ESBERG, Denmark — Eight tall sailing ships slipped away from the docks here at midmorning Tuesday, embarking on the first leg of their journey to America in a re-enactment of the Mormon migration of a century and a half ago.
Several hundred local residents waved handkerchiefs as the chartered ships cruised majestically out of the sunny harbor.
The sliding of the wooden hulls through slapping waves fulfilled a dream for Salt Lakers William and DeAnne Sadleir, who organized Sea Trek 2001 as a tribute to the European converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the countries they left behind.
Sadleir said the two-month voyage celebrates the sailing migration of European Latter-day Saints to Utah from the 1850s through 1911, before church leaders urged converts to remain where they were and build Zion in their homelands.
"It is sponsored in partnership with some of the European host cities," he said. "It serves as an interesting historic prelude to the winter Olympic Games (in Salt Lake City). The world's attention is going to be focused on Utah; we felt it the perfect opportunity and good timing to put our character, our history and our heritage in proper context."
For the next 20 days the fleet will sail to seven ports in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany and England. From Portsmouth, England, the ships will embark across the Atlantic to New York, re-enacting the ocean passage of the Mormon converts on a journey that would eventually take them across overland by wagon train to the Great Basin.
Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to the docks in Esberg to tour the first tall ships to come to port here since 1993.
A pre-trek ceremony was held Monday in the neighboring city of Ribe, Denmark's oldest town and the location of the beginnings of Christianity in Denmark. There, Elder Ronald L. Rasband of the Seventy, first counselor in the Europe Central Area presidency, offered a blessing on the ships and journey.
A good many Sea Trek 2001 voyagers found adventure here before they ever set foot upon a tall ship as they stood on ancestral farmland or strolled city streets where their progenitors might have walked as long as 150 years ago. Some found hitherto undiscovered family connections or met distant relatives for the first time.
Most of the 1,400 participants have bought tickets for just a few stops, but some will travel the whole way to New York, where the trip is to end Oct. 4.
Passengers include American descendants of Scandinavian, Australian, African and Japanese Mormons. The trip was open to non-church members as well.
Passengers range in age from 90-year old Erik Andersen, who emigrated from Denmark to Utah in 1959, to 9-year-old Jason Niels Grover, traveling with his father, Steven.
Dick Cowley, of Centerville, said he and his wife, Sherry, decided to participate in Sea Trek to honor an ancestor who emigrated in 1852 under the leadership of Erastus Snow on the ship Italy. The ancestor had been left an orphan by the time he arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.
 | Deseret News graphic Sea Trek 2001Requires Adobe Acrobat. |
In the days before boarding their assigned Sea Trek ship, the couple visited the parish where the family lived. There, they found a man who was doing research on the same line. He showed them on a map the precise location of the ancestral farm and a picture of the farm before it was destroyed by fire. They were able to visit the farm site.
Gordon and Mary Jensen of Bountiful traveled to the hometowns of their ancestors in Denmark and experienced a renewed appreciation for the sacrifices they made to gather to Zion.
"They were strong and courageous people," Gordon Jensen said during a Sunday meeting.
An evening of entertainment was held at the Esbjerg Performing Arts Center in connection with Sea Trek 2001. It featured performances from artists who are providing entertainment for Sea Trek dockside activities.
Contributing: Associated Press.
E-MAIL: rscott@desnews.com