By Anne White
During the last weekend in June, the spectacular Dutch topsail schooner Oosterschelde will be visiting Greenwich as part of the nation’s 250th Birthday. She is a beautiful 164-foot reminder that the United States was made in no small part on the water involving working sailing vessels and warships.
The Oosterschelde is a three-masted topsail schooner hailing from Rotterdam and is an old working vessel built in 1918 and restored from 1988 to 1992 now serving as an expedition vessel for those looking for adventure and to be part of the crew. Since the restoration, the ‘Oosterschelde’ has made two around-the-world voyages and visited over 50 countries on five continents. The ship sailed in tropical areas, but also made several polar expeditions to Spitsbergen, Antarctica, and South Georgia.
“It is pretty exciting stuff,” said Scott Frantz, who is a member of the Sail4th 250 Tall Ships Board of Advisors and a sponsor of the New York City Fourth of July Tall Ships parade and related events. As a result, Greenwich has a tall ship coming here for our Nation’s Semiquincentennial celebration. “A year or so ago,” he explained, “it became clear that the Oosterschelde might be able to participate in the Tall Ships parade on the Fourth of July in New York Harbor but needed an extra bit of financial support to be able to make the trip, which led to a win-win situation for the vessel and the residents of Greenwich.”
Frantz arranged for a charter to bring the Oosterschelde to Greenwich Harbor and to open her up to the public. The Greenwich Historical Society, which is organizing several events in Roger Sherman Baldwin Park right next door, will be in charge of getting as many visitors as possible aboard the ship during the weekend of June 27.
Please check their website for details and plan on parking in the Ferry Lot across the street from the Delamar Hotel. Those who cannot make it to the Delamar dock on that day are encouraged to take a look from the walkway just south of the hotel where viewers can come very close to the ship.
Frantz said he wants visitors to board her or at least stand near enough to “feel what it’s like to be on a ship” and to imagine a vessel “rolling through 14-foot seas” with saltwater coming over the deck.
“The organizers of Sail4th 250 wanted at least one tall ship from every country,” he said. “Not multiple ships from just a few countries.”
The Dutch flag is not without importance in the history of the United States. On Nov. 16, 1776, the American brig Andrew Doria, flying the American flag, entered the harbor at St. Eustatius, fired a 13-gun salute and received an 11-gun return salute from the Dutch Fort Oranje. The exchange is remembered as the First Salute and widely regarded as the first foreign salute to the American flag. A Dutch ship coming now to Greenwich carries that association without needing to proclaim it from the masthead.
Frantz places the visit in a larger maritime perspective. “The Mayflower and many Dutch ships brought members of our founding population here,” Frantz said. “We won the final battles of the Revolutionary War in Yorktown in large part because of sailing ships, mainly French. Our maritime history is very rich and pretty amazing.”
From transport and war to racing, sailing vessels have played a critical role in our history. In more peaceful times, sailboat racing became one of the most followed sports in Europe and the United States in the Golden Age of Sail. The America’s Cup was first sailed in 1851, and the tradition that followed made design, wealth, skill and nerve answerable to wind and sea. It is a stern court. Fine drawings, fresh canvas and confident talk have never been enough once the gun goes and the tide starts writing its own argument.
Ticonderoga, one of the most successful ocean racers in history, will be at the dock with the Oosterschelde and will be open for visitation all weekend. She turns 90 on August 10 of this year.
The pairing will give Greenwich two related chapters: Oosterschelde, with cargo, restoration and world voyaging in her story; Ticonderoga, with design, speed, stewardship and ocean racing in hers. They are not relics. A maintained wooden vessel is a continuing argument with decay, weather, expense, and neglect.
“Everyone who’s never experienced being on a tall ship or an older wooden vessel should check them out,” he said. “Even if you don’t go on either, be sure to take a look from the walkway or from Roger Sherman Baldwin Park, where you and your family can enjoy the Historical Society events and be able to look right across the channel to see them.”
Frantz also thanked, on behalf of the Town of Greenwich, Charles Mallory, the Delamar team, and Barton & Gray for helping make the visit possible by providing dock access. “They are awesome hosts,” he said.
He closed with a birthday wish for the nation: “Happy 250th, America, and God bless our incredible country.”
