Lady Washington In Monterey Bay; Ticket Giveaway

Just thought I'd note that Lady Washington arrived at Moss Landing last night, a few hours later than expected. The crew says headwinds slowed them down on their way from Half Moon Bay, though the seas were moderate. Hawaiian Chieftain is about to depart Sacramento (if she hasn't already) and she'll be joing the Lady Washington at Moss Landing on Friday. If you have any photos of Lady Washington at Moss Landing, send them to photos@historicalseaport.org.

Also, Magic63 AM, Radio KIDD, in Monterey is giving away two pairs of tickets for Battle Sails on Sunday, Nov. 30 and Sunday, Dec. 7 (two tix on each day). Listen to the station in the morning and win a pair! The station will also be running PSAs and interviewing our executive director, Capt. Les Bolton, to promote our visit. Thanks to Lee Durley and Joe Chabala, who are great to work with!

Fan Pics: A Photo and a Painting

Two of our recent guests sent us some very nice images today. The top watercolor is a first crack at a tall-ship painting--the Lady Washington in this case--done by a friend of Jennifer Storm, who sailed with us in Half Moon Bay this month. The bottom image is of the Hawaiian Chieftain on a beautiful November evening recently in Sacramento. That photo was taken by Audrey Sabin. Thanks to both Jennifer and Audrey! Do you have a favorite photo or other image of Lady Washington or Hawaiian Chieftain? Email it to photos@historicalseaport.org.

Seaport Landing Public Meeting Set

We sent out a news release Friday about a public meeting in Aberdeen on December 6 at the Aberdeen Elks, starting at 11:30 a.m. We're going to unveil the design for Seaport Landing, our facility planned for the Aberdeen waterfront. The Aberdeen Daily World ran a nice piece on the meeting in yesterday's edition. Here's a link to the news release. We hope to see alot of people there.

Chinese Ship Offers Gift to Aberdeen

At the Aberdeen City Council meeting Nov. 19, our executive director, Capt. Les Bolton, presented a flag from a Chinese ship to Mayor Bill Simpson. Les picked up the Aberdeen Yacht Club flag in San Franciscio earlier this month from Capt. Nelson Liu, who was commanding the Princess Tai Ping, a replica of a Ming Dynasty junk. This is truly an amazing story, because the vessel has sailed across the Pacific with no auxiliary engine! Originally, Nelson wanted to bring his ship to Aberdeen, but the winds didn't cooperate. That's why the gift was exchanged in SF. The top photo shows the Princess Tai Ping. The bottom photo is Nelson with friend Angela Chao on the quarterdeck of the Lady Washington. (Photos by Les Bolton.) The SF Weekly blog "The Snitch" has more photos and info about the Chinese boat.

New! The Lady Washington's Bird Berths!

The hardworking craftsmen in the Historical Seaport's Spar Shop have come up with a great holiday gift idea, which we're calling "The Lady Washington's Bird Berths." These bird houses are made right here in Grays Harbor with recycled, high-grade marine plywood, and they have a removable panel for easy cleaning. (You're supposed to clean out birdhouses once a year to encourage new arrivals.) You can use them outdoors as a home for song birds. Or they make a nice interior decoration for the holidays or any time of year. What do you think? Cool, huh?

Right now, they're only available for purchase at The Washington Store in Aberdeen, 117 Wishkah Street. Call them at 360-532-9494 for pricing and availability. Sale proceeds benefit the Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain’s educational and ambassadorial activities on behalf of Washington State and Grays Harbor.

Lady Washington in HMB; Hawaiian Chieftain Popular

The Lady Washington is expected to sail into Pillar Point Harbor at Half Moon Bay around midday today, firing at cannon salute to the city. Visitors will have more opportunity than usual to clambor aboard for a visit. She'll be open 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. during the week, instead of the usual 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. at most ports. She's also open 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The HMB weekend sailings in the afternoons are also starting to fill up. Our stops at Antioch and Rio Vista earlier this month were very popular; we sold every ticket (save one) for our Adventure Sails despite some dicey weather.

Meanwhile, Hawaiian Cheiftain is getting a lot of attention in Sacramento. She's been on three of the local TV stations and the Sacramento Bee newspaper has been calling about her. So far, sales of tickets for the Chieftain's weekend sailings are far ahead of last year. And she's been hosting two school groups virtually every weekday.

Kudos to the crews of both tall ships for their hard work and dedication!

Lady Washington in Antioch; Fan Photo

The Lady Washington is now in Antioch, Calif., and tickets for the weekend Adventure Sails are selling fast. Too bad Beth Blank, an engineer for the Lady Washington, won't be there to greet our guests. She's the woman in the photo above hauling smartly on a line in Gig Harbor in September. The photo was taken by Bob Martin of Eagle River, Alaska. Here's more of his photos.

Fan Photos: Boats in San Francisco Bay

Well, these aren't fan photos technically, because they were taken by the Historical Seaport's executive director, Capt. Les Bolton, from the Lady Washington. The photos are from a Battle Sail on Oct. 24 in San Francisco Bay. The top one shows Hawaiian Chieftain giving chase to the Lady Washington. The bottom photo shows Hawaiian Chieftain getting ready to fire a broadside at her opponent. Do you have a favorite Battle Sail photo? Send it to photos@historicalseaport.org.