Observing 150 years since the first Scandinavian Latter-day Saint converts left for Zion in America, an epic commemorative voyage will depart Aug. 7 from Esbjerg, Denmark, with New York City as its ultimate destination on Oct. 4.
In the beginning, the voyage will be made via eight vintage tall sailing ships similar in a number of respects to the ones in which Church members sailed in the 1800s, with four of the ships scheduled to cross the Atlantic.
But Sea Trek 2001, as the event is called, will celebrate Latter-day Saint emigration from all of Europe, not just Scandinavia, with ports of call in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Scotland and England.
Some 1,350 participants were registered as of July 31, the Sea Trek office in Provo, Utah, reported, though only a portion of that number will make the 38-day Atlantic crossing from Portsmouth, England, to New York City via the Canary Islands and Bermuda.
But Sea Trek will touch many more lives than those of the 1,350 passengers. Major celebrations, fireworks displays, dockside entertainment, maritime exhibits and lectures on Church history and doctrine from eminent scholars are planned for Esbjerg and Copenhagen, Denmark; Gothenburg, Sweden; Oslo, Norway; Hamburg, Germany; Hull, Liverpool and Portsmouth, England; and Las Palmas, Canary Islands. Major events in the New York Harbor and at the famed Madison Square Garden will conclude the voyage.
"It is a celebration of the sailing migration," said Sea Trek chairman Bill Sadleir, "of some 25,000 Latter-day Saints from Europe primarily to Utah" from the 1850s through 1911, before Church leaders urged converts to remain where they were and build Zion in their homelands.
"It is sponsored in partnership with some of the European host cities," he noted in a recent orientation meeting for participants. "It serves as an interesting historic prelude to the winter Olympic Games [in Salt Lake City]. The world's attention is going to be focused on Utah; we felt it the perfect opportunity and good timing to put our character, our history and our heritage in proper context."
Though not sponsored by or formally affiliated with the Church, the endeavor has a definite Latter-day Saint cultural flavor, and in fact Church members in official capacities have helped publicize it, primarily in Europe and the British Isles.
"We're returning to the homelands of our ancestors with a posture of celebration to thank these communities for cradling our ancestors," Brother Sadleir said, adding that the tall ships are a method for accomplishing this, as they are a "media magnet."
"People love them," he said. "Millions of people will gather around tall ships when they come into port. We felt since our history and our heritage deal clearly with tall ships, it would be a good opportunity to use tall ships as a way of attracting the public."
In Portsmouth, England, for example, the Sea Trek festivities will co-coincide with the International Festival of the Seas, the largest maritime event in the United Kingdom, and as such is expected to attract 500,000 visitors. And in Gothenburg, Sweden, city officials expect some 250,000 visitors.
The "Gathering" portion of Sea Trek begins in Esbjerg on Denmark's west coast. In the neighboring city of Ribe, Denmark's oldest town and the location of the beginnings of Christianity in Denmark, a commencement ceremony will be held the evening of Aug. 6.
Next day, the voyage departs Esbjerg for Copenhagen in the eight ships: Statsraad Lehmkuhl, Christian Radich and Sorlandet (all from Norway), the Europa, Swan Fan Makkum and Antigua (all from the Netherlands); the Mary-Anne (from Germany), and the Mir (from Russia).
In Copenhagen on Aug. 9 will be the premiere of "Saints on the Seas," an oratorio-like production commissioned expressly for Sea Trek. In Scandinavia, it will be performed by the Estonia National Symphony Orchestra, and in England by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Performances are scheduled also in Gothenburg, Oslo, Liverpool, Hull, Portsmouth, Las Palmas and New York City.
Among visitor attractions in Copenhagen is Thorvaldsen's famous "Christus" sculpture, a copy of which is in the North Visitors Center on Temple Square.
From Copenhagen, the fleet proceeds to Gothenburg, Sweden, arriving Aug. 11. Church services will be held there the next day, Sunday, with a youth fireside scheduled for the evening.
From Gothenberg, the route divides, with the Sorlandet and Mir sailing for Greenock, Scotland, the morning of Aug. 12, a route that will eventually include Liverpool, England, before arriving at Portsmouth, the departure point for the ocean crossing.
The rest of the ships will proceed north to Oslo, Norway, on Aug. 13, arriving the next morning. In Oslo, a play created and produced by local Church members about the mother of Reed Smoot, an apostle and U.S. senator of the early 1900s, will be presented as part of Sea Trek festivities.
Departing Oslo on Aug. 15, the ships will sail on to Hamburg, Germany.
Meanwhile, the Sorlandet and Mir, having left from Gothenburg, arrive in Greenock, Scotland, on Aug. 18. From there, the two ships sail on to Liverpool, England, that day, arriving Aug. 20.
The other ships in the fleet, having arrived at Hamburg, Germany, on Aug. 18, depart for Hull, England, the next day, with Church services to be held on board.
A historic emigrant city, Hull features railroad tracks at its train station dating back to the 1800s and buildings that once housed emigrants while in port.
As the departure point for most LDS emigrants, Liverpool is an important port for Sea Trek. It is the home of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, which made the compact disc recording of the "Saints on the Seas" production. Its performance was videotaped by the BBC for later broadcast.
The Sea Trek ships in Liverpool and those in Hull will meet in Portsmouth, England, on Aug. 24. Following festivities there and Church services on Sunday, Aug. 26, passengers depart Aug. 27 for the Atlantic crossing on board four of the ships.
They are to arrive Sept. 6 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Canary Islands) where local Church members have arranged festivities, including a performance of "Saints on the Seas."
The ships depart Sept. 8 and, after 21 days at sea, arrive at Hamilton, Bermuda. There, they will take on more passengers on the American side of the Atlantic, and depart Sept. 29.
Passengers will sail into New York Harbor Oct. 4, catching sight of the Statue of Liberty, just as many of the Latter-day Saint immigrants did a century or more earlier. The final performance of "Saints on the Seas" will be at Madison Square Garden.
