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A Tribute to the Swedish American Line | ||||||||
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A Tribute to the Swedish American Line | ||||||||
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Thanks to Aili Mårtens for permission to post this story of her crossing at Christmas time in 1929.
This article was printed in Jakobstads Tidning
, Finland, on Christmas Eve, 1998.
The Swedish American Line's MS Gripsholm, said to be the most stable ship of the company's fleet, was ready for departure in the Göteborg harbor. Now, seventy years later, I can no longer remember the date.
So far, we had made a long journey. From Nykarleby with Alström's bus to Kovjoki, sitting on a train one night to Helsinki, to the American Consulate for the final check up of our health and our documents. To Turku and on to Stockholm on a large size tugboat. Could it have been called Ariadne? It was not Arcturus. The train from Stockholm to Göteborg was like first class, because of the Line's concern for its passengers. We were served veal and a delicious dessert.
On the train mother and I noted that we were not the only travelers bound for America, which we had been joking about.
How wonderful to be able to let out a sigh of relief, when we finally were on board.
Yes, all the passengers showed up at the dinner table. The dining room is the best place to see all the passengers, but after a day, as the sea gets rougher, the dining room guests become more scarce, you see unused table settings, and finally, unprepared tables. Seasickness had struck, the 3rd class cabins were uncomfortably located, two decks below. It was possible to fight the sickness, not to give in to it. Find a sturdy paper bag, walk slowly, one step at a time, up to the boat deck for some fresh air.
It was interesting to study our voyage on a chart on the wall. An inch-long line showed the distance we had traveled during the day. We were crowding in front of the chart to find out where we were. The wide sea around us, and so far from land - that's all we knew. Two handsomely uniformed young officers rushed about. I wondered if they had older, more experienced, officers to aid them.
When a day's line on the chart became shorter than the previous day's, our fellow passengers were giving each other interested looks. Our laughter ended when we lost our balance, and stumbled continuously. Our conversation turned all the more solemn as we became aware that the sea was angry. We knew that the situation was serious when there was no new line on the chart.
Powerful waves
The small door to the forward deck was guarded by a seaman. We asked him to open the door, at first he hesitated, aware of his duty. A wave hit the deck making a sound as if huge barrels of water had tumbled down upon it. A wave circled the hatch to the cargo hold, which had been covered by canvas secured by ropes, some days earlier. We thanked the seaman for letting us watch, not with smiles, but with tear filled eyes asking: "How will this end?"
Christmas Eve tomorrow: Incredible! On the ocean, in a storm! There were Christmas trees here and there. Appreciated, but far more judged as unnecessary work efforts. Danger was very imminent to us, we realized how little we knew. Our thoughts wandered to the Almighty and his mercy.
No one wanted to miss the Christmas dinner. The Swedish smörgåsbord was renowned, and Christmas was something special.
We didn't know who were missing at the dinner. The sickness was merciless. The supper went by in silence. The table was divided lengthwise by a wooden bar to stop the plates from sliding about.
With the dessert, we were given printed notices with the message: "Go to your cabins, put on your life belts (bricks of cork, sewn inside sail-canvas, to be tied around your waist). Assemble on upper deck at life boat I."
We obeyed the order, but I was like in a trance, stunned, watching the life boat swinging outside the railing, one seaman at the bow, and another one aft. We were all awaiting new orders. I heard two Finnish ladies say "vaan trilli", a drill. I turned around and said: "Not very likely on Christmas Eve, can't you hear the waves having their say?"
Waited for a while, that felt like hours, without any thoughts. Someone else had been thinking, and we heard the order "Return to your cabins". No one hesitated, surely all in quiet prayer, grateful.
A welcomed signal On Christmas Day, the 3rd class passengers were invited to a sermon in the 2nd class dining room. We were sitting at round tables with white linen table cloths. I remember the speaker saying: "We are in a world of our own here". Most certainly he was praying that we would reach our haven safely.
After that evening and night, it was as if the storm had surrendered.
"Boooooh" - what signal is that, somebody asked. Well, I knew. "It's the fog horn, warning other ships in the fog that we are approaching". It was a welcomed signal, because when the sea is settling, fog appears, certainly yet another hazard, but we had been so frightened by the towering waves, that we thought no other danger could exist. The horn sounded at a minute's interval, it was a comforting thought that other ships could be at sea, even though it was our own ship that was signaling.
There were no more lines on the chart, and no one expected it. We had been through so much. Someone wondered if "they" had altered the course, as everything changed in such a short time.
I woke up in the middle of the night, sensing that everything was so different, so still. I went out to the stairs, where people were gathering. "We have docked", in New York.
It was New Year's Day, 1930. Everything was closed. On the following day, we were on solid ground, bowing our heads, grateful that we could continue our journey by train. "The Line's" bus took us to the train station, we were advised not to miss the Niagara Falls, and given good luck wishes. Yes, the train stopped for 15 minutes, but we had grown so tired of all the water, that our interest was very low. There were not many of us who were going across USA, only five to the West Coast, Oregon and Seattle, Washington, where mother's and my journey ended. The train took four and a half days, but cost twice as much as the voyage across the sea. No stops at any stations, just a whistle as we were passing by. Once in a while, in a curve, you could see the two locomotives and the last car at the same time.
When I look back at my Christmas on the Atlantic in 1929 and the storm, I realize that the lifeboat, 8-10 meters long, would have been caught by the waves and thrown against the ship’s hull.
Time and time again, I have wondered about all these people who go to see the film "Titanic". Can it be called entertainment, watching people go under? Has the Estonia catastrophe already been forgotten?
Aili Mårtens
I think you would need a very special reason to take on a voyage across the Atlantic in wintertime. (This was before the era of air travel). Such was the case for my mother and I. Our two year permit to visit Finland had come to its end. The depression was deepening, and visas to the United States were hard to come by.
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More than 100 web pages developed and maintained by Lars Hemingstam ©1998-2010
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Regardless of which ship we sailed on or which year - the memories we share are the same!
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Recommended Books |
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Updated Sep 7, 2009 Waterline - Images from the Golden Age of Cruising John Graves
Örjan Slätte, ex Information Officer on the Gripsholm, recommends Waterline - Images from the Golden Age of Cruising by John Graves, published by the National Maritime Museum in London in 2004. It is based on photos by Marine Photo Service, which were acquired by the museum in 1996 The book features many photos from SAL cruises.
Please note that the book's edition at Amazon.co.uk may not have the Kungsholm on the cover. Örjan Slätte, Informationsofficer på Gripsholm, rekommenderar boken Waterline - Images from the Golden Ages of Cruising. Boken är utgiven år 2004 av National Maritime Museum i London som 1996 förvärvat Marine Photo Service (MPS) samlingar. Redan omslagsbilden föreställer Kungsholm 1953 med två vattenskidåkande ynglingar i fronten. MPS fanns i många rederier och där finns många mycket bra foton från SAL:s kryssningar. Våra fotografer var mycket yrkesskickliga med konstnärlig talang. Man kan förmoda att de tidvis kände för att fotografera annat än leende, välklädda pax med cocktailglas i hand. Fina miljöer från fartygens "omvärld". |
Updated July7, 2008 MERCY SHIPS
During World War 2 the Drottningholm and the Gripsholm were used as repatriation ships and made 33 voyages to exchange prisoners of war, diplomats, women and children, between the warfaring nations. David Miller has written a book about the exchange and repatriation voyages,with an emphasis on the British experience. It is loaded with facts about these voyages of mercy. Read more about all the exchange and repatriation sailings during WWII here. |
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M/S Kungsholms inredning Första M/S Kungsholm, Amerikalinjens stora passagerarfartyg, byggdes på 1920-talet. Det gick mellan Göteborg och New York. Arkitekten Carl Bergsten fick uppdraget att hålla i den påkostade inredningen som skulle visa för världen vad svenska konstnärer kunde åstadkomma. Under andra världskriget togs fartyget i beslag av amerikanarna för att användas i trupptransporten till Europa. Inredningen revs då ner och förstördes. Anne-Marie Ericsson har letat i arkiv och museer efter beskrivningar, ritningar och gamla fotografier för att försöka rekonstruera denna makalösa uppvisning i svensk inredningskonst. |
Amerikabåtarna Christer Winberg, professor i historia vid Göteborgs universitet, har skrivit en bok om SAL som bygger på bevarat samtida material från Svenska Amerika Linien på Landsarkivet och Sjöfartsmuseet i Göteborg. Det omfattar exempelvis reserapporter, minnesberättelser och personligt färgade reseskildringar. Författaren har också samlat in eget material genom intervjuer med f.d. anställda.
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Andrea Dorias undergång I Andrea Dorias undergång berättar Britt-Marie Mattsson den fascinerande berättelsen om kollisionen, den heroiska räddningsaktionen och det rättsliga efterspelet till den mycket uppmärksammade olyckan - sin tids Titanic. Mattssons far var vid tiden för olyckan informationschef vid Svenska Amerika Linien. Britt-Marie Mattsson har träffat flera av de överlevande och intervjuat dem för denna bok. Hon har bland annat talat med vittnen som ger information som kan kasta nytt ljus över vad som egentligen orsakade den fruktansvärda kollisionen. Boken är rikligt illustrerad i svartvitt. |
A book about the Kungsholm of 1953. |
Journalist Per Fält has recommended |
"Såna" på Amerikabåtarna SAL har skildrats i böcker, dokumentär-filmer, journalfilmer och tidningsartiklar. Oftast är det glamouren som uppmärk-sammats men en grupp har alltid saknats i beskrivningarna: homosexuella män. Såna på Amerikabåtarna är en välskriven, lättläst och underhållande studie av en värld som gått i glömska. | |
De Flytande Palatsen From the very inception of the line in 1915, the ships of the Line attracted much attention on both sidesof the Atlantic. Not only did they represent the bonds between the old country and the new, they also represented new concepts in service, decor, and furnishings as well as in art and handicraft. Published in 1987. This book can be found on Amazon.
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Huset Broström Huset Broström för tankarna till Forsythesagan och Onedinlinjen. Inget svenskt företag har upplevt så stor dramatik som just Broströms. Detta är den dramtiska berättelsen "inifrån Huset", om det som skedde i det som syntes ske. Utgiven 1980. | ||
Out of the Fog is an American edition of a Swedish book by Algot Mattsson, who was the information officer for SAL, the owner of Stockholm, the ship that collided with Andrea Doria in 1956. The book describes the collision from the perspectives of both ships as well as the heroic rescue of hundreds. Testimony given at the hearing is also included as is a legal opinion by the American editors, one of whom was directly involved with the case. |
Detta är en berättelse om den dramatiska färden över Atlanten, från de hårda och riskfyllda överfarten med små lastskutor i mitten av 1800-talet, till lyxresorna med Amerikalinjens sista skepp. Utgiven 1982 | ||
