Suprise in LA

Since we tied off our mooring lines last Monday (wow, a week ago...) back in San Diego, I've been mulling over the trip I just went on. There is a great deal to mull. The trip was, in a word, awesome. No doubt about it. But there is so much to write about, and so much of that would be indecipherable to those who had not experienced it for themselves, that I think I'm just going to put down some choice memories from the trip.

First off, for those who have no idea what I'm talking about, I got to sail the HMS Surprise from the San Diego Maritime Museum, with 43 other crew to the LA Port in San Pedro. Considering that last November, we had no idea when we'd ever get to take our ship out for the day again, let alone 4 days, this was a major accomplisment. We left SD Thursday afternoon, two weeks ago, spent the weekend in San Pedro, and returned the following Monday. Why? Because of the Festival of Sail.

The Festival moved down the coast from San Francisco, and ended in San Diego (that was this past weekend, and a lot of fun). But we actually got to participate in San Pedro. For the most part that meant that our beautiful ship was docked and people were swarming all over it from 11 in the morning till 7 at night for 3 days. Those of us who weren't on anchor watch during those hours spent the days walking around, seeing the other ships that were there for the Festival, exploring San Pedro, or hanging out with visiting family and friends.

I really can't describe the things that happened over that weekend, because most of the memorable events involved very inebriated people at ungodly hours of the morning. Some of these people were crazy too, but nothing bad happened, and the ship and crew remained safe the whole time. (so, no worries).

But there was Saturday night, when 15 or 16 of us Surprises (including the skipper) headed off to the free showing of "Master and Commander: the Far Side of the World" at the local movie theater. We took up one and a half rows in the back, and we all cheered at the right spots, laughed at the jokes and sang along to the sea shanties. At the end of the movie, we gave a loud three cheers to the crew of the Surprise in the movie. We all felt good about having represented our ship with gusto.

There was also a lot of wildlife sightings on the way up to LA and the journey back. Mostly dolphins, but one whale, a few sea lions, and two sunfish. My favorite was while I was standing watch on Monday morning at 3:30 in the morning. I was standing at the starboard bow, leaning on the bulwarks, when suddenly I heard the sound of air coming from a blowhole. I looked down, and by the light of the moon I saw the smooth backs of dolphins coming up for air right in front of the bow. They were doing so very quietly, and gracefully, instead of jumping around and playing the way I've seen them do during the day.

But the best memory of all, by far, was at the beginning of the trip. Just as we were getting ready to throw off our mooring lines and leave the dock in SD, I heard the skipper call my name out loudly. "Front and center!" he cried. So, I took my place at the wheel. I had the enormous honor of taking the Surprise out as far as the first sea buoy. What a joy that was.

As the memories and stories unspool from my mind, I'll add some of the choice bits.

Ta for now!