Photos From Californian

19 Aug 2008

We have some photos to share with you, taken by Kevin Carothers, crewman aboard Californian. These give a brief glimpse of life aboard, and sailing offshore.

Kevin is crewing on the Coast Guard's Eagle today, heading to San Diego. We hope to post further images from his Eagle voyage soon.

Kevin's Pictures

Kevin has a new camera and he sent in some great images, crossing under the Golden Gate Bridge and sailing in the Bay. He also sent images of our crew and some of the other ships in the Festival Fleet. Thanks Kevin!

Adventures at Sea

Peter Durdaller

MMSD Ships' Operations

Well its billed as an Adventure Sail.  Yup, they mean it.  Californian's adventures continue. 

 

After breaking a jib boom in SF and repairing it in the location of that fair city and surrounding environs (thanks due to so, so many as well as accolades to our captain, crew and emergency delivered museum maintenance folks), she headed south with a package of 10 passengers all brave and true.  Did OK till the weather hit.  Gale force winds and 12 foot following seas.  Vessel was making 9 knots under double reefed main, reefed fore and staysail.  Capt McGohey put into Monterey to wait out the weather.

 

They got underway from Monterey on Monday, 4Aug.  Last reported  that  good progress was being made with anticipated arrival in Channel Islands Harbor early on 6 Aug.  Ship and compliment will discharge their stalwart passengers there, swap out some crew and on 7 Aug begin to participate in the CHI Festival of Sail from Aug 7 - 11. 

 

After that...  Quien Sabe?  Its been an adventure so far, why stop now?

 

Gun Battles on the Bay

(Publisher's Note - We just received several updates from our crew, and will publish them slightly out of sequence here. bc)

July 28, 2008

From the Mate:

The San Francisco Festival Of Sail is now history.

Four days of open ship and Gun Battles in 15 to 25 Kts of wind with boat speeds up to 11 Kts.

The last day we had a rig failure that snapped the Jib Boom. Crew response to the failure was excellent and we minimized damage to the ship as best we could. All aboard were safe.

We are now affecting repairs and hope to be back on schedule before the week is out.

(Thank you to Eliot Hudson for permission to use his gun battle photographs. bc)

© 2008 Eliot Hudson

© 2008 Eliot Hudson

© 2008 Eliot Hudson

SF Festival Begins

July 24, 2008

From Chari Wessel

MMSD Volunteer Crew

The long anticipated opening of the Tall Ship Festival finally arrived, bright and sunny, clear of fog, a perfect day for sailing.  We were assigned to follow "Eagle" in the parade of ships.  The Coast Guard escorted her out with a fireboat, two cutters and a helicopter.  Along the route other tall ships fell in behind us or joined along the edges, and by the time we all assembled under the Golden Gate Bridge, nearly every sailboat in San Francisco had also arrived.

The Coast Guard and harbor patrol boats were kept busy warning the sailboats to stay away from the tall ships.  No one can resist coming close to these beautiful vessels for a closer look and a photo op.  A deep draft cargo container even joined in the parade at the end, flying flags and spraying water from her fire hoses. We fired gun salutes along the route and heard gunfire from "Bounty" and "Lynx" as well.

From this crew member's perspective, the parade was a huge success.  We were rewarded with the evening off for showers, sightseeing and doing laundry.  Paul and Aimee rewarded our work with a lasagna dinner. 

Crew Comings and Goings

July 23, 2008

From Connie Allen

MMSD Crew

Bright sunrise greeted us this morning which seemed out of character for San Francisco. Yesterday I crossed over the Golden Gate after ducking under it the previous day. The perspective of the bridge disappearing in the fog was eerie but not as awe inspiring as sailing under the structure. We do that again today for the Tall Ship Parade.

We said good bye to our "Ship Zester", Kenny. And now are enjoying the efforts of Paul. John and Mike are gone but we gained Paul, Aimee, and Greg. We had a visit yesterday by maintenance crew members Richard and Katherine Pogue. They are joining the parade on the Nehemiah.

Good Times in SF

July 23, 2008

From Chari Wessel

MMSD Volunteer Crew

We've been busy enjoying San Francisco; apparently too busy to post in our blog.  We arrived on smooth seas Sunday morning and moored at Pier 40 for our first day here.  This was convenient to the showers and laundry, but also convenient to a large warehouse under renovation inhabited by seagulls who screamed day and night because the construction had disturbed their nestlings.  Tuesday morning we moved the ship to Pier 3, and soon "Lynx" moored up behind us.  

Once the Coast Guard was satisfied with our arrangements, the crew were released to enjoy the sights and sounds and flavors of the most European American city, the gateway to the golden west, San Francisco.  Our first cook Kenny has packed his bags and will be leaving on a jet plane.  Paul and Aimee Kay have arrived and immediately rousted out all the remaining groceries to take stock and go shopping.  Mike Hernon left.  David Fairbank arrived.  Each arrival and departure of different crew members changes the flavor of our group, like new spices added to an old family recipe.  The teasing and laughter around the evening game of Hearts in the main compartment sounds like family.

Underway - Half Moon Bay. San Fran!

July 21, 2008

 

From the Mate

Got underway from Half Moon Bay around 0400. Raised anchor and half of the mucky bottom. So much ooze on the anchor it covered the balance ring. Another good work out for the crew. Had the anchor up and sails set in 45 minutes.

We set a course for the short trip to San Francisco. We had NW winds at 10 Kts, seas were around three feet and the Temp was 55ºF.  Uneventful trip that had us along side Pier 40 in San Francisco at 1154.

 

The conditions for this last section of the voyage were as follows:

DOMINENT SWELL – NW @ 2 - 4 FT

WINDS – 10 and variable

TEMP - 55ºF

DISTANCE TRAVELED – 36 NM

 

 Connie Allen

MMSD Crew

San Francisco at last! Moored next to a working dock complete with jackhammers and other peace destroying equipment. Not a problem for me and my scopolamine. I plugged in some tunes and snoozed. Now waiting for teenage kayakers to vacate the showers so I can wash up.

Meanwhile we nudged the ship closer to shore. Cleaned the anchor. Chari and Ray went in search of ice. Watch is set.

Underway From Monterey

July 20, 2008

 

From the Mate

Got underway from Monterey last night at 1730. In 30 minutes we had cleared the Harbor, fired a one Gun salute, raised the Main/Fore/Staysail, made up the deck, stowed mooring lines and set the watch. Lots of dockside nervous energy has now been spent.

 

We set a course to hug the coast to try to stay in moderate conditions. We had NW winds at 10 Kts, seas were around three feet and the Temp was 56ºF (I never realized that Southern Californian's had so much thermal underwear). As we worked our way North the winds stayed light but the seas built with some sets 10+ feet. We arrived at Half Moon Bay and were at anchor at 1030.

 

After the noon meal we set about ships work -  bending on the Outer Jib and unlashing the Inner and making some minor repairs.

 

The conditions for this last section of the voyage were as follows:

DOMINENT SWELL – NW @ 6 – 8 FT

WINDS – 10 to 15

TEMP - 55ºF

DISTANCE TRAVELED – 69 NM

 

 Connie Allen

MMSD Crew

The mate's not kidding about the thermals. I wore 2 pair of woolen socks under my rubber boots; neck to wrist and ankle long underwear; 2 woolen sweaters (one – cashmere!); crew t-shirt and lined Carthard crew jacket; watch cap; and then foul weather gear – pants to my armpits & jacket to my knees with a hood. I was warm enough despite repeated dousing over the bow. Thinking about a version of twelve days of Christmas that involves clothing.

One of the joys of night watch in high seas is the sea life that washes aboard. The waters swirling about our feet contained cute little phosphorescent creatures. They winked like fireflies on a hot summer night. Only difference was the altitude. Oh and the temperature.

Anchors Aweigh

19 July 2008

From Steve Weigelt

MMSD Crew

George Sutherland started it! Last November during the annual sail of Star of India, George showed up with his forearms sporting the latest in spiffy tattoo-ology. These masterpieces were painstakingly crafted using the finest Sharpie and bore a striking resemblance to the anchors adorning his hero Popeye's forearms!

George's artwork had so impressed me that I was green with envy and I wanted more than ever to have an anchor tattoo of my own! Of course, it would never be the equal to the original, but I had to try.

Fisherman's Warf in Monterey is adjacent to the original Customs House used to access taxes on goods arriving in Monterey. On one end of the structure there is a large bronze anchor with a placard saying its origin was unknown, but the anchor had been retrieved from the bay in 1944. This anchor appears to have been originally fitted with a wooden stock that had long since decayed away. On seeing this anchor I was reminded of George's tats and the lust began again!

I sought the help of Chari Wessel to render a sketch of this and any other noteworthy anchor to be found in Monterey. Chari was up to the task and in a short time she had located three potential candidates and provided drawings of each. This led to a field trip to view the candidates. My favorite turned out to be located at the USCG Station Monterey.

Armed with photos and sketches I was off to find a tattoo studio in Monterey. My fingers walked thru the yellow pages and located two within walking distance of Fisherman's Warf (go figure).

Ross Grajewski is a talented young artist working at Creative Visions on Lighthouse Ave. in Monterey. Ross, a former Marine sniper (1998-2002) was very helpful in providing suggestions as to how to accomplish my vision (I decided not to argue with him!). Thankfully,

Ross came thru with a beautiful anchor tattoo I will be proud to show. Thank you, George! Now all I have to do is convince my wife, Laura, that this is her 31st anniversary gift from me (I'm at sea and she is having dinner with friends). Wish me luck!

Mike says "I went all the way to San Francisco on the Californian and all I got was this crummy tattoo!