The tall ship Kalmar Nyckel is in town, a nod to Greenport’s maritime history when merchant and whaling vessels dotted the harbor. The ship is scheduled to be here from July 22 to August 3 and will be offering two-and-a-half-hour day and evening sails during that period, as well as free deck tours on Sat. July 26 and Sat. Aug. 2 from 3-7 p.m.
The Kalmar Nyckel is the official tall ship of Delaware and is a full-scale replica of the original vessel, a Swedish war ship that sailed in a 1638 expedition that founded the colony of New Sweden, now Delaware. During her wartime career, she carried a crew of 55 men and 12 six-pounder cannons. In 1652, the ship was sunk defending the Dutch herring fleet in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland.
Today’s Kalmar Nyckel serves as an ambassador for the state and has a crew of trained volunteers who help maintain and sail the vessel, as well as present educational programs. The ship’s home base is the Copeland Maritime Center in Wilmington, Del., on the Christina River.
(Photo credit: Jeremy Garretson)
“People come to the ship to volunteer; they stay for the community,” says crewmember Elaine Autry, from Wilmington. “I get to meet people I would never cross paths with,” says Chris Brooks, another Wilmington-based crewmember.
The two volunteers agreed that they love visiting Greenport. “People are friendly, the town is cute — there are lots of things to do,” says Autry. Brooks notes that “the [East End Seaport] museum has been so helpful, and the ferries and the commercial boats are great … Greenport is a fantastic place to visit. It’s one of the crew’s favorite ports.”
Laura and Craig Rosenberg of Greenport sailed on the ship on Friday. “It was a lot of fun … very educational,” says Laura. “We enjoyed it, especially because we are sailors.”
(Photo credit: Jeremy Garretson)
To reserve your tickets (which are going fast), book online on the Kalmar Nyckel’s website or by calling 302-429-7447. Tickets are $75 for adults and $40 for children ages 12 or younger. The next free deck tour is on Saturday, Aug. 2 from 3-7 p.m. Sails and tours will be conducted on Greenport’s railroad dock; parking is available at 104 Fourth St., adjacent to the East End Seaport Museum.
The ship’s 2025 schedule also includes visits to Provincetown, Mass., historic New Castle, Del., Chestertown, Md., Norfolk, Va., and Yorktown, Va.
