The 2012 Tall Ship Adventure Was in Newport Harbor

We are off to the adventure with Lisa and Pete Chartier

Newport Harbor For A Great Saturday Afternoon (Page One)

Page 1 - We Arrive And Get Underway | Page 2 - The Battle Begins

In Summary


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About The Trip

Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain, which are visiting more than a dozen California ports on their annual educational tour, will stop in Newport Beach for the 2012 New Year's holiday weekend and the first weekend of the year. Arriving December 27 at the Newport Sea Base, Newport Beach, 1931 West Coast Highway, Newport Beach, the ships will stage cannon battles and open for public tours from December 27 to Jan. 11, 2012.

At 2 p.m., Saturday, December 31, and Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 7 and 8, Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain will host guests for three-hour Battle Sails, which feature close-quarters naval-style maneuvers similar to those used in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Guests are invited to help raise a sail, steer the ships (conditions permitting), and verbally taunt adversaries.


We sailed down the bay and out through the breakwater


Balboa Island circa 1921


Aerial view of Newport Beach on a crisp spring morning with Balboa "Island"....

Did You Know? - Newport Harbor is a semi-artificial harbor that was formed by dredging an estuary during the early 1900s. Several artificial islands were built, which are now covered with private homes: Newport Island, Balboa Island, Little Balboa Island, Collins Island, Bay Island, Harbor Island, Lido Isle and Linda Isle.

Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries such as boatbuilding, shipbuilding, and commercial fishing, but today it is used mostly for recreation. Its shores are occupied mostly by private homes and private docks. With approximately 9,000 boats, Newport Harbor is one of the largest recreational boat harbors on the U.S. west coast. It's a popular destination for all boating activities, including sailing, fishing, rowing, canoeing, kayaking, and paddleboarding.


Our first glimpse of the tall ships for 2010

Did You Know? - The term sailing ship is now used to refer to any large wind -powered vessel . In technical terms, a ship was a sailing vessel with a specific rig of at least three masts, square rigged on all of them, making the sailing adjective redundant. In popular usage "ship" became associated with all large sailing vessels and when steam power came along the adjective became necessary. Large sailing vessels which are not ship rigged may be more appropriately called boats .


We walked to "Duke's Place" at the Balboa Bay Club and enjoyed a "pre-flight cocktail"


We wanted Herbie and Irene to join us but alas... They were sold out


The time was 2:00 and we boarded the vessel

Did You Know? - Walking the plank was a form of murder or torture thought to have been practiced by pirates, mutineers and other rogue seafarers. The victim was forced to walk off the end of a wooden plank or beam, the final six feet of which extended over the side of a ship. The victim, sometimes with hands bound or weighed down, then drowns in the water or is killed by sharks (which would often follow ships).

The earliest known use of the phrase is the latter half of the 18th century. Some writers in the 20th century speculated that walking the plank may be a myth created by cinema; however, the phrase "walking the plank" is recorded in English writer Francis Grose's "Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue", which was published in 1788 (first published in 1785).


The ladies find seats...


The Chieftan leaves first to clear the way....


We are now ready to embark on an adventure


The US Coast Guard even makes pirates do the PFD drill ... PFD?


The first PDF didn't work all that well.......


Pete wanted to make sure he knew how to use the PFD

Did You Know? - A personal flotation device (abbreviated as PFD; also referred to as, life jacket, life preserver, Mae West, life vest, life saver, cork jacket, buoyancy aid, flotation suit, etc.) is a device designed to assist a wearer, either conscious or unconscious, to keep afloat.

We Be Moving Down The Harbor To One Of The Seven Seas

Did You Know? - The phrase "Seven Seas" (as in the idiom "sail the Seven Seas") can refer either to a particular set of seven seas or to a great expanse of water in general. Today in modern times, this also includes the four oceans, and three large seas. The International Hydrographic Organization lists over 100 bodies of water known as seas.


The Seven Seas in European Medieval Literature


The Captain kept a hawk eye out for the little boats sailing the harbor

Did You Know? - A ship's bell is usually made of bronze and often has the ship's name engraved or cast on it. The ship's cook (or his staff) traditionally has the job of shining the ship's bell.

The ship's name is traditionally engraved or cast onto the surface the bell, often with the year the ship was launched as well. Occasionally (especially on more modern ships) the bell will also carry the name of the shipyard that built the ship. If a ship's name is changed, maritime tradition is that the original bell carrying the original name will remain with the vessel. A ship's bell is a prized possession when a ship is broken up[2] and often provides the only positive means of identification in the case of a shipwreck.


Do NOT touch the bell


Balboa Bay Club on the left.... Out waitress waived at us!


Yes... Paul dressed for the occasion


Up they go to set the sails

Did You Know? - Square sails mounted on yardarms perpendicular to the boat's hull are very good for downwind sailing; they dominated in the ancient Mediterranean and spread to Northern Europe, and were independently invented in China and Ecuador. Although fore-and-aft rigs have become more popular on modern yachts, square sails continued to power full-rigged ships through the Age of Sail and to the present day.

Triangular fore-and-aft rigs were invented in the Mediterranean as single yarded lateen sails and independently in the Pacific as the more efficient bi sparred crab claw sail, and continue to be used throughout the world. During the 16th-19th centuries other fore-and-aft sails were developed in Europe, such as the spritsail, gaff rig, jib/genoa/staysail, and Bermuda rig, improving European upwind sailing ability.


There are many small harbors along the main harbor outlet


We did have to pass the "poor people"


Everyone is sightseeing


Polished and ready to tell the tale


Grab a line and pull... See what happens


The little guys just passed us by....


The sails will be set as soon as we leave the channel....


They are unfurled in preparation for the setting


Pete captures the moments


The pirates are marked....


It was a bright day

The Captain Called For Muscle Power


Pete jumped right into the situation


Muscle man


He is dressed for the occasion


Pete is liking for the blue paint

We Are Outside The Channel Now.... Buoy Oh Buoy Oh Buoy


The buoys were occupied.

Did You Know? - A sea mark, also seamark and navigation mark, is a form of aid to navigation and pilotage aid which identifies the approximate position of a maritime channel, hazard and administrative area to allow boats , ships and seaplanes to navigate safely.

There are three types of sea mark:

Sea marks are used to indicate channels, dangerous rocks or shoals , mooring positions, areas of speed limits, traffic separation schemes, submerged shipwrecks , and for a variety of other navigational purposes. Some are only intended to be visible in daylight ( daymarks ), others have some combination of lights, reflectors, bells, horns, whistles and radar reflectors to make them usable at night and in conditions of reduced visibility.

Marks are shown on nautical charts , using symbols that indicate their color, shape and light characteristic , and are usually identified by name or number.


Lazy guys...


"Hey guys... Make some room!"

Meanwhile On Board....


Captain Sue checks the captain to make sure he is doing it right


She approves....


We get the "Battle sail talk.... safety first" and we get to sing a sea chanty

Did You Know? - A shanty (also spelled "chantey," "chanty") is a type of work song that was once commonly sung to accompany labor on board large merchant sailing vessels. The term shanty most accurately refers to a specific style of work song belonging to this historical repertoire, however in recent, popular usage, the scope of its definition is sometimes expanded to admit a wider range of repertoire and characteristics, or to refer to a "maritime work song" in general.

Of uncertain etymological origin, the word shanty emerged in the mid-19th century in reference to an appreciably distinct genre of work song, developed especially in American-style merchant vessels that had come to prominence in decades prior to the American Civil War. Shanty songs functioned to economize labor in what had then become larger vessels having smaller crews and operating on stricter schedules. The practice of singing shanties eventually became ubiquitous internationally and throughout the era of wind-driven packet and clipper ships.

Remember "Blow The Man Down????"

Did You Know? - Paradise Street is a street in Liverpool, England that was frequented by sailors whose ships had docked at the port. A traditional explanation of its origins is that the Black Ballers were fast packet ships of the American Black Ball Line that sailed between New York and Liverpool towards the end of the 19th century. Sailors reached America about 4 weeks after leaving Liverpool and returned about 3 weeks later.

The speedy journey meant that sailors were paid earlier than those on other lines making the Black Ball ships very popular. Sailors were regularly beaten on these ships and being "blown down" was a man on the deck floor as a result.

As I was a-walkin' down Paradise Street, To me!
Way, hey, blow the man down
A pretty young damsel I chanced for to meet
Give me some time to blow the man down

She was round in the corner and bluff in the bow…
So I took in all sail and cried "Way enough now"…

I threw out my hawser and took her in tow
And yardarm to yardarm away did we go

She said to me "Sir, will you stand the treat?"
"Delighted," says I, "for a charmer so sweet"

It was up in her quarters she piped me aboard
And there on her bed I cut loose with my sword

But just as my cutter was forging ahead
She shouted "My husband!" and jumped out of bed

He was seven feet tall, had a chest like a horse
And right for my jawbone he plotted his course

He loosened my rigging, he kicked me in stays
I flew down the stairs like a ship on the way

I chanced on a packet that happened on by
And when I awoke I was bound for Shanghai

So I'll give you fair warning before we belay
Don't ever take heed of what pretty girls say

We Are Told To Watch For Enemy Ships


Lisa keeps an evil eye looking for the enemy....


The enemy comes into view


Sue calculates the trajectory


Not too sure that they are pointing in the right direction


Pete gets the "Captains Eye View"


All sails are ready to go into action

Did You Know? - Generally speaking, sailing vessels employ two main types of rig: the square rig and the fore-and-aft rig.

The square rig, which reached its maximum development in the clipper ships and trading barques of the late 19th and early 20th century, relies on rectangular sails hung beneath yards, themselves suspended from the masts and set "square" (i.e., at a right angle to) the keel of the ship. This kind of rig requires an enormous amount of rigging (at least nine ropes per sail) and cannot sail closer than about 60° to the wind. Few vessels of this type are seen today, other than the spectacular ones used for sail training. Most square rigged vessels also carry at least some fore-and-aft sails.


Here they come... We are ready

Did You Know? - A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees, depending on their intended use on the battlefield. The word cannon is derived from several languages, in which the original definition can usually be translated as tube, cane, or reed. The plural of cannon is cannon, the same word, or more commonly in America, cannons. In modern times, cannon has fallen out of common usage, usually replaced by "guns" or "artillery", if not a more specific term, such as "mortar" or "howitzer". In aviation, 'cannon' remains a common term for aircraft guns.

First used in China, cannon were among the earliest forms of gunpowder artillery, and over time replaced siege engines—among other forms of aging weaponry—on the battlefield. In the Middle East, the first use of the hand cannon is argued to be during the 1260 Battle of Ain Jalut between the Mamluks and Mongols. The first cannon in Europe were probably used in Iberia, during the Reconquista, in the 13th century,[citation needed] and English cannon were first deployed in the Hundred Years' War, at the Battle of Crécy, in 1346.


They cannot sneak up on us... We is watching them!


The sun is in their favor on the first pass


Great view of the enemy

Did You Know? - Cannon also transformed naval warfare in the early modern period, as European navies took advantage of their firepower. As rifling became commonplace, the accuracy and destructive power of cannon was significantly increased, and they became deadlier than ever, both to infantry who belatedly had to adopt different tactics, and to ships, which had to be armored. In World War I, the majority of combat fatalities were caused by artillery; they were also used widely in World War II.


Standby.... We are ready to fire....

Did You Know? - The expression "loose cannon" or "loose cannon on deck" refers to an irresponsible and reckless individual whose behaviour (either intended or unintended) endangers the group he or she belongs to.

The term originates in the Age of Sail, and wooden men-of-war. When a storm began, all cannons had to be securely fastened and tied in place; otherwise, they would roll uncontrolledly around the deck, causing havoc. A loose cannon, weighing hundreds of kilograms, would crush anything and anyone in its path, and possibly even break a hole in the hull, thus endangering the seaworthiness of the whole ship. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loose_cannon Aug 01 06, 8:15 AM

Page 1 - We Arrive And Get Underway | Page 2 - The Battle Begins