Photos From The Lady Washington B-Day Party

Nearly 200 Lady Washington supporters turned out for the ship's 20th anniversary celebration last night at Aberdeen Landing in Aberdeen. Many people said it was the best party the Seaport's had in years. The weather was perfect, the food from Ranch House BBQ was excellent, the music was superb, and the fellowship was unmatched. (I've run out of superlatives.)

Here's a few photos: Top: Lady Washington in all her glory, with Hawaiian Chieftain behind, and the Chehalis River Bridge in the background.. Middle: Volunteer Audra Poor transfixed visitors with her uilleann pipes. Bottom, left to right: Former state senator Max Vekich, former secretary of the state of Washington Ralph Munro, and GHHSA Executive Director Les Bolton share a moment. Vekich and Munro were instrumental in leading the effort to construct Lady Washington in the late 1980s.

I'll post more photos later.

Fan Photos: LW at 2008 Tacoma Tall Ships

Lisa Pirkkala sent these images of Lady Washington, taken at the 2008 Tacoma Tall Ships festival. Lisa plans to attend Lady Washington's 20th Anniversary Celebration Monday June 29th at Aberdeen Landing in Aberdeen. The festivities start at 4 p.m. with VIP tours of the ships. More information is available on the Lady Washington page of the Historical Seaport website. We hope you can join us!

Fan Photos: HC on the Columbia River

Juliet Pouillon, one of our guests on the Hood River Battle Sail on June 10, sent us these photos of the Hawaiian Chieftain in the Columbia River Gorge. The photos were taken from the Lady Washington. If you have a favorite photo of either of our ships, send it to photos@historicalseaport.org.

Zodiac: Log Squared for Turning

These photos show the 117-foot log being squared or "trued" by our LucasMill and Spar Shop team before it's loaded into the lathe for turning. The log has a total of 4,610 board feet.

Spar Shop Starts Zodiac Mast Project

The Spar Shop at the Historical Seaport has started a project to turn a new main mast for the schooner Zodiac. The upper photo shows the 117-foot log as it's trucked out of the forest, headed for the Seaport facility in Aberdeen. That's Kent Wall, our Spar Shop manager, in the foreground. The lower photo shows the mast as it's unloaded. Within the next few days, the Spar Shop team will load the log in our tracer lathe, North America's largest. And this log is the largest we've ever attempted to turn. Stay tuned for more photos as the project progresses.

LW Dispatch from the Columbia River

Lady Washington's first mate, Jimmy McManus, sent this dispatch over the weekend. The boats pull into St. Helens this afternoon.

Good day ladies and gentlemen,


WE ARE AT SEA LEVEL, well relatively. Today we went thru the Bonniville Lock, the last dam between us and the great Pacific Ocean. On our down-bound trip of the Columbia from the Dalles, we made stops in Hood River, and Stevenson. Now on our way to Washougal, Wash. Ed. note: The boats have already departed Washougal.


In Hood River, our welcoming and reception was so very well received; the town was hospitable. There is an amazing amount of wind that just funnels around the river. In this part of the year, it is a westerly wind blowing up river. We have found this to be quite advantageous to use for our sails. We can motor up-wind with the river current following, set up sail, and sail with opposing wind and current negating each other. Making for some fun Adventure sailing, and even more exciting Battle Sails.


On our way to Stevenson, the wind picked up considerably. But like I mentioned this wind was a westerly, right on the nose, no boat can sail directly into the wind. Even with our engine on and running hard, with a following river current, at times we were only making two knots down river. Lady sails well because she can spread the canvas, but Mother Nature still dictates her course and speed. Here in Stevenson we hit the town for a "meet and greet," where we met quite a few of the town's movers and shakers. Even an interesting blacksmith named Jim, we need to introduce him to our blacksmith Jim on Chieftain.


Well now we are on our way to Washougal, Lady has gained some new faces. Alex Adams from Hood River has joined us a volunteer. Tim Miller of Olypmia, Wash. has come aboard as a trainee, and can already spin a yarn with the best of them. Our volunteer helmsman Ralph Yula, who had to leave us early on our ill-fated escape from California, has returned for another bash up north to Grays Harbor. Dorothy Thursten, a trainee turned long-term volunteer, who went back to shore life only to come running back, will be back aboard tomorrow. Josh Larson, Aberdeen’s own, is out of work and will be returning as a volunteer as well. Finally but not lastly, JB Morris, has stepped aboard to relieve Captain Dave for some time. WOW new faces, old faces, MORE HANDS, Lady will be her usual busying self again.


After Washougal, we will be approaching the end of our Columbia River tour, with stops in St Helens, Ore., by the sounds of it they will be pulling out all stops, with reenactor camps, and other events while the ships are docked there. Then to Ranier, Ore., Astoria, Ore., and Ilwaco, Wash. That’s the mouth of the river, oh so close to the ocean, then onward and upward to Westport, Wash. for Rusty Scuppers Pirate Daze.


Jimmy McManus

Mate of the Lady Washington

Fan Photo: Lady Washington in Bay Area

Photographer Darvin Atkeson sent us this photo of the Lady Washington under a full mooon in the Sacramento River Delta. If you have a favorite photo to share, send it to photos@historicalseaport.org

Fan Art: Both Ships at The Dalles

Photo artist Heather Hopkins sent us this image based on a photo of a June 6 Battle Sail. She watched the spectacular action from Crate's Point on the Columbia River and says the cannon were "LOUD". If you have an image of the boats to share, send it to photos@historicalseaport.org.

LW Says So Long to The Dalles

The crew on the Lady Washington sent this report about their visit to The Dalles June 4-6.

Good day ladies and gentlemen,

We fondly say goodbye to another port. This last weekend, we spent five days in the Dalles, Ore. This brought us lots of sailing, with LOTS of wind. Lady Washington carried both topsails under double reef, which at first was thought to be prudent, but was also done for training purposes. With the wind blowing at 25 to 30 mph, she could've carried her topsails with just the single reef, but the majority of the crew having been taught how to tie in a single reef, and some saying they’ve never seen a double reef tied in to the topsail, had the opportunity to learn it was done. And it worked fantastically. We carried just enough canvas to move 2-3 knots against a 2-3 knot current, which would make our speed thru the water 6 knots. WOOOOW

The Dalles Yacht Club hosted a BBQ for the crews, serving up some delicious hamburgers and hot dogs. The port authority made every sailor a welcoming bag, which was very nice; the cherries included were grown locally. They also lent us the use of their shower and facilities as a place to relax. I enjoyed the couch.

Here aboard Lady Washington, we were exchanging California crew for summer crew. In Pasco, we had a steady crew of nine through thick and thin, hot days, and no wind days. We’ve sailed in solid company. Now we are blessed with the return of Ralph Yula. Ralph is a frequent volunteer aboard the Lady Washington, a mechanic by trade. Ralph was with us in California, and he wanted to stay among us as we battled weather north, but the call of family is always the stronger duty. He has returned to fight one more battle north. Ralph will be aboard till we reach Westport at the end of the month, so he will be aboard as we head down the Columbia and make our right turn for home.

Our next stop will be Hood River, Ore. We shall arrive there early this afternoon. On Wednesday, we open for tours from 4-5 p.m. then Battle Sail against our little buddy the Hawaiian Chieftain from 6-9 pm. Thursday we depart from Hood River and arrive in Stevenson. Friday in Stevenson, dockside tours are from 4-5pm, followed by a 6-9 Battle Sail. Saturday, we depart and head for Washougal, which means being lowered at the Bonneville Dam. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, we will finally be back to sea level at that time.

Thank you to every port and every person who comes out to see the boats. It’s with your continued enthusiasm that we continue our program.

Jimmy McManus
Mate of the Lady Washington

Fan Photos: Sailing at The Dalles

Mark Jensen of The Dalles sent us his photos of an Adventure Sail over the weekend. Top: Hawaiian Chieftain under sail in the Gorge. Middle: Lady Washington bosun Mark Scibinico. Bottom: "Rigging rats" (as Mark called them) Dennis La Komski (left) and Liz Palmer. If you have photos of your tall ship adventure aboard Lady Washington or Hawaiian Chieftain, send them to photos@historicalseaport.org.

A Double Take on a Double

We did a double take when this photo dropped in our inbox. Is that Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean? No, it's Janice McIntyre as Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack. She's the spittin' image, for sure. Janice sailed with us in the Tri-Cities with photographer Dani Smart in tow. Dani took the photo. Janice donned the getup. Do you have a pirate pic taken aboard Lady Washington or Hawaiian Chieftain? Send it to us at photos@historicalseaport.org.

Walla Walla Museum Blogs Tri-Cities Visit

The Lady Washington fires her swivel cannon in this image borrowed from the FWWMWorld blog, maintained by Paul Franzmann of the Fort Walla Walla Museum in Walla Walla. The blog posting also has three short videos from his sailing. Paul went on one of the Tri-Cities' Battle Sails. He also enjoyed a 20 percent discount on tickets we offer to museums exclusively for their membership. If you're affiliated with a history museum or heritage organization near one of our ports of call and you'd like to offer your patrons a discount on one of our sailings, contact us at ghhsa_admin@historicalseaport.org.

Fan Art: Hawaiian Chieftain and a Chart

Photo artist Genie Cary of Cathlamet, Wash. created this work-in-progress image, combining a photo she took of Hawaiian Chieftain earlier this spring with a nautical chart of the Columbia River at Cathlamet. If you have a photo or image of our ships to share, send it to photos@historicalseaport.org.

Lady Washington Says So Long to Tri-Cities

Jimmy McManus, mate on the Lady Washington, sent us some words on Monday about the visit of Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain to the Tri-Cities.

Good day ladies and gentlemen,

Farewell to Pasco, WA. Just over a week spent in one port and one more week still would not have satiated Pasco’s thirst for the lovely tall ships Hawaiian Chieftain and Lady Washington. Never have I seen one port take such an interest in viewing the ships, sailing the ships, helping the crew in getting around. As a veteran of the Tall Ship festivals, I can say wholeheartedly the welcome and reception we received was wonderful. From having over 500 people cross our deck in just three hours, or having two shanty bands playing upon the deck, to adding MORE Battle Sails last minute to be sold out as quickly as they were arranged. It was amazing. THANK YOU PASCO; see you again soon. I hope it’s not another decade till we stop here again.

Pasco was a great town, the Tri-Cities were great, and despite everyone saying “It’s usually windy here or should have seen how hard it was blowing last week”. We did a many great Battle Sails, with little to no wind. Yesterday we even bent on main course, to catch what puffs there were.

But now folks we are down-bound. Heading back toward the briny sea, our home away from home, the Pacific Ocean. But don’t fret, if you are on the Columbia and still wish to see us, there’s plenty of stops as we go down the river, and sails too. We passed under the dreaded Union Pacific Bridge. With all passengers huddled forward to watch as we went underneath. I explained the mishap of the Lady Washington’s last visit to Pasco. Without incident we passed underneath safe and sound. Now we are heading to The Dalles, for a few education programs, Adventure Sails, and BATTLE Sails. Along the way we are making overnight stops at Umatilla, and Arlington, OR. Passing thru The McNary lock, today, John Day and The Dalles lock on the 3rd, hopefully. The John Day lock is closed the 2nd and 4th for valve inspections, we are going to try to slip right in between.

We have our homeward-bound pennant flying proudly on our stumpy foremast. But that flag says it all.

Thank you Pasco, you were a wonderful host.

Jimmy McManus
Mate of the Lady Washington

If you have some thoughts you'd like to share about your visit to the ships in Pasco, send them and photos to stories@historicalseaport.org.