CHICAGO TALL SHIPS

We awoke to a thunderstorm in Chicago on the morning of the Tall Ships parade. We are invited onboard the Picton Castle, the largest ship in the 17-ship flotilla of Tall Ships. We got out our rain parkas because we were not going to miss this, rainstorm or not.

It was the first time in three years that the Tall Ships have come to Chicago and 2 million visitors are expected. The ships on parade include replicas of an 1812 warship and a replica of Columbus’s ship, the Nina. In addition to the Tall Ships are a wide variety of other ships, some are here to show off, like the Coast Guard ice-breaker USCGC Mobile Bay, which has come down from the north, and the Chicago police and fire boats. Some are here to allow passengers to board to view the parade ships up close. There are six antique and classic boats as well. The Tall Ships are sponsored by the American Sail Training Association and hosted by the City of Chicago. After the parade the ships are docked at Chicago’s Navy Pier and along the Chicago River for the fans to view.

A Coast Guard boat takes us to the ship out in open water and we climb aboard via rope ladder. Stepping on board felt like taking a step back in time. You can smell what seem to be acres of canvas and you can hear the sounds of the masts and spars creaking.  It was not only like stepping back in time, it was like being in a pirate movie.

The 179 ft. square-rigged training vessel is freshly back from her 4^th circumnavigation of the globe. She returned to her home port of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia after a year-long 30,000 mile voyage to more than 20 ports of call including Panama, the Galapagos, French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu, Mauritius, South Africa, Grenada, British Virgin Islands, and Bermuda. The ship delivered more than 20 tons of donated books and educational materials to needy schools. And the voyage transformed the ship’s crew of 38 sail trainees, overseen by 12 professional sailors, into full fledged seafarers, capable of all manner of rigging, rope-work, sail handling, and navigation.

The Picton Castle is a true working tall ship. Trainees participate fully in the ships operation: handling sails, scrubbing the deck, taking a turn at the wheel, raising the anchor, hauling lines, helping in the galley, going aloft (optional), and keeping lookout. There are training classes in seamanship and navigation plus plenty of opportunities to learn square-rig sailing and explore exotic ports around the world. Picton Castle was built in 1928 and served as a minesweeper during WWII. She was turned into a tall ship in 1996 including adding a new bow.

The ship will return to Nova Scotia to be outfitted for its next journey, a Caribbean odyssey to set sail on October 30. The new itinerary is designed to encourage trainees who want to come aboard for only a week or two rather than the month or more required for the world journey. The ship is under the command of Captain Dan Moreland who holds the highest license issued to Merchant Marine officers today: Unlimited Master in Steam, Motor, and Sail. But his attire does not reflect his rank … he is tattooed and barefooted and wears a floppy Panama hat and Levi’s. He shouts out his orders to the crew who in turn shout them back for confirmation. The ship runs in what appears to be organized chaos as we prepare to dock at Navy Pier at the end of our 2-hour sail in the parade. (Chibley, the ship’s cat, seems to be second in command as he has full reign of the ship.)

The trainees on Picton Castle are of all ages and come from all parts of the world. One fellow we talked with was from nearby Ft. Wayne, Indiana and one girl was from far away Pitcairn Island. The fiancé of the ship’s doctor had resigned her long teaching career to spend two months aboard the ship. She told of a typical 15-year-old boy who had come aboard as a meek overly quiet kid and left as a leader. One of the trainees, a young girl is sailing aboard Picton Castle for the second time and she has been on another training vessel as well, using free time while she is working her way through grad school.

The romance of the ship and the exotic ports of call on her voyages make me want to sign up right away, until the reality of the accommodations aboard the ship (bunkroom style, two tiers of bunks with privacy curtains) snap me back to reality. But everyone aboard seems to be perfectly content and wouldn’t change a thing.

Returning to our home base, it felt like we were a part of a conquering armada coming in to the conquered city. We indeed felt privileged as we approached the Pier and saw all the onlookers waiting just to get a glimpse of the ships.

The main purpose of these vessels is sail training as well as taking supplies to schools in needy areas around the world. For further information on sail training vessels, check the American Sail Training Association (http://tallships.sailtraining.org) . To book a voyage on the Picton Castle, contact Small Ship Cruises at cruisesmallships@aol.com.

   -- Scott Linde