NEW HAVEN — And they're off! Serenaded by singers from Sierra Leone and drummers from New Haven, the new crew of the Freedom Schooner Amistad sailed off Thursday for a historic voyage that will culminate in Africa.

Those waving on board included seven college students — three from the United States and four from England — who will sail the first legs of the journey to Nova Scotia and London.

The send-off drew hundreds of well-wishers who watched the ceremony and departure from the dock on Long Wharf Drive. Many in the crowd were members of the United Church of Christ, now holding a national biennial conference in Hartford, which played a role in the Amistad re-creation.

The 16-month voyage, which will cover 14,000 miles until the Amistad returns next summer, coincides with the 200th anniversary of the British Parliament's vote to ban slave shipments from Africa. David Lammy, a member of Parliament and minister for culture, attended the ceremony.

"The eyes of the world and the hopes of the world are on this journey," he told the crowd.

William Pinkney, the Amistad's first captain and now its master emeritus, noted the idea of such a voyage by a re-creation of the original Amistad arose during the tall ships parade in New York during the 1976 Bicentennial.

"The dream has come," Pinkney exulted during a news conference Thursday before the Amistad set sail.

"This is the third leg," he said. The first was building the new Amistad in Mystic in 1999; the second was taking it to ports around America over the past seven years.

"This time," Pinkney said, "we're going to the world."

Of the ship's 129-foot length, Pinkney said, "Some people think that's very small to make an ocean crossing; it is not. This ship was built specifically to be able to cross the ocean."

Pinkney's comments might have soothed the parental concerns of Elaine Senack and Robert Senack Jr., who came from Torrington to see their son, Logan Senack, sail away. He is one of the seven college students on the first leg.

Elaine Senack said she was "very excited, but also apprehensive. I'm not too worried about the trip to Nova Scotia, but a little worried about the four weeks across the ocean. I think it will be a great adventure; I hope they have good weather."

One of the other college students, Seth Bruin of Hyattsville, Md., said he was looking forward to "just being able to travel, meet new people and be in new places — and to be part of a great historical event."

Eliza Garfield, Amistad master (captain), introduced the students during the news conference, calling them "our most daring crew" because they are venturing out for the first leg.

Amistad America Chairman William Minter noted Thursday's departure fulfilled the dream that Amistad "one day would make it to Sierra Leone, the home of the captives."

He referred to the 53 Africans who in 1839 were kidnapped and sold into the slave trade. They were brought to Cuba and purchased by Spaniards, who aimed to take the captives via La Amistad.

During that trip, Sengbe Pieh led a mutiny, but the Africans were apprehended and brought to Connecticut for trial. After being jailed in New Haven and tried in Connecticut and Washington, D.C., they were set free.

"It's so inspiring that the deep tragedy of that part of our history" is now being recast by young blacks and whites sailing together in the name of "human rights and dignity," Lammy said.

Others at the ceremony included John Amos, who starred in the TV mini-series "Roots," and Susanna Connaughton of the U.S. State Department, who read a congratulatory letter from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

As the Amistad left the dock and headed into New Haven Harbor, under escort by U.S. Coast Guard vessels and the schooner Quinnipiack, Robert Senack Jr. of Torrington watched from the pier, thinking of his son on board. Regarding the schooner, he said softly, "She'll make it."

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