Boats

Images of hundreds of refugees packed onto the Victory brought back memories in Ireland of the infamous “coffin ships” that sailed from Cork to America exactly a century earlier during the Irish potato famine. Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, October 11, 1949.

BROKEN JOURNEYS

Most of the Viking boats made it across the Atlantic. But since journey preparations were made in secret, it will never be known how many boats changed course, stopped sailing, or sank. 

Some of the journeys failed before they even started. The 1975 book Eestlased Kanadas (The Estonians in Canada) describes a Captain H. Rang who tried to leave Stockholm in December 1944 in a small boat with eight men on board. The boat kept running aground in the snow and fog, so the men loaded it onto a train in Norrköping, headed to the port city of Göteborg. When the men arrived, they were met by police and their Atlantic adventure ended in a Swedish refugee camp. 

In 1949, the Victory, packed with 385 refugees, made it as far as Ireland where authorities prevented the unseaworthy vessel from attempting to sail across the Atlantic. The ship was docked behind a closed bridge to make sure it didn’t try to make a run for it–as it had done in Sweden. Most of its passengers eventually made it to Canada on other ships. 

The same year, the Parita, under the command of A. Rahesson, docked in Baltimore, Maryland, and its crew and Estonian passengers left the ship. It’s unclear if the Parita was a refugee boat or if those on board took advantage of being in the United States and asked for asylum, which was denied. The group eventually emigrated to Canada.

Of all the successful Viking voyages, those to South Africa were the longest and most difficult. Six boats sailed from Sweden but only three reached their destination. The Elvi and Aina abandoned their journeys in Spain, and it is not known where the Ruth ended its voyage.

Boat        Date of departure    Passengers      Original Destination     Journey ended

1. Elvi       September 17, 1946        18              South Africa                   Spain

2. Aina      November 6, 1946           ?               South Africa                   Spain

3. Ruth      August 6, 1947                 ?              South Africa                    ?

4. Billy      July 8, 1948                    40              United States                 likely sank

5. Victory  September 25, 1949       385             Canada                           Cork, Ireland

TOTAL (at least) 456 passengers