I do not read much about sailing any more, but I am very glad that Markus, who is an Estonian commercial fisherman and sailor, told me about SAILING TO FREEDOM by Voldemar Veedam and Carl B. Wall. I read the book in two sittings.
Above you have the 37’ ERMA at the end of her 8,000 mile voyage from Sweden to Norfolk, Virginia in 1945 with sixteen Estonian refugees on board, covering three generations, seven men, five women, and four children.
For Americans most of whom have no idea where or what Estonia is, some background is in order. Estonia is one of the Baltic States on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea, just to the west of Russia and therein lay the problem. During the Second World War Estonia was invaded by the Soviet Union, Germany, and then the Soviet Union again. Many Estonians escaped by boat across the Baltic to Scandinavian countries. About 25% of the population of Estonia died during the war, among the highest percentages of any country. At the time that would have been 40,000,000 American dead. Now it would be 80,000,000 dead. Try to imagine that.
After Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945, the Soviet Union began to pressure Scandinavian countries to forcibly repatriate refugees from countries the Soviet Union then controlled. For many this was a death sentence.
Rather than take that risk, several Estonians in Sweden bought a then fifty year old boat and set out with friends and family to sail to the United States. Along the way they stopped in Norway, Scotland, Ireland and Madeira. They were tough, determined, skilled at improvising, one of the most important qualities in making a voyage and one that probably can’t be taught, persistent, lived in harsher conditions than I do on GANNET, and lucky. This last in being reprovisioned close to the end when they were out of food and water. I think their only mistake was in not aiming for Florida rather than New York.
This is a great story that deserves to be more widely known of the sea and of men and women and children of admirable character against a background of a war shattered Europe.
I have thanked Markus for bringing it to my attention and do so again.
As far as I know the book is not in print. I bought mine used from Amazon.
Here is a NY TIMES review.
5 comments:
My cousins escaped Latvia during the war by rowing to Sweden and then sailed to America in 1948. My grandfather was a hero hero during the Latvian War for Independence, and had already escaped by 1926 to New York. The Soviets were pure evil.
The story was written up in Life Magazine. The ketch Gundel ended up at Mystic Seaport and then down in the Chesapeake. I lost the trail there.
The Life Magazine article, with photos: https://bit.ly/2WKTS3G
John Lamberts' obituary: https://www.ilesfuneralhomes.com/obituary/John-Lamberts/Des-Moines-IA/791918
(I meant war hero, obviously!)
Stop suggesting books please. My wife is scrutinizing my bills. I am running out of excuses.
He jests. Any book you recommend passes muster. It's only boaty bits that upset the wife!
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