The return of the Friendship of Salem

That’s right, you guys. If you haven’t seen it on my social media or online, she is going to be back in the wharf soon! I am so excited to see the Friendship again, it has been (literally) years. Details of her return festivities are per Facebook:

“Alright, here’s the deal. The return of Friendship of Salem is still a moving target. There is a punch list of things to finish related to the repair project, the tide has to be right, and the weather has to be safe to get back to Salem. There is a tide window to return to Derby Wharf between Monday, April 22nd, and Wednesday, April 24th. Currently we are aiming for Monday, with Tuesday and Wednesday as backup days.

Working off of the Monday date, we will start “Welcome Home” festivities at 1:00 pm on Derby Wharf. The ship would return around 2:00. Once docked, it will take about an hour or so to get her fully tied down and the gangways in place. Following this work we will offer the public the chance, 70 people at a time, to experience the top deck of the ship. This open ship period will last until 6:00 pm.

As part of the festivities we will have the first floor of Pedrick Store House (The Sail Loft) open to learn from Rangers and volunteers about work on the ship. We will also have music on the ship stage next to the store house. As we get closer to Monday we will update this page as plans become solid. By Saturday we should be pretty confident of a return date. If we need to move to Tuesday or Wednesday, the tides will dictate the Friendship’s return 45 minutes later each day. If you plan to be at Derby Wharf to welcome Friendship of Salem home, please join the guest list for this event so we can get a basic count of how many people to expect.”

Stay tuned to the Facebook event linked above for solid dates once we know for sure. It could be anywhere from Monday April 22 to the 24th depending on how this all goes. Enjoy!! <3

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