The Americas Sail Tall Ships arrived in St. Petersburg harbor a few days ago, which gave me an opportunity to try something I’ve always wanted…whistling on the wooden deck of a tall-masted ship. Unfortunately I arrived too late to go to sea with the US Coast Guard cutter Eagle, which would have been Way Cool, but I was able to tour the other ships in their little regatta that were docked.
So I found a spot amidst the rigging and played some hornpipes. And then the clouds opened up and it rained and I kept playing (could really have used a FippleShield at that moment) while all the other tourists scrambled to the gangplank, and then it was just me on deck with the crew, with the sound of the rain, and the creaking of the ship as it rocked in waves, and the hornpipes.
Kinda cool.
Kev
That’s cool. How big were the ships? A band I was in played for a tall ships event in Sarnia, Ontario a couple of years ago. We didn’t get to play on board though. Not even on the dock which was too narrow. The ships weren’s as big as I expected but it would still be great to play on board one.
Steve
Two of the Weekenders played Haul Away Joe on the Lady Washington last summer while the crew were hauling something. i whistled then sang. It is fun to play on board ships! They sing chanteys at Mystic, CT too as part of their dogwatch program.If you go there, bring your whistle, the docents love it!
Great fun, Dazed.
The Cisne Branco is a Brazilian clipper thats 256’ long, with a 35’ beam and a 16’ draft…big boat and a lotta sail. Steel hull, though, with wooden fittings, but still nice.
The cooler ship was the Larinda, an 86’ schooner…wooden construction, with wonderful wood decks and wooden cabins below.
There were others, and I would have preferred seeing more period ships, but it was still great. Not a comfortable way to live, though.
Well, if you are young and unattached, the crew of the Lady Washington (and the Hawaiian Chieftain) cruises up and down the West Coast under wind power only.
The ship was built during Rev War period. I don’t know if the crew actually gets paid or what but they have a real camaraderie going there.
They come into port for weeks, give bay cruises and amuse the tourists and school children. As I had never sailed, it was fun to circle around the Bay that way. I got to steer and the helm was pretty powerful to hang onto.
I think it would be cool to do for a year or so. And you could definitely bring your whistles!
I think it would be cool to do for a year or so. And you could definitely bring your whistles!
Uh, maybe. I dont know…seems after a few weeks of the SwallowTail Jig and My Darling Asleep I may find myself awakening one morning lashed to the mizzenmast or heaved overboard, or worse, that my precious Copeland gets tossed into the bilge.
It would be a cool adventure, though. The ships on the east coast here tend to cruise from Curacao in the Dutch Caribbean to Montego Bay, then past Cuba to St. Pete.
I took the opportunity to tootle a hornpipe or 2 on the deck of the whaler Charles W. Morgan at Mystic Seaport, CT a coupla years ago. Terrific place to visit, and definitely a cool place to whistle. They often have period musicians performing in different places around the museum, and if you have a whistle in your pocket, you can probably sit in on a tune or 2.