Another Lady voyaging under sail

Published in THE CAPE HORNER JOURNAL of Australia # 126. August, 1998.

Jocelyn Palmer, a member of Cape Horners Australia, rounded Cape Horn in the 4-masted barque VIKING in 1948. She was then Miss Jocelyn Hall of South Australia but later, after the voyage, she married 3rd Pilot Ingemar Palmer, now Captain Palmer, and set up their home in Mariehamn, in the Äland Islands.

Jocelyn is very versatile and soon learned to speak the Swedish language fluently, to such an extent that there are now several works written in Swedish on the subject of our magnificent square-riggers which have been translated into English by Jocelyn for all of us to enjoy. With her experience aboard the VIKING and with the influence of Captain Ingemar she has a wonderful knowledge of shipping terms and of the language of the sea and ships; we should all be very grateful for Jocelyn. The people of Åland are very proud of their maritime history as their port of Mariehamn was home to the world´s last deepwater fleet of commercial square-rigged sailing ships, and they do have something of which to be very proud.

From this was born the Åland Nautical Club r.f. and they have published many articles and books on the ships and seafarers of these islands. One of the latest publications is Sjohistorisk Arsskrift for Åland 1996-97 (the Sea History Year Book for Åland 1996-97). This is a wonderful little book of 175 pages which contains many factual stories. Among them is an anecdote of the Legend of Captain Gustaf Erikson by Captain Justus Harberg, another on the 4-masted barque L'AVENIR by Captain Gote Sundberg; Captain Sundberg makes mention therein of an American lady, Annette Brock Davis who was on the 1934 voyage of the barque. She now resides in Ontario Canada, but lives in the U.S.A. for half of the year. She is battling to publish her account of her experience on the L'AVENIR. Then there is the diary of Jocelyn Palmer of her voyage on the VIKING. Another by Jocelyn's husband, Captain Ingemar Palmer on the Åland Section of AICH, and many others. Most are written in Swedish, with a summary in English, many of which have been translated by Jocelyn. Her own diary, which is written in English, has been completed by a summary in Swedish. One hopes that more Yearbooks will follow.

Other young ladies have sought to adventure in Gustaf Erikson's ships. For example, Miss Betty Northmore and Miss Gwenyth Edwardes. Miss Northmore sailed on the PASSAT in 1948 and again in 1949. Miss Edwardes on the L'AVENIR in 1937. Then there was Jean Day who stowed away on the HERZOGIN CECILIE in 1928. There were two girls on the PARMA in 1933; Captain Reuben de Cloux's daughter Ruby and Elizabeth Jacobsen, what became of those two young ladies? Pamela Bourne, who later became Mrs. Sven Eriksson, sailed on the HERZOGIN CECILIE in 1934 and again in 1936, and Winifred Lloyd, sailmaker on the PENANG in 1940, and who lost her life with the rest of the crew in the North Atlantic in that year.