Friday, February 10th, 2017 - Pinch Me - What Century Am I in Now? (Or How On Earth Do I Choose Only a Few Photos from the Hundreds!)

The reunion was scheduled to coincide with a biennial event in Hobart called the Wooden Boat Festival. This draws the largest crowd of wooden boat fans in the Southern Hemisphere. It opens with an event called the Parade of Sail, in which many boats sail up the Derwent River and into Constitution Dock.

Following Bob Chesterman's recommendation, Toni and I decided to book a ride on the 'Lady Nelson' one of the tall ships that would be part of this event. Oh, my, what a wonderful experience it was.

I have spent little time around yachts and become quite nervous when the little ones lean over sideways. Being on this ship however, was a whole different experience which stirred the nautical blood in my bones!

Mind you, the day was relatively calm and in fact, we didn't actually have enough wind to sail completely on our own without the motor.

We began with a bus ride down to Woodbridge, about an hour south of Hobart. There we were met by two tall ships - Windeward Bound and the Lady Nelson. 

Ours was the smaller of the two ships, for which we were glad, as the folks on the other boat looked like a very large crowd!

And so began a day of magic!

The other ships we started with were Windeward Bound on the right and The Enterprize on the left.

When it came time to drop the sails, it was pretty exciting to see the all volunteer crew climb up into the rigging! It was just like the movies!

There were men and women alike, and of all ages - many as old or older than me. So when I saw that they were offering the experience of climbing the rigging to passengers, I was 'in'!

So they 'geared me up' to climb the rigging to a platform admidships. I've done some adventurous things in my life, so happily I didn't feel too nervous about it. I was actually surprised by how easy it was to climb. In fact, as soon as I left the deck, the sway of the ship disappeared. The biggest challenge was getting around and onto the platform - an overhang. With the help of the staff placing my feet - it worked fine!

(But, do notice that I'm clipped in tightly AND my hand is holding tight, too!)

The view of the deck was pretty nice, especially that lovely morning tea waiting for me.
I was very pleased with myself and my knees!

It was fun to have people coming alongside to take photos. It felt like the battle of the megapixel!

By the afternoon, we'd had some marvelous morning tea, and lunch and the crowd of ships became more intense and crowded..........

.........even Angus and another cousin, David, were out in their little sailboat - the little one with the red sails right of center is them courageously claiming their place in this marvelous parade!

We were greeted by crowds at the dock. 

Definitely a day that will go down in my memory as one of the best!