Follow along the journey here:

Journey of the Sloopers (Microsoft Powerpoint Presentation; 622KB)

What I'd like to do is show you a map and trace of the route taken by the Sloopers from Stavanger to New York city. They first stopped in England -- near the tip of the English peninsula (Lizard's Head, near Cornwall). Then they proceeded down the coast of France, all the way south to Madiera Island, which is west of the Strait of Gibraltar. Why did they head in that direction -- south -- when the way to America was to the West? Did The Restauration go via Madeira? Considering that we have neither diaries nor verbal accounts attesting to the route taken, it is not definitive as to which route it took. A similar voyage in 1818 made by the Norwegian vessel "Prima" of Larvik did pass through The Madeira Islands, with a load of German emigrants bound for Baltimore. The Restauration steered a course like so: Stavanger ---> English Channel ---> European mainland coast (south) ---> Madeira Is. The reason? I read from a letter sent by Sloopers to the American consul in Madeira: "...to avail ourselves of the eastern trade winds, which in these tropical waters at this time of year blow directly to the West Indies." Note: Rosedal [1] quotes sources indicating they did visit Madeira. (e.g., letter sent by Sloopers to the American consul in Madeira.) The Madeira Islands, or Island, are located SW from the Strait of Gibraltor.

The story of what happened once they reached the port of Funchal (fun shawl') is now legendary. Whether the crew of the Restauration really became drunk after discovering the bottle of Madiera wine floating by and whether they were in real danger of being sunk by the shore batteries -- I have no reason to doubt -- but it is no doubt that the crew and passengers were well treated during their three-day stay at the harbor. On July 31st, they set sail -- this time west, towards their destination: America.

So the brave Sloopers continued their journey to the New World. I don't have any evidence of them stopping at any other islands. My wife asked about those islands you see near the route I arbitrarily drew. There is no reason they stopped again prior to reaching NYC.

They finally arrived at NYC on October 9, 1825, "every one hale and hearty,", according to O. M. Norlie [2].

For the story about the individual who was partly responsible for these voyagers to undertake this risky voyage, see the Cleng Peerson page.

[1] J. Hart Rosdail, The Sloopers: Their Ancestry and Posterity, Ch. III pp25-29. Stavanger ? Lizard Head (Cornwall), England ? Spanish/Portuguese coast ? Funchal, Madeira Is. ? NYC.
[2] Olaf Morgan Norlie, History of the Norwegian People in America, 1925, p. 123.