The Victoria festival gets underway

Another perfect day in Victoria! With the sun shining, the ships’ masts standing tall in the harbor, and our ASTA flags fluttering in the summer breeze, who couldn’t get excited for today’s events?! We have enjoyed two very busy days down at the education and information tents as thousands of enthusiastic families engage in the Tall Ships festivities. 

They are finally here!!

They are finally here!  After a few slow days, the ships have finally arrived and now the fun has begun.  The night before the festival, the ships anchored out in the harbor and the crews came in to Fort Rodd Hill for a wonderful crew reception put on by the Victoria Tall Ships Society.  Set against mountains in the background and a historic lighthouse on shore, the ships looked absolutely picturesque.  On the next day, although the weather was a bit cooler than anticipated and the ships were not yet open for boarding, we had a fair amount of people visiting the festival.  It was an excellent opportunity to get a feel for the atmosphere and to acclimate to our locations.  This morning, we scurried around the docks delivering things to the various ships and meeting some of the crew members before the ships were open for boarding.  I have to say that I was really looking forward to that part of the day and to meeting the crews.  On top of all the pre-show excitement, the weather absolutely beautiful with clear blue skies and a minimal amount of wind.  An hour before the festival site opened, people were lining up to see the ships.  It seems as if everyone is as excited about the festivities as I am!  There are pirates and little pirates in training all over the festival nautical goodies to be had, and various costumes and uniforms from all different centuries.  We will certainly have our hands full today with all this excitement.

 

See you on the docks

 

Jesse

 

Victoria, BC

After a long and arduous journey from Boston to British Columbia – including a close call at Canadian customs — I finally settled in with the rest of the ASTA team.  I dropped off my things at the hotel, and we ventured into the city for dinner and a pint at the Irish Times Pub in downtown Victoria. I regaled the group with tales of my travel woes, complete with delayed flights, impenetrable Seattle traffic, and even a catastrophic bicycle crash. But, at last, I had made it to Victoria, and I am delighted to be here. I woke up early this morning to crisp blue skies, explored the city, and met up with the other interns for a cup of coffee. I am settling in well, and I look forward to all the excitement and events planned for tomorrow afternoon…

Our First Stop

We (the ASTA crew) have landed in Victoria after meeting in Seattle and then taking a ferry over from Port Angeles. Everyone at the Victoria Tall Ships Society and ASTA are overflowing with excitement for the upcoming events this week and weekend. Our office is set up and everything is going according to plan as the Parade of Sail grows near.

In our spare moments, we have gotten the opportunity to see some of Victoria’s beautiful scenery and take in the port’s atmosphere. Everything in Victoria, from the people to the historic buildings, are lovely and are complimented well by the wonderful weather we’ve been having, which is expected to only get better through the weekend. 

All in all, the effort that the Victoria Tall Ships Society has put into this event has the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE (r) Race Series off to a great start! 

So it begins

Greetings to all sailors and tall ships enthusiasts!  My name is Jesse Kumbera and I will be checking in periodically as an intern with the ASTA race team for the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE(r). We were first greeted in Port  Angeles by five of the tall ships as they berthed along the waterfront before their  passage to Victoria.  Since then we have spent the last two days enjoying the beautiful sunshine in Victoria and preparing for the festival to begin tomorrow. The Victoria Tall Ships Society has been preparing for months for the festival and with the ships arriving later today, everyone is busy making final preparations.  While we have had great time exploring beautiful Victoria and setting up our area, we are ready for the ships to come in and to get the festivities underway.  We cannot wait to meet you all here tomorrow!

Jesse