket.
"I was stunned," she said. "He said, 'We all need to help each other realize our dreams.' "
Some others donated $20 each.
Jackson will have to raise a total of $10,000 if she participates in the preliminary port-to-port activities of Sea Trek.
She's now confident she can raise the rest of the money and believes anyone who really wants to go on Sea Trek can also raise enough money to do so.
"It's miraculous that everything has fallen into place," she said.
The event could be the equivalent — on water — of the 1997 Mormon Trail Wagon Train commemorative crossing, a once-in-a-lifetime event to mark the sesquicentennial event.
Sea Trek hopes to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Mormon migration from Europe to America next summer with events planned from early August through early October. The actual crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a 38-day voyage in sailing ships will highlight the commemoration.
The event is open to public participation, but the price tag is much heftier than that of the 1997 wagon train. People can participate in port-to-port segments of the Sea Trek journey for much less than the $8,000, though.
Another problem for Jackson is that she will have to leave her family for almost two months next summer. That could be especially difficult for her 4-year-old.
Although Jackson has taken one ocean cruise before, she has never been on a sailing ship. She's also excited that the trip requires each passenger to be a sailor, doing duty on ship for four hours during each 12-hour period.
Her great-great-grandfather, Joseph Howard, sailed to America from England in 1864. His family had particular difficulty raising enough money for all the family to sail to America. It took two years for all the family members to make the journey.
Another of her ancestors sailed from Holland to the New World. Some of her husband's ancestors also were a part of the migration, sailing from England.
Jackson wants to be sure Utah and Intermountain area schools are aware of her plans to have her sailing diary posted on the Internet for possible class tie-ins.
"I'm excited to share it with the students," she said.
More information on Sea Trek 2001 is available on the Web at www.seatrek2001.com
E-mail: lynn@desnews.com