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Two Weeks Before the Mast
Early next month I'll be joining the crew of the Lady Washington for a two week training course. I'll go onboard in Ventura, then the next day we sail 240 nautical miles north to Monterey. The rest of the time will mostly be spent in port, giving tours and short cruises. (Apparently we might have to anchor out in the harbor for a night or two to make room for a cruise ship!) I'll be a deckhand, doing whatever needs doing: scrubbing decks, polishing brass, cleaning the head, etc. But it's a working tallship, and the program is designed to train tallship sailors, so I'll also be helping with the operation of the ship, including going aloft to release/secure sails as needed. I'll also be standing watch, at least during the trip up the coast. I know the reality will be cold and boring, but, damn.
This is something I've meant to do for at least 13 years, going by the evidence I could find in my archives. The last few years have made me realize on a deeper and personal level that, while by no means imminent, there is a very finite horizon on my ability to partake in activities involving heavy physical labor. I need to make sure to do these kinds of things sooner rather than later.
I've spent the last week practicing knots. (By itself that's a great benefit. I've never been particularly good at knots, and have always been a bit jealous of the skill. Nothing like being forced to finally learn a skill you wanted.) The gear has started to arrive -- I have a marlinspike now! This morning I made travel reservation down and back up. Since I have the weekend before free, I decided to take the train down and save a bit of carbon. (Plus, I've never taken the train past Eugene!) The last leg from Bakersfield to Ventura will be by Amtrak bus, so not only will the trip be by land, by sea and by air, it will also include planes, trains and automobiles.
Basically, I'm super excited and can't stop thinking about it. Watching hours of tallship videos has been a side effect. Most aren't very useful in terms of learning how things are done, but they sure are pretty. The following two are exceptions, being kind of terrible in terms of quality, but really great for technical details.
This is something I've meant to do for at least 13 years, going by the evidence I could find in my archives. The last few years have made me realize on a deeper and personal level that, while by no means imminent, there is a very finite horizon on my ability to partake in activities involving heavy physical labor. I need to make sure to do these kinds of things sooner rather than later.
I've spent the last week practicing knots. (By itself that's a great benefit. I've never been particularly good at knots, and have always been a bit jealous of the skill. Nothing like being forced to finally learn a skill you wanted.) The gear has started to arrive -- I have a marlinspike now! This morning I made travel reservation down and back up. Since I have the weekend before free, I decided to take the train down and save a bit of carbon. (Plus, I've never taken the train past Eugene!) The last leg from Bakersfield to Ventura will be by Amtrak bus, so not only will the trip be by land, by sea and by air, it will also include planes, trains and automobiles.
Basically, I'm super excited and can't stop thinking about it. Watching hours of tallship videos has been a side effect. Most aren't very useful in terms of learning how things are done, but they sure are pretty. The following two are exceptions, being kind of terrible in terms of quality, but really great for technical details.
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Also, this is so awesome and I look forward to pictures from it! Congratulations!
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