Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Battle!

The Adversaries




My ship for the day, bark Gazela



AJ Meerwald



Kalmar Nyckel


Summer Wind


Our Crew




The mate Patrick Flynn instructs the crew about the days action



Capt. Scott Cointot addresses the crew


Pirates!


Getting Underway




Down the long sweep of Gazela's deck, making ready to bring in the stern lines



And doing so



Ship's boat brought aboard



Hoisting the Mainsail...



takes effort!



Up she goes



and the main staysail



and two jibs or foresails



Drawing wind


Captains confer. Scott Cointot with John Brady, acting CEO of the Seaport Museum


Beat to Quarters




Our pirate lookout



Ready for battle



Closing with the Nyckel and the Meerwald



In position to broadside the Nyckel



Fire!




Reload



Our guns were small but had quite a kick!



Battleship New Jersey salutes the battle.



The captain of the Summer Wind takes aim...



and the Pirate King is felled.


The Kalmar Nyckel raises a sail.


Days End




Jibs down



Stays'l down



And the main



A little help into our dock



Tossing the line to tie us fast.

all photos Thomas Armstrong


It was my good fortune to be invited aboard the Gazela for last Sunday's mock pirate battle on the Delaware River, part of the Independence Seaport Museum's month long Philadelphia Seaport Festival. Great fun and my first sail aboard a large ship. Fascinating. We had a beautiful day for it, as you can see. For those attending at the museum there was an announcer doing a play by play. My impression from on board was of at least a hundred or so souls enjoying from shore. This is the events first year and I'm sure it will prove popular.
Other upcoming events include the Philadelphia Cup Regatta on October 1 and the 4th Annual Philadelphia Wooden Boat Festival. The AJ Meerwald ill be attending this year and offering sails to the public. This will be my third visit to the wooden boat fest. To read about last year's click here. This festival is growing every year and a real treat. Gonna be some great boats this year.
See you there.

2 comments:

sewa elf said...

Very nice,thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the photos! I enjoyed them, since I was away working on other boats. By the way, Gazela is actually a barkentine, not a barque.