Bob Crum

In years past, I intended to sail on a tall ship. Didn't happen for various reasons. Upon hearing the tall ships Hawaiian Chieftain and Lady Washington were in port, again the sea beckoned. I answered with a boarding pass to make intention become reality.

Rrrrrr mate! Greeted at the dock by none other than the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow. Capt. Jack was accompanied by several pirate fiends...er…friends. One might have thought it was a Key West Mallory Square party with mateys singing the Disney song A Pirate's Life for Me - Yo ho, Yo ho, a pirates life for me.

At 2PM on weekends, the two ships set sail and engage each other in a mock cannon battle. My boarding pass was for the Saturday sailing on the Lady Washington. I preferred the Lady Washington because the Hawaiian Chieftain looked the more photogenic of the two ships.

Photo ops were replete but proved challenging. Ships are in constant motion... rocking to and fro. I wish I had my camera mounted on a 3-axis gimbal. My body could have made good use of a stabilizing gimbal... or a flask of rum. As I write this I'm still rocking to and fro... without rum!

It wasn't just the constant motion that proved problematic, every which way I turned to capture a photo, there were ropes... oops... lines. Also had to deal with 42 other passengers. Worse, the center of the ship where the cannons sat was off limits. Crowding passengers to the fore and aft decks limited the already scarce space on the gunwales. But you know I'll find a way... even if it means pulling rank. Out of my WAY mateys... press here! Nah. Instead, I just pushed overboard those that dared to get in the way of my shot!

On the way to the battle ground, staff led passengers singing sea shanties. Sea shanties are work songs that were used on sailing ships. Their rhythms coordinated the efforts of many sailors hauling on lines. Laid end to end, Lady Washington’s 156 lines of running rigging would extend three miles. Hoisting the sails is quite a feat. Afterward, no in-boom furling the mainsails or jib on this ship. Up the masts like monkeys go crew members to secure the sheets. Tally-ho mates!

Watching the Lady Washington crew pull the lines to raise the sails confirmed my suspicion that I might have made a great pirate... as the ship's captain. Hauling lines is too much work.

Photographically speaking, multiple issues. Besides constant motion of the boat affecting my vertical stability, 'twas a bright sunny day. To deal with glare on the water, I installed a circular polarizing filter on the lens. Unfortunately not the total solution. Remember, polarizing filters work most effectively when 45° angle from the sun. The Lady Washington's captain forgot about that as the two ships positioned for battle. C'est la vie.

Challenges aside, it was an exciting and fun-filled three hours aboard the Lady Washington as its cannons blasted holes in the Hawaiian Chieftain. Of course Lady Washington took few hits--fortunately all above the water line. Escaping the battle unscathed was a relief. Returning to port, delighted to see Mermaid Lucy basking on the sea buoy! Muah!

So many photos to choose from!!! The Photo of the Week is the Hawaiian Chieftain firing a rare canon doughnut at the Lady Washington. Boom!!!

The two tall ships are docked at the Ventura Harbor Village through March 5, 2018. Their schedule is here... http://www.historicalseaport.org/public-tours-sails/sailing-schedule/ven...

Happy photoing.

Send comments, questions or suggestions to bob@fillmoregazette.com