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It was a beautiful day on
Delmarva. The bright, hot sunshine was tempered by a gentle breeze.
We all realized we had watched history being made as the shallop rounded the corner into the marina the afternoon before. The young people pulling in unison on the oars looked so much different than the illustrations of the 1608 voyage of discovery led by Captain John Smith. In fact, they are unique to the 2007 re-enactment voyage by gender, in education and in experience.
The backgrounds of the crew include wide geographic differences – from St. Simon’s Island Georgia to Great Britain to the mountains of North Carolina. The original shallop crew was male while this crew is made up of seven men and five women. The 2007 crew members’ education includes degrees in Earth Systems, Civil and Structural Engineering, Anthropology, History and Geography from colleges and universities stretching from the Maine Maritime Academy to the University of Manchester in England to the University of Georgia. Their jobs range from forensic scientist to USCG licensed captain to maritime biology instructor. And their outdoor experience goes from crew member on the Pride of Baltimore II to hiking the entire Appalachian Trail to cycling 4,302 miles across the United States to back country guide. Any one of them could pose for an outdoor adventure advertisement.
As we talked with individual members of the crew, we felt their passion for the four-month voyage. Long before they embarked on the actual voyage, they learned all they could about the original 1608 voyage, the ecology of the Chesapeake Bay region, the Native Americans who originally inhabited the area and about the 28-foot boat they would soon call home.
The local Blades/Seaford Landing committee worked for several months to insure the event would showcase the pristine Nanticoke River and the surrounding area. Our partners included Sultana Projects, Inc. from Chestertown, Maryland with the full traveling educational exhibit funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities;
the Nanticoke Indian Association for the wonderful welcoming remarks & gifts and friendship dance;
the Salisbury Zoo with animals indigenous to the area in 1608; Jack Knowles from the Days Gone By Museum with artifacts from the Nanticoke River area; the Seaford Historical Society with the information booth and educational materials for the visiting school groups; MR Marketing with Mark Reeve’s pamphlet and bookmarks made for the children at the event and in the classrooms; the Nanticoke River Yacht Club who provided the sale of food throughout the day; BEDCO who gave us hospitality rooms for the shallop crew, the volunteers and the policemen working the event; Marina’s Bar & Restaurant who provided food for the hospitality rooms; Towers Signs who created the banners for downtown Blades; i.g. Burton Seaford provided a van to shuttle visitors to the Seaford Museum for the 17th Century Delaware exhibit on loan from Delaware Public Archives; the Methodist Manor House, bringing residents and visitors to the event; the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, Seaford Flotilla for assistance on the water; our local newspapers – the Leader & State Register and the Seaford & Laurel Star for the continuing coverage of the event; the City of Seaford for use of equipment; the Town of Blades for allowing us to practically take over their town; and various police departments who provided crowd and traffic control for the entire day.
We also received additional support from the Holiday Inn Express, official lodging for the shallop crew; Sussex County Council, Soroptimist of Seaford; BEDCO; the Town of Blades, Seaford Animal Hospital; Bon Appetit; Peninsula Oil Company; Tull/Ramey Ltd; and Nanticoke Rotary.
Special thanks go out to Rudy and Theresa Wilson and Dick and Rae Wolfe for the creation and distribution of curriculum materials to Sussex County schools. Their outreach brought more than four hundred school children to the Blades/Seaford Landing.
Captain Dick Wolfe chaired the local committee consisting of Paula Gunson from the Greater Seaford Chamber of Commerce, Mark Reeve of MR Marketing, Rudy and Theresa Wilson from the Seaford Historical Society, Paula Schatz from the Methodist Manor House, Tom and Christina Darby from the Woodland Ferry Association, Dr. Bill Wade from the Seaford Animal Hospital,
C. M. Kohlenberg of Mow ‘n’ Trim, Bill Messenger of the Nanticoke River Yacht Club, Mayor David Ruff and Police Chief Edwin Cooke from the Town of Blades.
Andrew Bystrom, crew member and journal keeper on the shallop said “We Love Delaware”.
As I said – it was a beautiful day on Delmarva!
For additional information and photographs about the Blades/Seaford Landing, go to the Chamber’s website at
www.seafordchamber.com. For more information about the Voyage of Discovery, go to
www.johnsmith400.org.
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