Tall Ships Galveston Day 4

Sunday, April 8, 2018

by James Rogers

As Tall Ships® Galveston comes to a close, I get a distinct feeling of anticipation from the crew members. Galveston has been more than accommodating, but the ships are eager to set sail. Myself included! I moved into a tiny bunk the Barque Picton Castle’s Fo’c’sle and I cannot wait to get underway.

Despite everyone’s state of exhaustion, or perhaps as the cause of it, The Galveston Historical Foundation threw a social function on Elissa’s Pier 21, which later became an impromptu social gathering aboard the Dutch topsail schooner Oosterschelde. All in all, people seem very satisfied with the hospitality shown by GHF and the ships in general, seen in the photos below.

 

A line of partygoers forms at the buffet table

Local band “Kickin’ it Dixie” provides a great show for everyone

 

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Tall Ships in Texas!

Friday, April 6th, 2018

It’s beautiful weather here in Galveston, Texas for the first ever TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® Gulf Coast Race Series! Crew members and event staff alike are all super excited to be here. We could not have asked for better weather for yesterday’s Parade of Sail. I watched some superb seamanship from the deck of Galveston’s own historic Tall Ship, Elissa. What a show! I especially enjoyed seeing Lynx, a square topsail schooner, set her split course sail from her lower yard. She might as well have been a brigantine! I got some exceptional photos – see below

 

 

Elissa volunteer crew members unfurling the fore topsails

From left to right: Oliver Hazard Perry, When and If, Lynx

Towards the end of the parade, the sun finally hid behind the clouds, but not before leaving me with a quality sunburn. As the sky darkened, the waves grew longer, and the ships began to come into port. We were very lucky the weather never got worse than a few raindrops here and there. After a long day of fair winds and great sailing, Elissa finished with masterful docking maneuvers, and we ended the day at a party for the ship’s crew members.

Today has been non-stop activity, since before the festival even kicked off. It has been a constant scramble to get video’s for social media, or lug boxes of Tall Ships America directories to the ships, among other things, but it wouldn’t be a tall ships festival without a bit of running around. All in all, everyone is looking forward to the inevitable success of Tall Ships® Galveston, and what that means for Sail Training – building awareness and helping to build community. That’s all from me for today, but you can follow the event news on your own at http://www.galvestonhistory.org/events/tall-ships-galveston-2.

-James Rogers