PORTSMOUTH, England— After two days of light-sailing breezes, the three tall-ship fleet of the Hull-to-Portsmouth contingent of Sea Trek 2001 arrived here Friday to a city in the midst of celebrating its own International Festival of the Sea.
Also Friday, two additional Sea Trek 2001 tall ships from Liverpool rejoined the fleet to complete the 16-day "gathering" phase of the Sea Trek 2001, the two-month itinerary recreating the historic 19th-century sea voyage emigration of some 85,000 European converts of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The five ships arrived at a maritime port already filled with many other vintage tall ships, steam and sailing yachts and a large gathering of Royal Navy warships, all participating in the United Kingdom's largest maritime event, the International Festival of the Sea.
Also displayed in Portsmouth's historic Naval Dockyard are Henry VIII's flagship, the Mary Rose, which sank in 1545 and was reclaimed from the sea in 1982, as well as Admiral Lord Nelson's legendary Napoleonic era flagship, the HMS Victory, still on "active duty."
Even so, publicity and fanfare heralded the entry of the majestic Sea Trek tall ships into Portsmouth because it is well-known that from Britain's shores in the 19th century sailed away so many British converts to America, beginning their courageous 5,000 miles or more odyssey across ocean, plains and mountains.
A century and a half go, an important step after conversion to the LDS Church was emigrating to Zion. More than 170 known sea voyages of Mormon emigrant companies have been documented.
Friday, as the tall ship Sorlandet's lines were thrown to shore, passengers on board spontaneously broke out in a verse of William Clayton's hymn, "Come, Come, ye Saints." Waving crowds on the shoreline cheered and applauded the newly arrived Sea Trek participants.
Two days earlier, on Wednesday's departure day from Hull, public tours of the ships, dockside LDS entertainment, Mormon migration exhibits, educational forums and the musical oratorio "Saints on the Seas" preceded the lifting of the anchors.
Among those who came to see the sights was George Scarisbrick from Lincoln, Lincolnshire, who said, "This is fantastic. The whole town is talking about it. I really liked the Family History Center. It's been on the radio and TV and in the newspapers for days. Brought a lot of money to town, too."
In late afternoon a bronze sculpture commemorating Mormon emigrants to America was unveiled and installed at the bulkhead entry to the marina. The city's mayoress, deputy mayoress and members of the City Council attended the unveiling.
Later in the day a vintage Green Arrow train departed with a small overland Sea Trek contingent heading for Liverpool by rail, as did so many early converts from the continent who disembarked at Hull.
The three-fleet contingent of two Norwegian ships, Statsraad Lehmkuhl and Christian Radich, and the Dutch Europa that left Hull Wednesday set a course that took them through the western reach of the North Sea, through the Strait of Dover separating France and Britain, and into the English Channel en route to Portsmouth.
"It was one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen, the early morning sun shining on the white chalk-like cliffs of Dover," said Dee McBride, of Murray, Utah.
After their Friday arrival in Portsmouth, dockside LDS entertainment and exhibits were presented with the musical oratorio in Portsmouth.
Church services at the Portsmouth Ward and a fireside are scheduled for Sunday.
The Sea Trek ships will remain at the Naval Dockyard until Monday afternoon. In a departure ceremony, the city will be presented a life-size statue of LDS emigrants.
The next phase of the 59-day Sea Trek journey is called "the crossing." First stop will be 10 days away at Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, followed by 19 sailing days to Bermuda and a final five sailing days to New York, where the ships' arrival on Oct. 4 is expected to be a media highlight.
Contributing: David M.W. Pickup
Jay M. Todd is a resident of Holladay aboard the Europa.