Tall Ships Philadelphia Camden 2015

Schooner When and If, owned by General Patton

Tall Ships Philadelphia Camden was one of the most anticipated history events of the year. Tall ships would be visiting from all over the world, centering around the visit of L'Hermione, a reproduction of the frigate that Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette, used to aid the Continentals during the American Revolution. The other big draw was the World's Largest Rubber Ducky, the 11 ton duck hoping to promote wetland protection. 

Even before the festival started issues were cropping up. I heard that Colonial Reenactors were wanted for L'Hermione. I considered going but heard reenactors were being turned away at the gates. Then the website stated that all parking for 2 miles surrounding the event was already reserved. We were stuck taking public transit into the city. I would spend most of the day leading tours on Gazela, Philadelphia's tall ship.     

The festival was special as we had two ships visit with a lot of history. Barques Eagle (which is quickly becoming one of my favorite ships) and one of her sister ships, Sagres were reunited. The Eagle was built in 1936 as the Horst Wessel in Germany. She was dedicated by Rudolph Hess in the presence of Adolph Hitler as a training ship. She was taken at the end of WWII by the U.S. as part of the reparations. Sagres has a similar history but hit a mine in 1944 and eventually ended up in Brazil but now sails under Portugal's flag. They are both now training ships for their respective navies.

Barque Sagres

Barque Sagres

Barque Sagres

 In the middle of the day crazy rainstorm hit but it wasn't the only disappointment that day. The giant rubber duck was torn during the previous sail and the 61 foot duck acquired a 60 foot puncture. Even though crews tried to repair it and inflate it most of the day, the duck still fell flat.  You could still see the baby giant duck on Camden's shore but it wasn't anywhere near as big as the giant mother duck. 

Above visitors take cover on Gazela during a torrent of rain. A belly of water formed on the tarp every 15 minutes and needed to be emptied before it hit the visitor's head. I ended up getting caught on Sagres during a particularly wet spot later in the day, my clothes soaked through as I tried to protect my camera. The deck of Sagres contains wooden buckets that were used to swab the deck in the 1940s. They are just for show now but were all full of water.

 

The Eagle

L'Hermione next to Philadelphia Ship Preservation Guild's Jupiter

Andy and I only saw L'Hermione for a few minutes as the French were throwing some sort of gala during the downpour. I would have loved to give a more detailed account of the ship as this was the main attraction. I was really disappointed to not get to see her, especially since her crew came to Gazela while we were working. Maybe next time. Our disappointment was assuaged by getting to see the schooner When and If, which was commissioned by General George S. Patton. He planned to sail it with his wife "when the war ended" and "if he survived." All in all we had fun even with the crazy walk in the downpour and experience being soaked for quite a long time on public transportation.        

The Niña, the Pinta and Columbus' Strange Legacy

Last weekend i was invited out to see the Niña and the Pinta, recreations of two of Christopher Columbus' ships for a friend's birthday. They were docked close by in Wilmington, Delaware. Lately the country has been anti-Columbus because of the horrible atrocities he and his men committed against Native Americans and from that perspective I agree he is not a man to be celebrated in modern times for his so called "accomplishments." However, the ships are interesting to see and add a new dimension to the history of some of the earliest European voyages to the Americas.      

From a nautical perspective, the ships are curious. They are smaller than most of us imagine. Many of us wouldn't dare to try to cross an ocean in one. The ships are called "caravels" and the original ships were only 65 feet long. They bobbed in the ocean and were covered in pine tar, making the ships solid black in color. Around 27 men lived on the deck without significant shelter for the duration of the trip, storms and all. No protection from the elements. The hold was filled with supplies and livestock and smelled so putrid that many refused to go down there for any reason.  Columbus' first voyage was 7 months and he spent a total of 12 years on caravels like these during his 4 voyages.    

It is weird to think of Christopher Columbus as an important part of promoting peace between different groups of people but that is really where Columbus' legacy lies. Columbus Day was first celebrated in 1792 but it did not become a national holiday until 1934 as a result of lobbying.

Why did people think Columbus Day was important? In the 1880s up until WWI, Italians starting emigrating to the United States in sizable numbers where they were faced with hatred and discrimination which included violence. In 1891, 11 Sicilian immigrants in New Orleans were lynched by a mob  in the largest lynching in U.S. history. In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison promoted celebration of Columbus Day to celebrate the 400 year anniversary of Columbus' first voyage but instead of focusing on Columbus himself, focused on how far America changed and  prospered. Italian-Americans looked to these celebrations of a famous Italian as a way to become accepted into mainstream society although not all Italians want to be associated with the Celebrations today. Perhaps we should celebrate Melting Pot/ Salad Bowl Day instead?
   

Like many ships, the Niña and the Pinta are always looking for people who want to join the crew and experience ship life. Visit their website for more information about the ships.  If you want a chance to see them, they will be traveling up the east coast all this year so check to see when they will dock near you.

Likewise if you ever want to see a beautiful tall ship or even volunteer on one, Gazela (the most beautiful ship in the world) at Penn's Landing is always willing to train new recruits.  I may be biased. :)

Old City Seaport Festival 2014

Last weekend I went to the Old City Seaport Festival hosted by the Independence Seaport Museum at at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia. Ships in attendence were Gazela and Jupiter of Pennsylvania, Mystic Whaler of Connecticut, A. J. Meerwald of New Jersey, and the Pride of Baltimore II from Maryland.

Saturday was cold, wet and rainy but didn't stop some people from wanting to tour the ships. It really is a fantastic sight to see tall ships together. It makes you think about the times when tall ships were the form of shipping and travel and harbors looked like forests.

If you have never seen a tall ship in person, it is well worth it. We see them in movies but can't quite imagine the size or the smells or the motion of a ship. It's a direct link to the past.  All of the dangers of a ship are still real and all of the work to keep a ship floating still need to be done. Historical ships are not a hobby that can be put away once summer is over much like many historical sites that can close their doors until the weather breaks. They are special sites that are almost living. 

The Old City Seaport Festival is special because it is an event for kids. It is pirate themed so you can expect lots of cheery pirates. There are games for kids to play, scavenger hunts, crafts and comedy acts.  Many sailing events are not designed for child audiences as many maritime events are focused on and run by, well, sailors. :)

 

Father teaching his son to climb in the rigging.

The festival is a lot of fun and it is an opportunity to see a lot of ships in one place. Wooden ships don't last forever and are constantly under threat so it is great to see them while you can. As many know the Bounty sank in 2012 and Argus (click to see horrible photo of poor Argus) sank back in January, while waiting for the same work that Gazela has been waiting for for years but costs hundreds of thousands of dollars.

 

Maritime Heritage funding has been cut recently and the National Maritime Alliance is fighting to get the funding back to its original levels. I'm not asking everyone to write their committee members but if you know someone who really likes boats, please send them this link.

Photo Essay: Star Spangled Spectacular Sailing Trip

I don't always fall off the earth for a week, but when I do, I'm up to something fun. I helped sail tall ship, Gazela Primeiro, down to Baltimore for the bicentennial of the writing of the Star Spangled Banner. As this was my first real sail, I was very excited and overwhelmed.

We arrived at the ship at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia on Monday night and started off Tuesday morning. That night we dropped anchor near the Sassafras river. On Wednesday, we set off again and arrived at Baltimore around 10:30 in the morning. I was the cook for the first few days.


I created a photographic essay to document the experience.

A Second Summer, A Beautiful Fall

We are having a beautiful fall. The leaves are beautiful and the weather, warm.I've been doing a lot of things and have visited a lot of places. One of the downsides to being a blogger is that you sometimes feel the need to record instead of just enjoy. I believe this week cured me of that.

I had 4 posts planned out and was upset that I was away so much that I didn't get a chance to write. I had a ton of fun and took 400 photos over the week.  I couldn't believe how effortlessly these posts were going to write themselves. I did all of the fun things you're supposed to do in fall.

I admired the changing leaves. Ran through a corn maze. Observed the migratory birds in their flight. Collected the fall harvest. Roasted marshmallows on breezy night. Went camping, sailing and hiking.   

I couldn't wait to get home and write those posts.

My computer took hours uploading my files off of my camera card. It was so slow I couldn't really do much while they were uploading, including write. The next day I try to open my files, but every time I opened one, my computer would freeze. After one more day of trying, I decided I was just going to upload them, sight unseen based upon the thumbnails.

I try to upload to the internet, and it doesn't work. It doesn't work a second time. I have to upload each image individually. So here is my photo post, in no particular order. And next time I think posting will be very easy, I know better.

A cloud pretending to be a sail.

My Trip on the Amistad: Independence Seaport Museum

For our birthdays, Andy and I decided to spoil each other and go on a trip to Philadelphia to take a sail on the schooner, Amistad which was only docking there for a few days.

Before our sail, we checked out the Independence Seaport Museum and were able to tour the 344 foot Olympia, which fought in the Spanish American War and the Submarine Becuna, a WWII and Cold War vessel.

The Independence Seaport Museum was very interesting. There were a lot of unique artifacts that document a part of history that tends to stay isolated from other museums. Boats played a huge role throughout history from wars and exploration to shipping and travel.


The museum was surprisingly easy to get to and had a nice parking garage, a rarity in Philly. I'd recommend a visit, if you have the chance. It's very picturesque and close to the water.  I might write more about the Amistad and the other vessels in the coming days, but for now I'll just write about the sail.

 
The Freedom Schooner Amistad isn't exactly a reproduction of the schooner that caused a big stir in 1839. The historic vessel was illegally ferrying kidnapped Mende people from Sierra Leone who were brought to Cuba to be sold as slaves. As the slave trade had been abolished, the ship's owner falsified documents claiming that the enslaved Mende people were born in Cuba. During the voyage the prisoners were able to escape their chains and used harvesting machetes to take control of the vessel.They were eventually brought to court in the United States and with the help of abolitionists, were allowed to return to Africa.

We were extremely lucky that it turned out to be a beautiful day. This was the only day Andy and I were both off from work. The two sails before us were cancelled and rescheduled. We feared that happening to us as we wouldn't be able to reschedule. 

The crew was entertaining and the boat is part of an interesting program that teaches students at sea, called Ocean Classroom. The crew encouraged passengers to help with the deck tasks while we were sailing.   

 

   

 

Overall it was a beautiful trip and we had a lot of fun relaxing on the water. It's nice to be on the water without having to hear loud motors downing out the tranquil sound of the water.