Go On A Halloween Adventure Sail Friday!

Demand for tickets in Rio Vista has been so high that we've added a third public sailing on Halloween. It'll be a three-hour Adventure Sail, great for families and adults alike. It starts Friday at 12:30 p.m. from Rio Vista City Dock. We welcome creative costumes: pirates, ghouls, vampires and so on. Some of the best ghost stories come from the sea. Can you think of one better than The Flying Dutchman? Visit our home page for a link to purchase tickets.

Boats in Rio Vista, Sacramento

The boats have reached or are about to reach their next destinations. The Lady Washington pulled into Rio Vista late last night and it's now tied up at the Rio Vista City Dock. We've added some dockside tour times: today through Friday, 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. We're also open 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Come aboard for a look-see and speak to one of crew all dress up in period costume, and it's not even Halloween!

The Hawaiian Chieftain is scheduled to arrive at Old Sacramento today between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. You can visit her on the weekends, 10 a.m to 1 p.m. Lots of tickets are available for her public sailings. Visit http://www.historicalseaport.org for more.

Our visit to San Francisco last weekend went very well. The Lady Washington said to me that people had lots of nice comments about the Battle Sails and Adventure Sail on Sunday. If you have any pictures to share of your sailings, San Francisco or otherwise, email them to us!

Lady Washington Compared to Disney's Columbia

Former Lady Washington volunteer Preston Nirattasi, who sailed with us last year, co-authored an article on the website MiceAge comparing the Lady Washington with the Columbia, Walt Disney's version of an 18th-century merchantman at Disneyland. Many of the photos in the article are by Beth Loudon, who sailed with us this year. Preston has his own blog as well.

Of course, the Lady Washington and the Disney company have a long relationship. The 2003 Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, in which Lady Washington appeared, was a Disney project. And the Historical Seaport's Spar Shop has worked with Disney on the sequels.

Fan Photo: Hawaiian Chieftain in Everett

Laron Glover sent us this photo of the Hawaiian Chieftain off Everett last August. Very pretty! If you have a favorite photo of Lady Washington or Hawaiian Chieftain, email it to us!

Arrival in San Francisco Four Days Early!

We've arrived at San Francisco four days earlier than planned. The ships tied up at Pier 40 early last night. We allowed some extra time for the transit from Westport this year because last year's transit took longer than we expected. This time, the trip only took a week. The winds were with us almost the whole way and we used much less fuel than we expected for the auxiliary engines. Go figure! If you have friends in the Bay Area, you might send them down to waterfront for a peek. Head over to our Sailing Schedule page for availability of the boats.

Hawaiian Chieftain Gets Her Mizzen Fixed; Ships Depart for California

Hawaiian Chieftain got a repaired mizzen mast last week and here's a few photos. Top: A crane lifts the mast off a truck before being lowered onto the Hawaiian Chieftain, which is in the foreground. Second from top: The repaired mast high in the air on its way to the boat. Third from top: Crew scramble to add rigging. Bottom: Both boats take on fuel (Hawaiian Chieftain on the right) in preparation for departure this morning. The boats are scheduled to arrive in San Francisco Oct. 23. (Bottom two photos courtesy Ron Arel)

Thanks to Sierra Pacific Industries' Aberdeen sawmill for pulling the mast for us, and thanks to Weyerhaeuser Bay City log yard for allowing us dock space to reset the mast. Thanks also to Brumfield Construction for help with the crane on short notice.

Interview of Volunteer Gina McLaren

Videoblogger 206 producer Jack Olmsted uploaded another of his video posts to the Seattle P-I. This time, he captured the story of volunteer Gina McLaren, who was in our "Two Weeks Before the Mast" program.

Shop Work on Both Vessels Progressing

Routine maintenance work is proceeding apace at the Historical Seaport's Spar Shop in preparation for Westport sailings on Saturday and Sunday and the ships' scheduled departure for San Francisco on Monday. Top: Capt. "Jake" Jacobson explains his work on the Hawaiian Chieftain's mizzen mast. Middle: Hawaiian Chieftain purser Patty McLaren works on the Lady Washington's new main top. Bottom: Lady Washington bosun Jesse Ludtke adds some color to the main top as well.

Fan Photo: Hawaiian Chieftain Cannon Blast

Grays Harborite Rachel Thomson, who works as a reporter for the Daily World newspaper, took this photo of the Hawaiian Chieftain last summer in Tacoma just after she fired a broadside. Do you have a Lady Washington or Hawaiian Chieftain photo to share? Email it to us!

Lady Washington Departed Today, 221 Years Ago

Filmmaker and novelist Andrew Buckley reminds us that today is the 221st anniversary of the departure of Lady Washington from Boston on her voyage of discovery to the west coast. On October 1, 1787, she accompanied the Columbia Rediviva, Robert Gray commanding, on its amazing journey around Cape Horn and north to the Pacific Northwest to trade for furs. The two ships were the first American ships to visit what would later become Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. Gray named the Columbia River after his own vessel, and Grays Harbor after himself. Andrew writes:

Currently I am working on a documentary on the Columbia Expedition, using many nearby resources to cover the background of the main characters and prelude to the first voyage. We have already begun filming, and are in the midst of a flurry of grant writing.

Andrew is part of a new virtual group, Friends of Lady Washington, on the LinkedIn social networking site. It's managed by one of the Historical Seaport's intrepid volunteers, Jim Mockford. If you'd like to join up, send me an email at jfollansbee@historicalseaport.org.