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[hawkwing_lb]

I'm back.

The first thing I did, when I got home, was throw my stuff into the washing machine. The second thing I did was get into a shower and stay there for forty minutes, scrubbing the whole time. I hadn't had a shower since Donegal, since I was on watch at Bangor when the others got to shower.

God, that was close quarters and an icky smell of feet. But an interesting week. Incredible, really.

Third thing I did was take the disposable camera down to get the pictures developed. Then I crawled into bed and slept for two whole marvellous hours on a wide bed that didn't smell of feet or damp.

Notes on the trip and pictures will follow, when I can manage them. I now know lots about the tallship STV Asgard II, even if I was too chicken to stow and set the square sails.

Also, I am fat. The ship's cook on the Asgard is apparently quite reknowned. Three meals a day, full Irish breakfast, desert after dinner, generous portions, really great ship-made bread... Yeah. Back on the minimal eating habit regime now.

Comments

[davefreer.livejournal.com]

(chuckle) reality bites with the pong, cramped quarters... and shipboard food (I used to spend a lot of time at sea on trawlers - some of which did 3 months at sea. I never did morethan 2 weeks, thank heavens). Did you get some time out from rain?
The one part of your experience I still want to do is go out on the yard-arms on a skysail on a foremast in heavy weather... sigh. One day. Maybe. Before I am too damned old.
Look forward to the pictures.

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

I'll tell all soon. :P

[chrisbillett.livejournal.com]

You've... you've been sailing?

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

I have, indeed.

[etumukutenyak.livejournal.com]

Welcome home, sailor! Yer an old salt now, y'are. Aye, and tougher than ya was. Still got yer rolling gait? Holding on to the bunk when you fall asleep? Waiting for the dishes to go sliding along the galley table?

No? It's just me then?

One semester at college I had a class that took us out onto the Chesapeake Bay every week. Starting in February. With chop that hit about 5 feet.

I love a rainy day at sea!

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

The land, thankfully, appears to have stopped moving. Mostly.

...Five foot chop sounds lovely. The whole time we were at sea, except for maybe the first day, there was a small craft warning in force. The majority of the trip, gale warnings or actual gales: at one point going through Rathlin Sound the ship was making thirteen knots and wind gusts reached fifty knots. Great fun.

[etumukutenyak.livejournal.com]

Now you know how to properly tell a sea tale. It begins thusly: No sh*t, there I was...the wind was gusting at fifty knots, and the Captain sends us up to reef the sails..".

Five foot chop isn't so bad, unless you're in a small craft, which we were. It was -- IIRC -- something like this Boston Whaler (http://www.whaler.com/Rec/default3.asp?boatid=17&content=). we had enough room for 6 people and our trawling gear, plus assorted biological sampling equipment.

No sh*t, there we were, dragging our trawl through the river near the Bay, when we snagged something that didn't move. We backed and pulled and nothing happened. We ended up cutting the lines and letting our nets go, we couldn't even lift whatever it was that we caught. Personally, I think we found Jimmy Hoffa. ;-)

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

That's a pretty small boat. Wouldn't want to be out in that in heavy weather.

[etumukutenyak.livejournal.com]

I think it would have been really cool to be in your ship, sailing around the Bay. Only we would have needed more crew. Plus we wouldn't have been able to get into the smaller part of the Magothy River (http://www.division-1.org/flotilla-18/magothy.html).

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

The American Sail Training Association (ASTA (http://www.tallships.sailtraining.org/about/index.php?PHPSESSID=5eef9138f6fe4554b9b38f76bbd15b71) probably does sail around your bay there. :)

[etumukutenyak.livejournal.com]

Hm. Son's not quite old enough yet -- just a few more years for the high school programs.

Now if I'd known about these when I was younger, I'd have jumped at the chance myself.

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

Some tallships take people of any age - I know the Jeanie does - so if you're still interested, the possibility yet remains. :)

[etumukutenyak.livejournal.com]

Ooh, EEEE-vil. You've been paying attention, I see. Well done, there.

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

One does one's poor best.

Three of the boys on the Asgard were in their fifties, and one could've been sixty. I didn't ask. :)