The Calm Before the Storm

Sunday. Feb. 19th. The last Sunday before The Test. I don't know why I'm so nervous about my sail training exam, but I guess it might be because I feel like so much is riding on it. Today was a breakthrough for me, and now I want to pass the exam more than ever. It started out super early, because I'm sleeping over at a friend's house to watch her dogs. The weather has been kinda bad, but I think that stormy weather is the best catalyst for beautiful sunrises and sunsets. This is what greeted me on the 73 and near Camp Pendelton this morning.



Today, the lessons were not so much on the Star of India, and more on the other ships of the museum. We had one class with Captain Chris aboard the Surprise. He gave us a run down on the history of the ship, originally known as the HMS Rose, built as a replica of a 1750s sixth-rate man-o-war ship in the British Navy. The ship was a bit of a fiasco from the start, being very badly underfunded, and spent a few years going into disrepair. She was eventually overhauled and rebuilt to meet more recent Coast Guard standards, and soon afterwards was purchased by Fox Studios for the movie "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World". Fox had to change a great deal aboard the Surprise to make her more like a British ship-of-the-line of the early 1800s. There doesn't seem to be any sense to some of the stuff that they did to that poor ship. And since I don't understand a lot of the stuff, I won't try to go into it for fear of leading you astray. Suffice to say that it seems like Captain Chris is going to be the man to run the Surprise and the higher ups of the volunteer crew are worried about the commitment of their newest volunteers regarding the Surprise. They are going to need as many people as possible to work on fixing the ship and then learning to sail it. The rigging and sail configuration of the ship are different from the Star and the Californian, which ought to make things interesting for those of us who are having a hard time learning this stuff as it is. Oh well.

Our next stop was the Californian. We were given a good run down of the sail plan on the two-masted topsail schooner and after that, a run down of the anatomy of the ship. We were then told about what will happen after the test. If we past the test next Sunday, then we are



qualified to sail, and crew. Which means, technically, that if I pass the test, then the following weekend, the first Sunday of March, I can go sailing on the Californian. Now there are a lot of us who want to do this. But there are a lot of opportunities because the Californian sails all week, all the time. If we pass, then we will be given many additional materials to learn about the details of the ship. For example, the Californian sails to Catalina and sometimes Santa Barbara, which means there is night sailing. You have to know the ropes, the pins they are belayed on, and your knots. To know them in the dark. No hesitation. So. No pressure...or anything.

The last bit of my eventful day was my networking out a bit. I made friends early on with a wonderful crew member named Anne. She has now taught me splicing and a bunch of stuff. Today, she went out of her way to introduce me to a fellow named Bob Ross, and Captain Chris. They gave me lots of tips and advice on my goal of getting a paid crew job somewhere. Also, I volunteered for Galley Duty, to clean the pots and galley after the crew had eaten lunch (today was a Maintenance Day for regular volunteers, and they get lunch on the days they come.) and I got to spend time with Swammy (David) the "grumpy old cook." He is actually pretty cool, and was happy to tell me about being a ship's cook among other things. So, now I have a lot to think about this week, and I have people who know me in the regualar crew.

One last note. The First Mate of the Star, who is pretty much in charge of the crew (outside the captains) is called Jim Davis. He is a bear. A perfect first mate. I won't go near him. He's one of those really tough guys who will only gruffly be nice to you and only if you've earned his respect. Maybe by that you have some idea of what he's like. I had several people tell me today that I had either a blessed name or that they were sorry my last name was Davis. It is a very tiny note of distinction for me. A dubious honor at best.


With luck, I will be doing the above (sailing on the Californian) in two or three weeks. Ta!