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A Tall Ship


Raylan

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"I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over."

 

Sea Fever by John Masefield

atallship.jpg

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I’ve seen a few tall sailing ships Out to sea while in the Navy. It’s a sight to behold. 

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This was my dad's school ship at the Massachusetts Nautical School (now the Mass Maritime Academy) which he graduated from in 1933 as an electrical engineer. It was originally the USS Ranger; was the SB Nantucket when he served on her. 

USS_Ranger_(1876).jpg

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I'm not sure why, but that reminded me of one of my favorite poems. Tennyson's Crossing the Bar. We saw my father-in-law off with it when he passed away, and as far as I am concerned, it can be recited for me as well.

 

Sunset and evening star,

      And one clear call for me!

And may there be no moaning of the bar,

      When I put out to sea,

 

   But such a tide as moving seems asleep,

      Too full for sound and foam,

When that which drew from out the boundless deep

      Turns again home.

 

   Twilight and evening bell,

      And after that the dark!

And may there be no sadness of farewell,

      When I embark;

 

   For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place

      The flood may bear me far,

I hope to see my Pilot face to face

      When I have crost the bar.

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17 hours ago, Church Key, SASS # 33713 said:

This was my dad's school ship at the Massachusetts Nautical School (now the Mass Maritime Academy) which he graduated from in 1933 as an electrical engineer. It was originally the USS Ranger; was the SB Nantucket when he served on her. 

USS_Ranger_(1876).jpg

 

SB?  What's that mean? 

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Gambler - SB = "Steam Brig". The ship was built in 1880 when the US did not have many overseas coal refueling stations. The warships of that era sailed to their destination and only fired up the engines when going into battle or a port. It was sort of the equivalent of a light cruiser.  Its bell and steering wheel is at the Mass. Maritime Academy in Hull, MA, while its engine is at the US Maritime Academy on Long Island. It was 165' long with 90' masts and I believe about 100 cadets. Served in both WWI & II as an anti-sub chaser. Had a long and honorable career, serving mainly as a Navy survey ship on the West Coast. Held the record for the most crossings of the equator. Its home port when my father went to school on it was the Charlestown Shipyard berthed next to the USS Constitution. The cadets lived on the ship all year round.  He went on three 3-month cruses on it: North Sea, Mediterranean, and Africa. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

My Sea Scouts and I have had the good fortune to cruise on a dozen tall ships. They are awesome.

 

This Master Mariner even plotted a course into a hurricane forty years ago. Geez, we aren't all perfect!  ;)

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My Dad got caught in a hurricane on it in 1933. They got blown from the Azores to Nova Scotia for almost a week. They were unable to use the stoves because of the severe weather, so they ate sardines and hardtack the entire time. He never ate another sardine. Also, their radio antennas were wrecked, so no communications. Created a huge panic in Boston as the Germans had lost a similar cadet training ship with 69 dead in a storm a year earlier.

 

My Dad's father was an engineer on a Swedish cargo ship that hit an iceberg in 1884 and sunk. He ended up in Newfoundland and later immigrated to the US. He never went to sea again.

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I have been on the Lady Washington,  she was one of the tall ships in the first movie,   Pirates of the Caribbean , also the Chiefton witch is a Sailing school ship. These are true wood tall ship with lots of class.

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"Its bell and steering wheel is at the Mass. Maritime Academy in Hull, MA, "

 

Actually, the Mass. Maritime Academy is in Buzzard's Bay, near Cape Cod.  There is a Lifesaving Museum in Hull, MA (a peninsula in Boston Harbor), with many marine artifacts, but I don't know if the bell is there or not.

 

A noteworthy vessel.

 

LL

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Loophole - You are correct, I mixed up Hull with Buzzards Bay. My aunt had a cottage on Peddocks Island which is across the Hull Gut from Hull. I spent many a summer there as a kid. The bell is at the MMA. I took my father there in Sept. 2001 (he was 91) and he donated a bunch of photos, etc. to the Academy and met with the Commandant. Was given the red carpet treatment. The school is a class act and a big credit to the state.

 

BTW - We drove up on Sept. 11. I wanted to fly to Logan, but my dad said he was tired of airports. Was a wise decision on his part. Kept hearing the horror stories from mid-PA until we got to my Aunt's in Lexington.

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  • 3 weeks later...

My Masters license had both a sail and an auxillary sail endorsement with a 500 ton rating so I was able to be involved in some sailing vessels.

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On 3/12/2020 at 7:53 PM, Major General Shagnasty said:

I have been on the Lady Washington,  she was one of the tall ships in the first movie,   Pirates of the Caribbean , also the Chiefton witch is a Sailing school ship. These are true wood tall ship with lots of class.

Wooden Ships and Iron Men, Indeed. 

 

I had the opportunity to sail on the Lady Washington out of Aberdeen. Quite an education. 

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5 hours ago, Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172 said:

Wooden Ships and Iron Men, Indeed. 

 

I had the opportunity to sail on the Lady Washington out of Aberdeen. Quite an education. 

In 2002 I was able to buy my own tall ship, or at least to me. She was a 33 ton 50 foot Ketch, main mast was 72 feet and with me being 5-4 it was my tall ship. Kept her at Winchester Bay, Orygun for over 10 years. Life changed and she has a new owner now.  S/V Kimberleena 

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