Delaware tall ship departs Mystic Seaport for home

September 24, 2020 12:00 am • Last Updated: September 24, 2020 10:49 pm

By Sean D. Elliot
Director of Photography

Spectators at Mystic River Park watch Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020, as the Kalmar Nyckel passes the Mystic River bascule bridge after departing Mystic Seaport Museum. (Sean D. Elliot/The Day)
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Mystic — Trailed by kayakers and watched by spectators on shore, the Kalmar Nyckel sailed down the Mystic River on Thursday after it departed the Mystic Seaport Museum.

The vessel, the official tall ship of the state of Delaware, is a full-scale replica of a Swedish merchant ship that established the colony of New Sweden in the Delaware Valley in 1638. It has been at the Seaport's Henry B. duPont Preservation shipyard since the end of August undergoing maintenance and a U.S. Coast Guard inspection.

The ship is bound for its homeport of Wilmington and will be open for a delayed and shorted fall sailing season. Its summer sailing plans had been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A small group of kayakers follows the tall ship Kalmar Nyckel down the Mystic River on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020, after it departed the Mystic Seaport Museum. (Sean D. Elliot/The Day)
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Spectators at Mystic River Park watch as the Kalmar Nyckel passes Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020, after departing Mystic Seaport Museum. (Sean D. Elliot/The Day)
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Crew members on the Kalmar Nyckel practice setting and furling the mizzen sail Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020, while docked at Mystic Seaport Museum. (Sean D. Elliot/The Day)
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