Sailing on the Jolly Roger

"The captain is requesting you to arrive at the dock at 5 pm tomorrow instead of 6 pm." Wait? What?

Needless to say, I totally forgot to put something in my Google calendar and if it's not on my calendar, it doesn't exist. (Anyone else like that?) Back in August my best friends bought tickets for my husband and I to go on a cruise. The reminder email had me scrambling to make sure I could get out of work early enough to make it to the dock on time. Thankfully we made it happen. My co-workers were almost as excited as I was for the trip.

Only 3 people on the gangplank at a time

Lady Washington © Grays Harbor Historical Seaport

We weren't sure what to expect, and I completely geeked out! We boarded Lady Washington, a full-scale replica of a late 18th century trading ship. If you're like me, she looks familiar. You guessed it. She was the Jolly Roger on 'Once Upon A Time'. I pictured Captain Killian 'Hook' Jones standing on the deck and sailing the seven seas. (I mean, who wouldn't want to picture Colin O'Donoghue standing next to  you?)

My husband was 'Shanghaied' into being part of the crew. He was part of the crew raising the main mast sail. Following the very specific orders of raising the mast sail with a halyard. (It's a whole language I know very little about.) He was enamored and smiled the whole cruise. Hopefully he won't be conscripted. 

Unfortunately it was a calm wind evening, so we didn't use the sails as much as we wished we did. But, it was still to sing shanty's, learn nautical terms, and listen to the creaks and groans a ship makes when wind catches a sail. 

I would definitely do this again, I kept thinking I should write a story based on a tall ship. I'd love to be out on the ocean with wind on our backs and hear the snap of the sails. And, there's a battle they do as well... that may have to happen in the future. 

I'm very grateful they sent me a reminder email.

Want to board a ship yourself?

Grays Harbor Historical Seaport is an educational non-profit organization based in Aberdeen, Washington, but they travel on the Washington, Oregon, and California coasts. Their goal is to preserve maritime history and traditions for people of all ages, and they travel up and down the west coast sharing information about tall ships. You can go on a cruise or even join the crew for a short period of time to learn how to sail a tall ship like the Lady Washington. I highly recommend checking them out on their website www.historicalseaport.org for more information and to get tickets.