Goin Back to Cali: Tall ShipsIn January 2002, the American tall ships Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain visited Southern California. They stopped in several harbors, letting folks come aboard and see the rigging and old-fashioned hardware. On the weekends, they staged naval battles with real cannon. I took pictures of them in Long Beach while they were tied to a dock at Rainbow Harbor, then I sailed out on the good ship Kim to watch a cannon fight a few weeks later off Newport Beach. Tall ships have somewhat more rigging than Im used to handling. I guess thats why they have quarters below decks for more crew members than Kim usually carries. The ships were kept very tidy, especially considering the crush of visitors who came aboard at every opportunity. Each fitting, each rope, each tool had a specific purpose aboard, and it was intriguing to see the variety of equipment. Even while we were romping over the decks, the crew was steadily maintaining the boats, a project thats never finished. Not everybody realizes how the old tall ships were able to achieve such constant speed on long ocean voyages. Highway 127 . . . Desert . . . Town . . . Football |