Photographer Linda Berman, a guest on our Jan. 9 Sunset Sail out of Newport Beach, Calif., shared these photos with us. "We had a delightful time listening to tales from the crew as we enjoyed a smooth sail out to sea.," she writes. The Hawaiian Chieftain is now in transit to San Francisco, arrving there on Tuesday. If you have photos to share of your adventure on Hawaiian Chieftain or Lady Washington, send them to photos@historicalseaport.org.
Lady Washington's new Scania 12 liter diesel engine was installed this morning at her berth in Aberdeen. Marine Operations Manager Micah Allnutt took these pictures, starting with the crane lifting the engine over the ship's rail and positioning it over the engine room hatch. It's a tight fit as its lowered, and at the end of the process, master mechanic Dick "Tinker" Toy says he's happy with the results. Kudos to Quigg Bros of Aberdeen for the brilliant crane work. The next step is hooking everything up to the new motor and taking Lady Washington out for sea trials, which could happen next week.
Photographer Tom Edgerton sent us this amazing photo of Hawaiian Chieftain at the entrance to Ventura Harbor at about 10 a.m. today. You've probably heard about all the storms in the Los Angeles area in the last few days. The marine conditions this week were as tough as anyone has seen in many years, but HC made it through just fine. She's in Ventura through Friday, when she sails for San Francisco.
Keith Novak, a guest on our January 2 Adventure Sail out of Newport Beach, Calif., sent us these photos of Hawaiian Chieftain's crew climbing aloft and a young man learning about the life of an 18th-century mariner. Keith said his family had a great time, despite the wimpy wind. "We learned a lot about sailing on a tall ship," he writes. The photos were taken by his wife, Germaine Defendi.
The Hawaiian Chieftain is currently in Oxnard, and few things capture the California spirit better than the golden bear on the California state flag. This picture was taken Sunday by guest Francisco McElhatten. She says the rainy weather did not dampen her spirits. (The bit of green at the top of the mast is the Washington State flag.) If you have a photo to share, send it to photos@historicalseaport.org.
The Spar Shop at the Historical Seaport has been hard at work on a number of projects, including these two. Spars for the sailboat Sea Witch (bottom photo) and columns for custom homes at Seabrook, Wash., (top photo) are wrapped and ready for shipment. The Spar Shop specializes in ship's wooden masts and spars, as well as custom columns and poles. We own North America's largest tracer lathe, which can handle logs up to 122 feet long.
Here's another batch of photos from today's Lady Washington re-rigging work party at the Historical Seaport headquarters in Aberdeen. Top: Volunteers painting the just-scraped yard. Middle: Capt. JB Morrison joyful that he finally gets a sip of his coffee. Bottom: A family and friends cleaning up some blocks. Thanks for coming by, everyone!
Nearly two dozen volunteers and staff are working hard this afternoon surrounded by the fragrance of turpentine and used oil during our Lady Washington re-rig work party. Top: Capt. JB Morrison shows volunteers how to scrape down one of the yards. Middle: Volunteers hard at work on the aforesaid yard. Bottom: Former Historical Seaport board president Chuck Pollock lends a hand to Lady Washington bosun Sara Gempler on a block.
Here's Chuck Pollock and current Seaport Vice Chair Alex Kluh working a pair of blocks with a will. There's still time to come over to the Seaport's headquarters in Aberdeen to help out. Lots to do! Here's a map.
Here's the first look at the old Detroit Diesel 8V-71 engine that once powered the Lady Washington. The engine was removed this morning. Top: The old motor in front of the brand new Scania 12 L engine that will go into the boat in the new few weeks. Middle: Another look at the old motor with master mechanic Dick "Tinker" Toy hard at work. Bottom: Dick Toy and Lady Washington engineer Daniel Armstrong working on the oil pan.
Now it's for real! Micah Allnutt and his team, along with major help from Quigg Brothers of Aberdeen and their crane, removed the old Detroit Diesel engine this morning about eight o'clock, leaving crewpeople Liz Palmer and Spencer Meeks (top photo) to clean up in the now engineless engine room. Below their picture is the Lady Washington with a blue tarp over the engine room hatch. Note the missing foremast, which was removed earlier this week. Many thanks to Crowley Marine and also Sierra Pacific Industries for the use of their dock and crane for the mast removal.
The first week of real work on the Lady Washington's rig and engine is well underway and we've run into the usual unexpected but not unplanned-for problems. The Historical Seaport crew has removed the Lady Washington's foremast and we discovered enough rot so that we'll have to turn a new lower foremast. The mast is 20 years old with 100,000 miles on it and so it's well past its expected lifetime. The foretopsail yard will also have to be replaced. We've built lots of contingencies into the budget and the schedule so no worries. In fact, early indications are that we'll finish the engine work a bit earlier than expected. We'll know more as the projects progress.
Hands-on educational programs in our home of Grays Harbor County are at the core of the Historical Seaport's mission, and here's a perfect example. Holly Samuelson, a fourth-grade teacher at Ocosta Elementary School in Westport, Wash., shared these photos of her class aboard Lady Washington. On December 15, they boarded the ship in a driving rain to learn about the lives of 18th century mariners and the skills they practiced, such as using a compass, reading a map, and the importance of teamwork.
