Life On Board the Lady Washington
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Almost every day on board the Lady Washington a visitor says "I would give anything to be able to do this". When offered the opportunity, however, most people are securely moored to land by jobs, kids, marriage etc. Eventually we realized that, in addition to living our own dreams, we were also keeping other people's dreams alive. Here is what they were missing.
Looking for that buoy in the fog. Even though GPS tells you exactly where
you and the buoy are supposed to be, it is reassuring to actually see
it.
Cannons are essential toys for the replica sailor. The instant
captured here happens so fast that even in person you can hardly see it.
The Lady Washington has two swivel guns and one (formerly two) cannon.
They are essentially loud, dangerous, smelly, and continually rusting.
It's a guy thing. Notice the belaying pins with the braces belayed but not
made fast (no final hitch) so that they can be quickly cast off when necessary.
A typical crew member, ready to spring aloft in an instant, equipped with a safety
belt. The lanyard is secured over his shoulder to make climbing easier.
When the sailor lays out on the yard the lanyard is clipped on to the jackstay,
which is a modern practice; anyone using any safety gear before
WWII would have been ridiculed.
The ship's fiddler and a fiddler from the local community having some tunes on
the main hatch during a tall ship rally. Photo by Heath Curdts.
The crew, attempting to look like a 19th century photo with Capt. Bill Larson on
the left.
We got involved in making the Startrek Generations movie, which was deeply disappointing
to everyone on the crew, since we were supposed to be on our way to Hawaii.
It was interesting, a lot of work, and fun except that we were a crack deep
water crew assembled for one purpose, which didn't include movie making. It is very
unlikely that any one in that
crew will ever get the chance to make an ocean crossing in a square-rigger again, although none of us will get to do a movie
again either; a movie wasn't part of our dream. One shot has the holodeck
arch, another has way too many Worfs.
Wedged between the stanchions and the main sheet block, a crew member naps
with only moderate possibility of sliding across the deck during a large roll.
In calmer seas the cavil makes a nice back rest for reading. Vessels of
this size were still using tillers for steering. The ruder head can be
seen in it's well. The large coil of line hanging on the belaying pin is
the main sheet. The mainsail, which is not set, is a major cause of
weather helm in many conditions and is therefore seldom used..
The transom and rudder.
The crew lives before the mast in the forecastle (pronounced fo'c'le), the only entrance
to which is through this small hatch. There are eight bunks, four to a
side, two up and two down, in a space about 12 feet fore and aft and
the width of the vessel at that point, which is about 16 feet. The bulkhead in the
right of the picture separates the forecastle from the chain locker. The
area is shared with the fore mast, which makes a handy place for hanging foul weather
gear and the fire extinguisher. Ordinarily there would be eight sea chests
lined up along the bunks for personal storage and seating, but on this vessel an
uncomfortable church pew was the best that we had. Wet boots and gear had to dry here and at sea everything that wasn't tied down ended up on the lee
side in a pile.
Capt. Michael "Jake" Jacobson assessing the situation from the
quarterdeck. Jake is a shipwright who took part in the building and
rigging of the Lady Washington and has been associated with the vessel ever
since. He is now her senior captain, overseeing the rest of the captain
pool.
Loosing sail. The gasket is cast loose (left) and then coiled to hang on
the forward side of the sail prior to actually setting the sail.
Modern square-rig sailors are not concerned about seeming silly; in fact, I
don't think it ever occurred to anyone that Mortimer might be silly.
Mortimer was a totally urban moose when he arrived on board. He was
purchased in Alaska as a gift for a child back home but he was immediately adopted
as a member of the crew and given his name by consensus. He enjoyed
sitting on the binnacle studying the charts and helping Darryl with the navigation
through the tricky waters of SE Alaska. Jake made him a little canvas period waistcoat.
Another crewmember donated a spare pirate earring. The captain's wife made
him a brocade rigging belt. He acquired a turkshead wrist band made of seine
twine. By the end of the tour no moose saltier than Mortimer had ever
sailed a square-rigger.
We were approached while under sail by a small boat carrying someone armed with
a camera. The crew is preparing to repel boarders. Notice the cannon
in the cannon port and the gunner, Mad Dog, holding a slow-match, the thing with
which the cannon is fired.
Richard Sturgill, fisherman/photographer, from Blain WA. Richard is a fine
example of the many great people that are attracted to the Lady
Washington. He kept us supplied with fresh fish and crab during our
haul-out. He also took many of the best pictures on this site.
The boatswain (pronounced bo's'n) standing near the forecastle hatch whipping
the end of something.
Modern sailors who are bad can't be flogged, but they can be suspended from the
end of the jib-boom until they promise to be good.
I have no idea what is going on here but it does illustrate the degree of trust
that shipmates can develop.
Standing bow watch. The fore-topmast staysail is flaked into a hammock which makes a great
place to lounge with the forestay as a back rest.
