Zwaanendael Maritime Celebration: ‘A Sailor’s Life for Me’ in Lewes, Del. over the 2017 Memorial Day weekend
Adults and children alike will have an opportunity to experience seafaring lives of adventure, romance, excitement and hardships, and to honor mariners who made the ultimate sacrifice, during the Zwaanendael Museum’s two-day maritime celebration, “A Sailor’s Life for Me,” that will take place at a variety of downtown Lewes, Del. locations on May 27 and 28, 2017. A preliminary schedule of events is included below. Except for tours of the Lightship Overfalls, admission to all events is free and open to the public. For additional information, call 302-645-1148.
2017 Zwaanendael Maritime Celebration: “A Sailor’s Life for Me”
Preliminary schedule as of April 18, 2017
Saturday, May 27, 2017
Zwaanendael Museum, 102 Kings Highway, Lewes
–“Life at Sea” demonstrations, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Swab the deck, learn about shipboard food, play “Crown and Anchor” and other Colonial-period games and serve on a block-and-tackle station where visitors will be drilled by a demanding mariner looking for new crew members
–Displays and demonstrations on local maritime history, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Presented by a variety of local organizations including the Indian River Lifesaving Station; the Lewes Historical Society; the Lightship Overfalls and the Overfalls Foundation; and the Marine Education, Research and Rehabilitation Institute (MERR)
Canal Front Park, 211 Front St., Lewes
–Living-history encampment, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Historical re-enactors will portray sailors and mariners from the American Revolutionary War to the Korean War with a spotlight on World War I in commemoration of the centennial of America’s entrance into the Great War. Activities include displays, demonstrations and musket drills
Lightship Overfalls, 219 Pilottown Road, Lewes (next to Canal Front Park)
–Sound pipe demonstrations, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Demonstrations on the use of sound pipes which were used by the Overfalls to produce distinct and powerfully audible warnings during the presence of thick fog or mist
–Tours of the Overfalls, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Visit this National Historic Landmark that was the last lightship built by the United States Lighthouse Service. Last tour at 3:30 p.m. Admission $5 for adults and children over 14 years of age
Sunday, May 28, 2017
Zwaanendael Museum, 102 Kings Highway, Lewes
–“Lost Off Lewes: The British Warship DeBraak,” tours at 9 and 11 a.m., and 12:30 p.m.
Participants will meet at the Zwaanendael Museum where they will board a van that will transport them to an offsite conservation facility for a guided tour of the surviving hull section of His Majesty’s Sloop DeBraak which sank off the Delaware coast on May 25, 1798. Admission is free, but due to limited seating, reservations are required by calling 302-645-1148 no later than Friday, May 19, 2017
–Colonial games, 1:30–4 p.m.
–Wreath-laying ceremony honoring crew members of the DeBraak, apx. 3:30 p.m.
Featuring historical re-enactors, a bugler and a bagpiper, this ceremony will take place at the DeBraak Memorial located on the museum grounds. The site is believed to contain the remains of several crew members who lost their lives in the sinking of the DeBraak
Canal Front Park, 211 Front St., Lewes
–Living-history encampment, 9 a.m.–2 p.m.
Historical re-enactors to portray sailors and mariners from the American Revolutionary War to the Korean War with a spotlight on World War I in commemoration of the centennial of America’s entrance into the Great War. Activities include displays, demonstrations and musket drills
Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church cemetery, 211 Mulberry St., Lewes
–Wreath-laying ceremony at the tomb of James Drew, captain of the DeBraak, 3 p.m.
Featuring historical re-enactors, a bugler and a bagpiper, participants will lay a wreath on Capt. Drew’s grave, followed by a walk to the Zwaanendael Museum for a wreath-laying ceremony honoring other crew members of the DeBraak