Photo by Peter Morenus

The UConn Study Abroad program provides memorable experiences for students, but for Logan Senack ’08 (CLAS) and Erica Whyte ’10 (CLAS) their summer study program was unique.

They sailed across the Atlantic Ocean on the Amistad, the replica of the 19th-century sailing ship from Cuba that was commandeered by 53 Africans who were kidnapped for slavery in 1839 and freed by a Connecticut court.

After six weeks on board, sometimes sailing through squalls, Whyte and Senack learned to walk on a bobbing ship, swab the deck, climb the rigging, and, occasionally, crawl into the headrig, a hammock-like spot in the bow, to read books. They became sailors.

The reproduction ship — about 129 feet long and about 23 feet wide — is slightly larger than the original, based on historic records, in order to accommodate new technology, including a global satellite positioning device, electronics, and two diesel engines.

But for most of the journey, the ship was powered by wind, as it would have been in the 19th century.

The two UConn students were among seven college students — four from the United Kingdom and three from the United States — augmenting the professional crew who sailed the Amistad on from New Haven to England, on the first leg of its 2007-08 Atlantic Freedom Tour.

In the fall, a new group of students continued on to Sierra Leone and the Caribbean, replicating the triangular sea-route of the slave trade.

Two UConn students sailed last summer on the Freedom Schooner Amistad, at right.

AP Photo/Robert Rodriguez

Fundamental to their voyage was learning the detailed history of the transatlantic slave trade, the original La Amistad, and the slaves who eventually won their freedom in a Connecticut court.

Before setting sail, the seven students aboard visited locations linked to the Amistad uprising and the slave trade.

“Taking the time during class to have discussions about what we’re learning and how it relates to today’s world was great,” says Senack, an environmental science major.

“There are so many different viewpoints among the crew and the students that most of the conversations could have continued for hours.”

He says one of his best memories of the ocean voyage is seeing “a pod of 50 dolphins playing in the bow wave, almost close enough to touch.”

 Whyte was so moved by the Amistad story that she wants to relay to others what she has learned.

She developed her experiences into seven songs, including the “Amistad Sea Chantey,” which is being sung this fall by the crew of students on the second leg of the journey.

“I joined the Amistad America program because of my two darlings — coastal studies and African-American studies. After listening to and talking with a dozen bright and charismatic curators from different museums, I feel it is my turn to tell the story,” Whyte says.

“They were the mentors I needed to equip me with information to keep this remarkable story alive.” 

— Lucinda Weiss