Joshua Slocum's 10 -cents-a-visit in New London

Carol W. Kimball

Liberdade craft
Slocum voyage from South America
Modern Robinson Crusoe
Spray, sloop

Kim04-028

Scrapbook

8: Communication Artifact

Documentary Artifact

The Day

New London, CT

10/10/1991

Carol W. Kimball

In 1889 The Day announced a little craft, Liberdade (Liberty), in which Captain Joshua Slocum and his wife and two sons had made the long voyage from South America. Dubbed, "A Modern Robinson Crusoe", for a 10-cent admission, New Londoners could board the ship modeled after recollections of Cape Ann dories and a photo of a Chinese sampan, and hear their thrilling story: Early in 1888 the Slocum's Mystic-built brig Aquidneck was lost in Brazil. The Nova Scotia native and his family agreed the best way to travel back to the United States would be to build their own boat, the Liberdade, and their return was a success. Slocum later embarked on a solo voyage around the world in his sloop, Spray. The Spray left Bristol, R.I. in the fall of 1909 and disappeared, her fate is still a mystery. Since Joshua failed to tell his family where the Liberdade was stored, her whereabouts was never known and was lost to history.

Slocum, Joshua (Capt.)
Slocum, Victor
Slocum, Garfield
Crusoe, Robinson

New London
Liberdade
South America
Spray
Aquidneck
Paranagua Bay
Brazil
Nova Scotia
Cape Ann dories
Chinese sampan