Man the flying jib gear! Ease the flying jib halyard!

For those of you who are remotely interested in the things that I am totally passionate about, here are some points of clarification on what I have gotten myself into on Sunday mornings.

First off, this is the Star of India. She is a 278 foot long, 3 masted Barque, with a main mast height of 124 feet from the deck. She was launched on Nov. 14, 1863, five days before Lincoln gave his Gettysburg address. She had a rocky start from her first maiden voyage from England to India, and had many problems for the first couple years of service. Eventually she ended up as a cargo and passenger ship ferrying immigrants (willing and wanting to go) from England to New Zealand. Over the course of her career, she made 22 trips around the world. For those of you who don't appreciate the wonders of sailing ships, that is like going to Vegas and rolling 22 winning throws in a row at the craps tables. Eventually she ended up in Hawaii, just as those beautiful isles were annexed to the US, and thus began her life as a US Citizen. She was purchased by a lumber company in San Francisco and after a few years of service was laid up in the Alameda bone yard to be decommissioned. Her fate as a movie prop or military target practice was averted when some concerned citizens from San Diego purchased her. She was towed down to San Diego, and continued her rotting for another few years, at one point narrowly escaping being used for bullets in WWII. After a scathing commentary on the shortcomings of San Diegans was published in a major newspaper by a well-respected ship master who was horrified by the Star's condition, the city decided enough was enough and the ship was gradually restored. She now serves as the oldest active iron-hulled tall ship in the in the world, and is a gallant survivor of the glorious age of sail.

More on the others ships later. The classes I'm taking are all on the Star, and focused on her, but applicable to most other kinds of tall ships. The goal of the class is to qualify for the Sail Crew that sails her out on her annual voyage up and down the San Diego bay in November. MY goal is to not only do that but also be a part of the museum's other major project. The restoration of the HMS Surprise. She is not sail worthy at the moment, thanks to Fox Studios, but will be, hopefully by then end of next year. It would take a herculean effort to render her worthy by this November, and I think there are enough of us willing to try, but the First Mate and both Captains don't seem to enthusiastic about that much effort. So, next year. So, for now, the Star. And she is a beautiful ship.

Now, I know what you are thinking. It is a big metal thing with a lot of canvas and everyonce in a while, people go floating on water with it. Well, I disagree. The Star is a beautiful lady, with her own personality, her own way of communicating, and she is a prime example of some of the wonders of engineering and transportation that man has accomplished in our history. And if you can't see that, well, that is why I am crazy enough to get up at a quarter to 6 on Sunday mornings to drive an hour and half to spend the day keeping her in tip top shape, and you are not.

Ta! (and yes, I know. I'm crazy. I love a ship. *sigh*)