Sailors aloft: Lady Washington readies for sailing season

Ropes rough against fingers, pulled tight against the ring bolts. The call and response as sailors go aloft or return to the deck. Smell of salt and a thousand and one details to ready. The sound of lines mooring the vessel to the pier rubbing as other vessels pass. Knives and other tools, lashed to climbing harnesses by lengths of line. Patient explanations for new crew as they learn the properly maritime way of doing things, inspecting their work.

Uprig has begun on the Lady Washington while it is moored in Port Orchard.

The process, which involves training crew, passing safety inspections, fixing problems which might have occurred over winter, and getting the ship herself physically ready to sail is an involved one, said Capt. Katherine Pogue.

“We did some great training yesterday. We got the boat underway and did touch and go training on the dock,” Pogue said in an interview. “My goal is to have all of my officers and even the deckhands and crew comfortable with driving the boat. I think it’s really important to cross train the crew and show them and it’s not that difficult. It can be taught.”

The vessel and her crew passed their annual inspection recently, Pogue said. A good portion of returning crew means the upright is going smoothly, said Chief Mate Emerson Jones.

“So far so good. We have a lot of people who have been on the boat before which is nice. And also some new people were training up,” Jones said in an interview. “Communication is the big one, so you know how to be clear, what information to convey and what’s superfluous.”

Having a lot of returning crew is a good omen, Jones said.

“Also if they came back, they wanted to come back and we wanted them to come back. That means they’re going to be pleasant to live and work with,” Jones said. “It’s the same type of people who do well … summer counselors and theater people usually work very well. People who are used to doing stuff with a whole lot of intensity and very little personal space.”

Good crew chemistry is important when sailors have barely any personal space aboard, living and working in the cramped quarters of the reproduction 18th century vessel. Jones said he’s hoping to get the vessel ready to sail quickly, as is the wont of chief mates since time immemorial.

“I always want things to be going faster than they’re going,” Jones said. “But we’re doing what we can.”

Now that the inspections are sorted, Pogue said, the process will accelerate, her enthusiasm for sailing obvious.

“It’s been a bit of a slow start. We were prepping for inspection. Now that we’ve started rigging the boat it feels like the season is actually starting,” Pogue said. “Sending the t’gallant masts up is fun. It’s kind of neat how it works. It’s really cool. It’s a fascinating technology we’ve had for hundreds or thousands of years.”

The vessel will make Seattle on April 29, spending a few weeks moored near the Center for Wooden Boats on South Lake Union. The ship will also be hosting the Before the Mast program this year, Jones said, where applicants can come live aboard the ship, learning to sail.

“Come sailing with us!” Pogue said.

Dates and more information are available on the website at https://historicalseaport.org/

Contact Senior Reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or michael.lockett@thedailyworld.com.