The 2009 Tall Ship Adventure With Nancy And Vince

Exciting Rides Into The Past Aboard Schooners , Brigantines , Brigs and Barques !

2009 Was A Great Year With New Fellow Adventurers

This year we asked Nancy, Vince, and Irene  to join us for the adventure.  We met at Gladstone's for a pre-cruise drinkie-poo and then off to the tall ship docks to meet the crew and find our seats for the journey.  If we look funny it is because we told everybody todress warm because it gets cold out on the water in the winter at 5:00 pm!  So, off we go!


Hawaiian Chieftain and the Lady Washington will do battle this weekend

Perhaps A Little Definition Is Due

A tall ship is a large traditionally rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and baroques. Traditional rigging may include square rigs and gaff rigs, with separate topmasts and topsails. It is generally more complex than modern rigging, which utilizes newer materials such as aluminum and steel to construct taller, lightweight masts with fewer, more versatile sails.

Let's Get Started!

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Nancy and Paul have a Bloody Mary to get the day started

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Vince and Nancy and their three friends

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No Paul, it eatable... NOT wearable!

Head For The Ships!

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The Lady Washington is ready, the Chiefain was out of commission!  No Battle Sail today.. darn!

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Good Bye Gladstone's... See you in a few hours!

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163 different "controls" or ropes are used to rig the ship!

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"Yo Yo Ho Ho A pirates life for me!"

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Everything nicely stowed!

Setting Sail

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Vince looking for the life jackets!

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The Queen Mary is always waving good bye to departing ships

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The Carnival Pride will be pulling out at 5:00

Carnival Pride is a Spirit class cruise ship that was built by Kvaerner Masa-Yards in Helsinki. She is owned by Carnival Corporation & PLC and operated by Carnival Cruise Lines. She has 1,062 staterooms; eighty percent of the staterooms have ocean views and eighty percent of those have private balconies

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Getting ready to fire at the local ships with our big cannons!

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Vince, Nancy and Sue

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Paul enjoys the happenings

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Paul and the First Mate... The provider of commands to the crew

Winter In Southern California

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Yes... snow on Mt. Baldy which is 70 miles form our ship!!  The temperature is a balmy 78!

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Not a cloud in the sky!

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Turn around and there is Catalina Island about 24 miles form our ship in the opposite direction1

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"This is all good"

Watch For The Seals

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See the bump on the top of the ships riudder?

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The bumps are sleeping (Two big sea lions)

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Sue and Nancy share stories

Time For The Boom Boom

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We could not have a "battle sail" so the ships captain said "Fire at anything that moves!"

The carronade was a short-barrelled gun which threw a heavy ball developed by the Carron Company, a Scottish ironworks, in 1778. Because of irregularities in the size of cannon balls and the difficulty of boring out gun barrels there was usually a considerable gap between the ball and the bore - often as much as a quarter of an inch - with a consequent loss of efficiency. This gap was known as the "windage". The manufacturing practices introduced by the Carron Company reduced the windage considerably, enabling the ball to be fired with less powder and hence a smaller and lighter gun. The carronade was half the weight of an equivalent long gun, but could throw a heavy ball over a limited distance. The light weight of the carronade meant that the guns could be added to the forecastle and quarterdeck of frigates and ships of the line, increasing firepower without affecting the ship’s sailing qualities. Its high velocity at close range gave the carronade exceptional penetrating power. It became known as the “Smasher” and gave ships armed with carronades a great advantage at short range.

In addition to varying shot weights, different types of shot were employed for various situations:

Tall Ships 2009
Lazy afternoon

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Saddleback looks to be only a few miles away!

Saddleback, sometimes called Old Saddleback or the Saddleback Mountains, is the landmark formed by the two highest peaks in the Santa Ana Mountains and the ridge between them. This formation, which resembles a saddle when viewed from most of Orange County, California, dominates the county's eastern skyline, and on the clearest days can be seen from most of the Greater Los Angeles Area.


Long Beach Light to Santiago Peak is 50+ miles


Santiago Peak is the highest peak in the range and the highest point in the county at 5,687 feet (1,733 m). Modjeska Peak is the second highest at 5,496 feet (1,675 m). The two peaks form part of the border between Orange and Riverside Counties Ships 2009" src="tallships_2009_033.jpg" width="900" height="700">
70 + miles in the distance we have snow!

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Smooth sailing

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San Gabriel Mountains in the distance

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Can't go anywhere without GPS

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Nancy was ready for the adventure

We Had Visitors

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Nancy Made Me Do It!

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Used to call the crew to the deck for a critical situation

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Nancy was singing along with the crew!

Paul And Sue Enjoyed The Cruise

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Sue and Nancy keep warm

The 2009 Sailing Adventure Continues

2009 Tall Ships Sailing Adventure
Long Beach awaits us.... It maybe NOT ready for us??

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The Carnival ship leaves for a seven day Mexican cruise

We Fired At Everything!

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Boom!

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The Sun Was Setting As We Returned

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Time for the sails to come down

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The lowering of the sails is a great activity to watch.. You can learn a lot from listening

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This was a new sail and they are like cardboard for a while.. Difficult to stow

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Time to go exploring

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Vince went visiting downstairs

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Nancy has done her shopping for the day

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These Guys And Gals Are Working Hard 50 Feet Up

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The Sun Is Almost Set

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A golden sunset

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Sun goes down and jackets go on!

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The crew members kept us entertained during the voyage... Laughing and singing!

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The wharf awaits our arrival

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Time for Questions and Answers

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She was in a trance

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The harbor lighthouse provides the local landmark

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The Captain addresses the guests

Land, Let's Eat

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Why is he running??

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Nancy!  Please do not reach into the hat and take money out this time!

Gladstones For Dinner... It Doesn't Get Better Than This!

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The bar was calling us!

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Greg, Nancy and Vince

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Sue and Paul

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He is brilliant... especially with a little photographic assistance

Greg Is A Professional Zipperologist

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Don't ask!

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Now here is the professional in action!  Nancy is enjoying this a little too much!

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OK!

Through The Looking Glass

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Picture taken through the table lamp!

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Greg looks better through the glass!

Time To Go Home

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Vince, Nancy, Greg, Sue, and Paul heading for home!

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It was a delightful cruise