Naval History caught up recently with the captain of the Amistad—a re-creation of the ship made famous by a movie of the same name. The movie is based loosely on what is known in history as “the Amistad Incident” of 1839. A group of Africans had been captured in what is now Sierra Leone and were to be slaves. Refusing to resign themselves to that fate, they staged an uprising and seized the ship, La Amistad. They were recaptured off the U.S. New England coast but eventually won a case that went to the Supreme Court, allowing them to sail back to Africa. While her crew prepared the ship to sail after a port visit to Annapolis, Maryland, the skipper of the Amistad talked with Naval History Editor Fred L. Schultz about life on board and the message the ship is trying to advance.
Naval History: What sets this ship apart from other “tall ships,” in respect to getting her under way and under sail?
Deely: This is a Baltimore Clipper, designed in the early 19th century. It’s pretty common knowledge that these vessels were used for privateering, often illicit. They were very much the general tractor trailers of their day. I don’t see much of a correlation, because there is no record that the Amistad was ever used as a privateer. These ships are fairly complex, in that the foresail brails in. Generally she will carry a square topsail aloft; we don’t have that on her right now. I never make a comparison between traditional vessels, because they’re all different. They’re as different as people, in my mind. Unlike the original Amistad, we’re lucky to have engines so we can steam her away. We have a fairly deep draft, so we have to be concerned about the tide. It’s not a simple process, but it is common sense. Everything has to be stowed, and you have to make sure that the decks are clear. Unlike some other ships, this one will take a lot of water. When we’re sailing, a good deal of water passes over the deck. So we have to be extra cautious about where we put our lines. We have to prepare for that.
Naval History: What is your background?
Deely: I’ve been sailing professionally for about 13 years. Generally, when you work on a vessel like this you sign on for six months to a year, until you reach higher- level positions. This is the 25th traditional vessel I’ve worked on in one capacity or another, and this is my fifth command. I spent three years working on The Pride of Baltimore II, and I worked on a skipjack in Baltimore, the Minnie V.
Naval History: It seems ironic, perhaps, that a ship associated with African slaves is commanded by someone like yourself. You’re obviously not African American.
Deely: First, Amistad was never a slave ship. Slave ship was the term used to describe vessels that sailed through the middle passage, from Africa to the Caribbean. This ship never did that. This ship was a small coastal, cargo vessel. And at one point, she happened to be carrying a cargo of people—53 enslaved Africans. It was not her normal trade. She also was carrying dry goods at the same time.
This industry—it’s more like a guild, really—of American-flagged traditional sailing vessels is not diverse. There’s a great line from James Patterson, my chef who’s been on board boats for 30 years. He said, “I’m the first black guy I ever sailed with until I came on the Amistad.”
What we’re doing here is attempting to model diversity. We’re taking people from all backgrounds, and we’re trying to make sailors out of them. But more important, we’re trying to show the world that everybody is the same. The story of the Amistad is not a story just for African Americans; it’s a story for whites; it’s a story for Spaniards.
Naval History: What message are you trying to convey at each port?
Deely: Basically that we’re all ambassadors of this mission, that we all must go forward and recognize what the Supreme Court said in 1839: “All people bom free must remain free.”
Naval History: What has been the reaction at the various ports? Do most people know what’s going on here?
Deely: Steven Spielberg helped a lot when he introduced the basic outline of the story in his movie, Amistad, in the 1990s. But that’s a Hollywood rendition; it’s only about 60-70% accurate. He missed a number of nuances, and there are a lot of created characters in that movie. So people know the story roughly. The reaction is varied. Some people want to come on board because she’s a sleek vessel. Some people just touch her and start to weep. She’s a very powerful symbol of freedom.
Naval History: Have you ever confronted Spielberg with the inaccuracies and false nuances?
Deely: Not me personally. Spielberg never gave any money to the project, but what he did do was invaluable. The ship was about halfway into the fund-raising process when the Amistad movie came out. The first half of the fund-raising process was an education for everybody. You would call up a potential donor and say, “We’re interested in building the Amistad." And they would say, “What’s that?” In the second half of the process, after the movie came out, when we said, “We’re interested in building the Amistad,” everybody said, “Oh! Okay, here’s some money.” So Spielberg helped tremendously, but indirectly.
Naval History: How does Annapolis compare to other ports?
Deely: Our previous port was Wilmington, North Carolina, and that’s 24 miles up the Cape Fear River. Most ships don’t go there. So the people there were in awe. They were very welcoming. Annapolis has been welcoming, too, but it’s obvious that this is not a new thing here. People here are used to seeing traditional vessels. So the numbers were fairly light.
Naval History: How many people do you have on board?
Deely: There are 13.
Naval History: Where do you go next?
Capt Deely: Mystic, Connecticut. The home port is New Haven, but the ship was built in Mystic, and we have a ten-year agreement with the seaport there for the maintenance of the vessel. We’re going to do several things in the yard. We’re going to increase tank capacity so the ship can go into the Great Lakes this year. In the Great Lakes it is illegal to discharge anything, so we have to make accommodations for holding more grey water. We’re also putting on a new fore-topmast that Mystic has built for us.
Naval History: You need new gear already, after only three years?
Deely: Yes, she’s been operating for three years. The fore-topmast that’s on here now is heavily checked all the way down to the heel. As a result, we weren’t able to fly the square topsail. So we had to take the topyard off before the ship went south. When we get to Mystic again we’ll put up the topyard, and we’ll be able to carry all of her sail again.
Naval History: Do you ever participate in events with other ships?
Deely: We do, wherever possible. Amistad tends to be a little bit outside the circle of the American Sail Training Association, the folks who do most of the tall ship gatherings. We overlap them sometimes, but our mission is unique. We don’t have a sail-training mission, except what we do with our own crew. So we do find that when we’re sailing in company with other vessels, it’s wonderful. This ship is very fast.
Naval History: Do you think the original ship ever will be found?
Deely: We don’t even know where she went down, or if she did, in fact, go down. Obviously she’s not floating anymore, but whether she went down tied to a dock somewhere after years of neglect or in a squall, we don’t know. When the name was changed to Ion, after a couple of years of trading, we sort of lost record of her.
Naval History: Are people currently looking for her?
Deely: I think some people are. It’s our hope that someday we can get a piece of the original Amistad.
Naval History: Tell us how people can go about volunteering.
Deely: The best way to volunteer is to become a member of the organization; you must be a member to volunteer aboard. You can find us on the Internet Web site (see box, facing page) and sign up. Once you’re a member, you receive a quarterly newsletter. And in each one are volunteer opportunities. A small amount of training takes place beforehand—necessary, basic shipboard operations training. I always like to make sure people understand what they’re getting into before they come on board a vessel like this. It’s not a cruise ship at all.