I visited a Ship

I did a tour of the Wisconsin and spent the night with my Boy Scouts aboard the New Jersey, but the John Brown cruise in Baltimore Harbor was a blast!  They had period music going, and they did indeed have a simulated air attack, though I was under the impression it was supposed to be Japanese.  Either way, it was a lot of fun.  This summer I'm going to Hawaii and plan to tour the Missouri and the Arizona Memorial.  

Hi Captain !

     I am Building a 1/96 Kidd as you know . I have a Modern , Alabama On the shelf 90% finished . Now besides that Have  You any plans to get to the " Whisky " ? Because if you do , Look for the large Model of her in the building at Nauticus . Overlooking the ship .That was a collaborative effort by B.A.D. Shipmodels and yours truly . " Gunny "

 I did the super-Detailing from the main deck up ! I hope it still looks good ! I am going to Corpus and South this summer . I have to walk the decks of Texas and the " Lady Lex " . I was one of the original Docents on the Hornet in Alameda too .

 Whan I deliver the Kidd and Arizona to my Client/Friend , then The KIDD and ALABAMA are on my schedule .  T.B.

I have visited the USS Constitution and Constellation, all the ships at Battleship Cove in Fall River, MA, the USS Olympia, USS New Jersey, USS Missouri, USS Wisconsin, USS Texas, USS North Carolina, the Amistad in New Haven, HMS Rose before her conversion, the USS Nautilus, USS Pampinito, the Mayflower, HMS Belfast, Golden Hind, and all the ships at Mystic Seaport.  I have also visited the old Soviet Julliet and Foxtrot class submarines in Providence and Seattle respectively.

Like GM, I had the helm during an brief underway trip into Long Island Sound of the Amistad during a school trip.

Bill

When I was working for Oracle I spent a summer in New Hampshire at their New England Development Center.  Oracle will pay to fly your family out if you're traveling for more than a few weeks which was cool so I had the whole family with me.

We'd take weekend trips all over and one particular weekend we ended up in Boston and waited in line (with twin 3 year olds and a 5 year old) for quite some time to tour the USS Constitution.  We literally got up to the gate (next group to tour) and here comes a bunch of sharp dressed Naval officers in their whites.  'Sorry folks, closing up for a retirement cerimony'.  I think I was the most disappointed lol.

There was a topsail schooner named Swift that sailed out of Santa Barbara CA across the channel to San Miguel Island.

Dad took me on that when I was probably ten. Had the helm for an hour.

My first intertest in sailing ships, was when my late father took me on a visit aboard the Norwegian training ship, STATSRAAD LEHMKUHL, when this sailing ship docked at Manhattan, New York in 1952. This vessel built in 1914, home ported at Bergen, Norway, was formally the German merchant training ship, FRIEDRICH GRASSHERZOG AUGUST. Captured by the British in 1918 as war prize, then sold to Norway, and has since to this present day used for training purposes.

Picture source: "Sail on Board"

Happy modeling   Crackers   

GMorrison

Wasa but I didn’t go in it.

Gjoa, Fram and the Viking ships.

 

 

Wasa but I didn’t go in it.

Gjoa, Fram and the Viking ships.

GMorrison

 

Been on a number of vessels in Puget Sound; slept on a few of those, too--but they were not open to the public.

Been aboard Star of India, but not much else on the west coast.  Been down to the Museum of the War in the Pacific in Nimitz's home town of Fredricksburg.  Have not made it down to Lex in Corpus yet.  Been aboard Elissa many times in Galveston.  Have seen Seawolf Park in Galveston--which, until very recently, really counted as old, tired, and neglected.  Many trips to Texas.

Visited Kidd and Alabama.

Did not have enough time to visit Wisconsin in Norfolk, but I have far toom uch time in other vessels in that area.

Been all over Mystic seaport.  And Fall River's Battleship Cove, too.  Got to make a really quick trip through Salem the once, too.

to round out that circumnavigation, I've been to the original U-505 exhibt there in Chicago.

GMorrison

 

Dang, now I want an Irish Coffee

GMorrison

I visited the Pampanito once. I was invited aboard because the folks who run the fund for it thought they might pitch me to become a board member.

We were served breakfast in the officers mess, which was pretty tiny.

I've been a fan of the big Fairbanks Morse Opies for a long time, dating back to my interest in railroads. To see them in their original implementation was pretty sweet.

 

Pampanito?! I was just there this past August... 

Didnt go on board though. We were on a mission to find the place claiming to be the originators of Irish Coffee

I visited the Pampanito once. I was invited aboard because the folks who run the fund for it thought they might pitch me to become a board member.

We were served breakfast in the officers mess, which was pretty tiny.

I've been a fan of the big Fairbanks Morse Opies for a long time, dating back to my interest in railroads. To see them in their original implementation was pretty sweet.

I got to spend the night on the Alabama. I went along with my brothers Boy Scout troop (I was only 9) on a trip through Ft. Rucker (where I was born), Mobile, where we spent the night aboard ship and had full access to ship and the sub...then on through Pensicola. GREAT trip, that was!!!

TB,

I will not take that bet! But, they did eat well.

Bill

" G "

 I remember a tour with the Blind on my 110' Converted Coast Guard Cutter . With 58 people it was a crowd . I would hate to imagine the conditions on any ship back in those days with all those folks on board . T.B.

Hey Warshipguy !

 I'll bet that they didn't eat like that on a Balao or Guppy .

We had a young lady in my watch whom I placed on the helm. Unfortunately, the "Captain" had informed the watch that the helmsman could not move because he slept right under the helm.That girl was scared rigid, and she had turned a remarkable shade of blue with that wind. But, she did not move!  I got her into the galley post haste!

Bill

I have been to the:New Jersey,Midway,Constitution,Nautilus,Intrepid,and Olympia.

I always wanted to try the short cruise of the USS John Brown out of Baltimore,a Liberty Ship,it even had a simulated air attack by a German A/C

Mine went onboard Balclutha for some sort of "Two Years Before the Mast" re-enactment.

My daughter dated a guy for awhile who was an engineering volunteer on the JOB. She likes real men, currently friends with a Merchant Marine.

He gave me a pretty good behind-the-scenes tour of those spaces, including trying to get me to go down the length of the shaft tunnel (150 feet- no way).

His big chuckle was that there was a big lathe below in the shop, maybe a 24 inch. It had a bed level, which he thought was the funniest thing.

He gave me a bunch of steel plate and chunks of cable, which I had for awhile but eventually ditched.

My kids did the same thing when they were in 4th grade in Mare Island.  The Balclutha (formerly Star of Alaska) had a similar program. I was a chaperone and safety observer for their class. We had the Mid-Watch, and that wind coming under the Golden Gate was bone-chilling!  I had to rotate the watch for spells in the Galley, where the stove was lit and warm.

Bill

I spent the night aboard the Star Of India (Euterp) when my daughter was in the 4th grade.  We were in sleeping bags on one of the lower decks, so not the most comfortable sleep.  Cool experience for the kids (I was a chaperone).  They learned different aspects of ship life and work and had chores to do including a night watch - ours was from 3:00AM-4:00AM and you can imagine trying to get my 8 or so 4th graders up at 3:00AM after goofing around until midnight.

She's part of the maratime museum here in San Diego and still sets sail from time to time.

I remember all of my submarines fondly.  The food was the best, including steak and lobster every Sunday for Sublant boats and steak and king crab legs for Subpac boats. The other meals were great as well. Then I remember my studies of other times for the men at sea.  It strengthens my sense of respect for those who came before my time.  God bless them all!

Bill

My last onboard visit was the galleon San Salvador replica, Cabrillo's ship.

Imagine that this little ship had as many as three hundred people on board, between sailors, soldiers, priests, government officials and "camp followers".

I’ve been on USS Iowa a couple of times now since they brought her here. The last time our group received a special tour into the engineering spaces, brig, and other areas not yet open to the general public. Great stuff.