In the morning the 3rd of June the vessel Washington weighed anchor in the Larvik-bay, passed with fresh northern wind through the harbour of Fredriksværn, saluted the fortress with 4 shots and the steamer "Prinds Carl" with three times hurrah, salutations which were returned from both parts, and then sailed on with all well onboard. In the evening there was no wind, and due to the rolling of the ship, the seasickness spread among the passengers. The next morning Washington rolled a lot; the wind was from the north and it was very calm with beautiful weather. The wives of Halvor Jørusdal and Lars Folseland were those who suffered the most from the seasickness, and they complained about "Svimmer i Skællen" (dizziness in the head). Towards the evening the wind started blowing, the rolling abated, and the last glimpse of the country could be seen.
The captain wished to know if the departing from their mother land made a strong impression upon the emigrants, as they probably would never be able to see it again; but they were all glad and excited and only asked whether it was Lindesnes they saw, and broke out in laughter with the words "Happy voyage to us all".
It was 8 o'clock next morning before anyone got up on deck, but as soon as the first came, the rest followed as ants from an anthill. There was no wind and the ship glided forward as in a lake; the seasickness seemed to have completely vanished. It was a Sunday, and they all started to wash and dress up in their finest clothes, and therefore with great devoutness took part in the prayer, during which some of "Mynster's reflections on God's power and omnipresence" were read, and before and after a Psalm was sung under accompaniment of a flute and a violin. In the evening there was a lot of merriness onboard: music and dancing in abundance, 4 of the crew and 4 of the passengers played violin and one of the crew played flute. The merriness, said the captain, took place with much propriety and order, and he admired the Telemark-farmers for their politeness and considerance.
On the 6th, 7th and 8th of June, the weather was still nice, and the women spent their time knitting and sewing, and the elderly with reading and singing psalms, but the men mostly stood with their hands in their pockets staring out across the sea. Some dolphins turned up and followed the ship for a while, and the passengers thought this had to be sea-horses, as they thought they saw them galloping. On the 9th they had advanced into the Channel and the captain hoped that with the present weather, they would the next morning be in the Atlantic. All the passengers were well and all well onboard.  


© 1997 - Skien Genealogical Page - by Jan Christensen