On this May 11th past, about 40 adventuresome homeschoolers braved the murky waters and set sail for a 90 minute tour of duty aboard the good ship Kalmar Nyckel. These fledgling sailors learned nautical terms and some vital sailor's superstitions. Hands on training included turning the winch and singing ye ole' traditional sailors' songs for keeping of the rhythm. 
Starbucks is guardian of the starboard side, a seadog most beloved.
The original Kalmar Nyckel was one of America's pioneering colonial ships. Its historical significance rivals that of the Mayflower, yet her remarkable story has never been widely told. She sailed from Sweden to the New World in 1638 leaving her passengers to establish the first permanent European settlement in the Delaware Valley, the Colony of New Sweden in present-day Wilmington, Delaware. She made a total of four roundtrip crossings of the Atlantic—more than any other ship of the era.
The present day Kalmar Nyckel serves as Delaware’s seagoing goodwill ambassador. She was built by a group of committed citizens to be a continuing witness to the courage and spirit of those individuals who undertook the mid-winter North Atlantic crossing in 1637-1638. The ship is owned and operated by the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation, a non-profit organization that offers people of all ages a variety of sea and land based learning and recreational experiences. The Kalmar Nyckel Shipyard is located at the East Seventh Street Peninsula, norht of wilmington. Directions and other ports of call are listed on their website.
I think this is a great fieldtrip idea! Booking a student field trip is simple, there is a link on the home page of their web site. Volunteering opportunities and training are also available and public tours abound. The pirate sails look most compelling, arrrrgh!http://www.kalmarnyckel.org/
