Tall Ships heading our way

July 14, 2009 03:57 am

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SALISBURY BEACH — Three tall ships will be anchored at the mouth of the Merrimack River next week as part of the Salisbury Maritime Festival. They range from a pirate ship to the ambassadorship of a conservative religious movement.

Similar to that of the legendary Mayflower, the original Kalmar Nyckel was one of America's first pioneering colonial ships, coming from Sweden, however, not England. Although not in the history books, the original Kalmar Nyckel sailed from Sweden to the New World in 1638, leaving its passengers to establish the first permanent European settlement in the Delaware Valley, the Colony of New Sweden in present-day Wilmington. She made four round-trip crossings of the Atlantic — more than any other ship of the era.

The new, present day Kalmar Nyckel now serves as Delaware's seagoing goodwill ambassador. Built by a group of committed citizens to be a continuing witness to the courage and spirit of those individuals who undertook the midwinter North Atlantic crossing in the 17th century, since 1998, the ship has served as an outreach platform for the state of Delaware and a catalyst for social and economic development.

The full-rigged, two-masted wooden ship is owned and operated by the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation, a nonprofit organization offering people of all ages a variety of sea and land based learning and recreational experiences.

Pirates of the Caribbean beware, for the Pirates of the Dark Rose will soon be sailing into Salisbury waters on the 55-foot, gaff squaretop yawl the Must Roos, probably flying the skull and crossbones of the Jolly Roger.

The Pirates of the Dark Rose will join the festival for a day of swashbuckling sword fights, duels, cannon fire and pirate ship attacks. With cannon on the upper deck and carronades on the lower, the Must Roos hoists a square topsail — perfect for pirate attacks on harbor festivals.

With a home port of Georgia, the three-masted, barquentine Peacemaker was built on a riverbank in southern Brazil by an Italian family of boatbuilders, using traditional methods and the finest tropical hardwoods. Launched first in 1989 as the Avany, a name chosen by her designer and owner, Frank Walker, in 2000, Walker sold the ship to the Twelve Tribes, and she was outfitted with upgraded mechanical and electrical systems.

The Twelve Tribes is a conservative religious group of closely affiliated communities that live in communal style, with shared property. The Tribe has communities in North and South America, and Europe. Among them are three in Massachusetts and one in New Hampshire.