Got some updates from friends – decided to post a few choice blurbs from the content of these emails…
Eric “The Beard” Bott writes from Tri-Cities, Washington:
awesome. i love brig (schooner) p0rn. i miss the boats, but i plan to be back at it early next year, once my next step is in the bag, i have cash saved up and i can play for 8 months. its good to have the plug from the pipe bomb shirts. glad to see im not the only one flaunting them still. rock on. say hi to everyone for me, even bowditch. later, -bott
Steve Dilley:
…its good to hear from you again. I'm glad that you are on the Bill, they really needed the help. I'm actually off to Baltimore on Thursday to re-rig the Clipper City, but I'll be back at the end of April. You all should come down and visit in Vegas! You have a place to stay with a pool, spa, jacuzzi, and a putting green. Anyway, I don't check the e-mail too much so give me a call sometime and stay in touch!
The Lovely Shawn Strange (Cook for Haw’n Chieftain fall/winter 03):
you're sailing with Jesika, Jesse and Trandell?
man-o-man.
I'm back on Tole Mour this summer. Done with soren and backpacking around New Zealand right now.
What's you're cruisetrack? Are you going to be in SoCal anytime this summer? I'll try to look up the Bill's cruise track. Might be heading inland for a bit. not sure yet. just enjoying tramping around and knowing I have a boat to go to this summer. the Tole is sooooooo MUCH fun. Give my love to Trandell and Jesse and others that sai through. just caught a ride from a couple from Port Townsend today-funny timing this entire trip has been. They know Avery Africa too. Their kid is school with her-- too funny.
Heard from Tu at all? look forward to chatting either online or live.
love to ya doll,
-Shawn
From Captain Mark Griffin (alum Lady Captain and Mate):Say hi to Haida Bob, Capt. Ryan, Michael and all. I miss the Tall Ships. It looks like I will miss the Tall Ship festival in the Northwest as well. May just have to settle for the Med. Take care and watch those mud flats. Loved your photos!! Fair Winds Capt. Mark Griffin
From Daniel Macke (alum Lady crew) up in Port Townsend, WA:
IN fact, we were just talking about you...Brian, Nanette and I were catching up at Gary and Ta's house.
Sounded like you made the right move--at the right time, too.
So how is the bill o' rights? And what's the program? Is it also under … the Seaport?
Anyway, I'm missing the tall ship life…. But I have a hand to heal, and a boat to rebuild. (The masts go back in next week. 12 coats of varnish!) Will you be up here for the tall ships gathering?
Wild winds,
D
Other updates!
Andrew Mckee is flying to Baltimore next week and joining Pride 2 on it’s trip to Europe. Sounds like Mark Olson might be joining Bill of Rights for Tall Ships ’05! And my friend Ian Spain is off Denis Sullivan and getting ready to go to Moldova where he starts his peace corps assignment.
It’s a small world, our little tall ship community. I like that we keep in touch. See you “out there” :)
A real post.
All I do nowadays is post pictures. There's plenty of entertaining blog material to be had while living on board, but the time and energy to post it is hard to come by. There's a little pink notebook where I keep a kind of shorthand account of things worth blogging about. For example, we have breakfast conversations centering around politics and war history, or debates on better or worse music. The other morning the Captain swore that Gigi Allen was more respectable than Marilyn Manson. This got Rich and Jesika in on the conversation, who disagreed somewhat and Jesika proclaimed that Iggy Pop was the originator of shock performance. All of this stemmed from that silly article on the reservation teen who went berserk, and how he (of course) wore a trenchcoat, listened to Marilyn Manson and was pro-Nazi.
Word to the wise: DON'T TRUST ANYONE IN A TRENCHCOAT
Then we started talking about modes of transportation for Jesika once she disembarks next month. Our discussion of the "Shame Train" (Greyhound) led to Bhodi relating stories of the "Funwa Bus" from Boston's Chinatown to New York's Chinatown. Full of random crazies and entire families chowing down on noodles en route. Jes and I HAD to bring up the "Pee Man" on the San Fran bus a few weeks ago. He smelled worse than any bad day of overflowing blackwater, and managed to clear half a public bus in seconds. It was like a crush towards the aft door, gasping for better air.
My boat happens to have 4 crew who were born within a year of each other, and we sometimes argue like brothers and sisters. Yesterday "Dad" had to call us back and give us a talking to about our squabbling on how to set the main gaff topsl. See, Erin is the only one who knows how to set it, and she had to run off in the small boat to fetch a dry swab that had set itself free from the cap rail. So there we were, trying to figure out how to set this sail, looking pretty foolish and like the Marx Brothers probably. Passengers began laughing at us. It was funny, for sure. Erin is 23 years old and more mature, and often a better sailor than several of us old folks on board. She rarely wastes her time arguing. She just goes and does it.
So Jesse Loge is gone, much to my dismay, but Myuh and Shiny are back from there mini-vacations. Jesika and Elaine are leaving soon, and it looks like I'm going to have to cook for a few weeks. SHIT! And it's double-shit because the Bill budget is small because the crew is small. Jesika, as a professional, can make a 5 course meal out of flour and a garlic clove. I on the other hand need a mini grocery store onboard to get ideas. Looks like Bhodi and Erin will be leaving soon too. One benefit of this is that I'll be getting my own cabin after April 10th.
Polly is coming to visit for two nights in Sausalito! Yippee! After Sausalito I won't have much computer access until May.
There's only a few hours left of my day off in Redwood City, CA. Then I have to return Haida Bob's computer and Todd's car so he can get back to school... laters!
Word to the wise: DON'T TRUST ANYONE IN A TRENCHCOAT
Then we started talking about modes of transportation for Jesika once she disembarks next month. Our discussion of the "Shame Train" (Greyhound) led to Bhodi relating stories of the "Funwa Bus" from Boston's Chinatown to New York's Chinatown. Full of random crazies and entire families chowing down on noodles en route. Jes and I HAD to bring up the "Pee Man" on the San Fran bus a few weeks ago. He smelled worse than any bad day of overflowing blackwater, and managed to clear half a public bus in seconds. It was like a crush towards the aft door, gasping for better air.
My boat happens to have 4 crew who were born within a year of each other, and we sometimes argue like brothers and sisters. Yesterday "Dad" had to call us back and give us a talking to about our squabbling on how to set the main gaff topsl. See, Erin is the only one who knows how to set it, and she had to run off in the small boat to fetch a dry swab that had set itself free from the cap rail. So there we were, trying to figure out how to set this sail, looking pretty foolish and like the Marx Brothers probably. Passengers began laughing at us. It was funny, for sure. Erin is 23 years old and more mature, and often a better sailor than several of us old folks on board. She rarely wastes her time arguing. She just goes and does it.
So Jesse Loge is gone, much to my dismay, but Myuh and Shiny are back from there mini-vacations. Jesika and Elaine are leaving soon, and it looks like I'm going to have to cook for a few weeks. SHIT! And it's double-shit because the Bill budget is small because the crew is small. Jesika, as a professional, can make a 5 course meal out of flour and a garlic clove. I on the other hand need a mini grocery store onboard to get ideas. Looks like Bhodi and Erin will be leaving soon too. One benefit of this is that I'll be getting my own cabin after April 10th.
Polly is coming to visit for two nights in Sausalito! Yippee! After Sausalito I won't have much computer access until May.
There's only a few hours left of my day off in Redwood City, CA. Then I have to return Haida Bob's computer and Todd's car so he can get back to school... laters!
Happy Belated St. Patrick's!
So I'm a little late in getting the St. Patty's pics up. Limited 'puter use and all that. I had a few of our more unique and Irish looking crew pose: Here's Bhodi Sherridan... (send your love to Bhodi because he just broke his fingers this week)
And my lovely co-redheaded-Ed.Co. Elaine "Insane" Eno. That's Nick in the guinness tee. This is Nick's flag, and early that morning they asked Captain Evil if they could fly it off the brig mast. Evil said "Blow the Bear!"
I love this shot of Jesika's tee - Eric "the Beard" Bott made this tee stencil last summer in Aberdeen.
Here's Shiny & Rachel having a bonding moment
lots of Irish Car Bombs....
lead to lots of THIS...
And my lovely co-redheaded-Ed.Co. Elaine "Insane" Eno. That's Nick in the guinness tee. This is Nick's flag, and early that morning they asked Captain Evil if they could fly it off the brig mast. Evil said "Blow the Bear!"
I love this shot of Jesika's tee - Eric "the Beard" Bott made this tee stencil last summer in Aberdeen.
Here's Shiny & Rachel having a bonding moment
lots of Irish Car Bombs....
lead to lots of THIS...
Stuck in the Mud?
Yeah, that's where we were, in the middle of the South Bay in San
Francisco... with about 45 4th graders who desperately needed to get to
little league practice. While serving them hot cocoa and singing songs,
and reading them sea stories, we shuttled them via the "amendment" (our
zodiac) to the Lady Washington, who took them back to shore as we
waited out the night until the tide came in.
Elaine in the Head
Kellick, Natalie & Nick, and Cal Maritime Todd in the Main Hold on the Lady
Francisco... with about 45 4th graders who desperately needed to get to
little league practice. While serving them hot cocoa and singing songs,
and reading them sea stories, we shuttled them via the "amendment" (our
zodiac) to the Lady Washington, who took them back to shore as we
waited out the night until the tide came in.
Elaine in the Head
Kellick, Natalie & Nick, and Cal Maritime Todd in the Main Hold on the Lady
Jack London Inn
Here's Captain Christopher, Ships cook Jesika Starr, and brig bosun
Jesse Loge, watching South Park in our kindly donated hotel room in
Oakland.
Jesse Loge, watching South Park in our kindly donated hotel room in
Oakland.
Oakland, CA
So, this is kind of a funny picture. The new outboard engine prop is getting christened with a splash of Captain Morgans. That's Jesse, Cpt. Christopher, and Chief Mate Jim overseeing the ritual. Let's just say no good luck came from this.
Last night, in Jack London Square, at the First & Last Chance Saloon. It was built over 100 years ago and Jack London used to hang out here. So did Robert Louis Stevenson and President Taft. The building sank during the earthquake of 1906 and they never propped it up again. There's quite a slope in the floor. In this pic you can see Haida Bob just inside the door, and Insane Elaine (the other redheaded ed co) explaining to a minor belonging to "Clan Gempler" (Myuh's little bro visiting from Boise) that there's a "force field" at the door that keeps minors out. No really - that's exactly what she was saying. 
Above we have Haida Bob with his beer and Eric Allen in the foreground. There's Chief Mate Brian and Captain Evil in the background.
Below is Captain Christopher and alum volunteer/weekend warrior Todd, from Cal Maritime
Here's our First Mate Jim Pearsson and our new friend "Jack", a sailor from New Zealand.
Kim Carver, Eric Allen, Insane Elaine Eno and Jesika Starr Rowley
I hang out with all these crazies and forget how eccentric their looks are. At the laundry the other day I found a guy staring at Jesikas head and realized Oh Yeah! I hang out with a girl with bihawks and a giant tattoo on her skull. I forget sometimes. Here's Elaine with her custom earring. That's one piece of metal spiraled into lots of holes. She told us there's a picture of her on the front of a tattoo mag with the piercer pressing his hand against her face, tears streaming out, while he threaded the holes with this spiral earring.
Another view of the bar.
San Fran
Lady ed co Insane Elaine with outgoing volunteer and 18th century re-enactor Nathan "Indy"
Me on the fores'l gaff after doing MORE STITCHING
Me and the golden gate bridge!
Me on the fores'l gaff after doing MORE STITCHING
Me and the golden gate bridge!
The Sting of Censorship!!
I'm on Haight Street tonight, with Starr and Jesse. We're checking our email at an internet cafe. L. Bolton has emailed me and has admonished me for using words like "Sexy" and sarcastic comments, or noting the crew's outings to bars on my Bill of Rights website. I'm officially censored. I now know how Mark Olson and Haida Bob feel. I will keep my drinking stories here, not linked to the Bill website, which seems to have gotten to the SEAPORT with haste!
I was sick the whole transit. We ripped a crazy hole in the main, and broke the fore halyard. So, not much sailing. Today was nice, though. We deep reefed the main for our grand arrival.
IAN SPAIN got fired from Sloop Providence. I'm so glad I got off that fucking boat. I SO KNEW not only that crap was going to break from lack of care - but that they were going to dump anyone that stood up for themselves. Ian is a great sailor - a great guy all around, and practically EMT certified. And he set up their entire stupid sat phone system for them. And they fired him. Very stupid. I knew they wouldn't have taken us all to the Caribbean. I told Ian he should come join us asap!
I was sick the whole transit. We ripped a crazy hole in the main, and broke the fore halyard. So, not much sailing. Today was nice, though. We deep reefed the main for our grand arrival.
IAN SPAIN got fired from Sloop Providence. I'm so glad I got off that fucking boat. I SO KNEW not only that crap was going to break from lack of care - but that they were going to dump anyone that stood up for themselves. Ian is a great sailor - a great guy all around, and practically EMT certified. And he set up their entire stupid sat phone system for them. And they fired him. Very stupid. I knew they wouldn't have taken us all to the Caribbean. I told Ian he should come join us asap!
