Sailing with Elmo to Vancouver Island

Posted by Karen

Jesse and I clambered aboard the Lady Washington, or “Lady,” as she is so affectionately called in the Tall Ships circuit, and prepared ourselves for the transit back to Vancouver Island. We introduced ourselves to the captain and crew, who welcomed us very warmly with delicious dinner and lively conversation.

Safe Inside the Yellow Line, Part 4

POSTED BY JESSE

My first look at Port Alberni was from the top of the foremast, and it was quite a sight.  From the harbor I could tell that this was a small and intimate town.  Unfortunately for us, customs was delayed in clearing us and so we had to wait until the following morning to be allowed off our ship. 

Safe Inside the Yellow Rail, Part Three

POSTED BY JESSE

 

I heard that the channel into Port Alberni would be beautiful, but I wasn’t quite expecting such perfect conditions.  The channel snakes through gorgeous mountains covered with forests of diverse shades.  The sun was shining beautifully and there was a slight breeze.  However, the breeze was enough to encourage us to set our sails and sail before the wind.  In fact, this was the first time I had seen Lady shake out her sails since I had been onboard.  Unlike the previous days, all hands were on deck enjoying the sun and taking in the sights.  Shortly after lunch, I had the chance to go aloft into the rig; something that I had been looking forward to for a few days. 

Safe Inside the Yellow Rail, Part 2

 Posted by Jesse

 

 

When I awoke for my next watch, I put on my foulies and hurried up on deck.  The waves had become much more pronounced and we were bouncing around all over the place.  Fortunately, the brisk, lively air above decks was refreshing and chased away all thoughts of queasiness.  In fact, once I was above decks, I immediately began to appreciate the beauty of the coming sunset.  On both sides of the ship the mountains were beginning to lose their definition and turning blue in the evening light.  On deck, the shadows of the masts and rigging were scratching across the deck like fingers reaching for the wind. 

Safe Inside the Yellow Rail

 POSTED BY JESSE

 

Part of being an ASTA intern is that we must be very flexible.  Last Monday, we thought we would be sailing with HMCS Oriole to Port Alberni. Yet to our surprise, we found out that in five hours we would instead be sailing with Lady Washington.  However, I didn’t mind the switch since I have wanted to sail with Lady for a while now.  As we stepped aboard, the crew was winding down from an exhausting week of three battle sails a day and dockside tours in between.