El Galeon in Baltimore -- Not the Summer I Expected

El Galeon docked right in the Inner Harbor next to Baltimore's World Trade Center. I love the contrast of old vs new. Dan's cousin Bonnie and our sailing friend Chris both used to work here. Later in the weekend we had the chance to go up to the observation deck and look down at our ship.  

After our long winterlude in the Keys, we anticipated a quiet, lazy summer back in St Augustine. A trip to Annapolis to see friends, family, and do what we call our "medical monitoring marathon;" possibly the annual Aruba trip that we usually take in February but had delayed this year because we were already in a warm interesting place; and in general just enjoying the simple pleasures of home and friends and a slower pace. But that wasn't the way it turned out.

Instead, we had another chance to crew on the Galeon for the summer as they toured eastern Canada. Dan was all for it from the start, I was a bit more reluctant. I remembered the crew and the ship fondly, and was curious about the ports on the schedule, and any opportunity to get out of Florida's summertime heat and humidity was welcome, but most of all I remembered that those tall ship adventures weren't free. I loved both the sailing and the opportunity to use the ship in port as a platform for fascinating conversations with visitors, but the hours were often long and we gave up control of our own schedules. I often described crewing on the Galeon as a lot of work and a lot of fun all in the same package, and to be honest, this retired girl wasn't looking forward to the work part!

Still, it wasn't all that hard for Dan to convince me (and truth be told, for me to convince myself) that the opportunities far outweighed the effort. We spent the month of April promptly sailing Cinderella back to our home marina in St Augustine, then about 3 weeks dealing with logistics, packing, and readying the boat to be left alone for 3 months, and before the end of May found ourselves in a rental car headed north to meet up with the ship in Baltimore. (Pro tip: we got lucky with the car rental. Hertz needed cars moved north for the summer. They charged us a fantastic $10/day, unlimited mileage, and no one-way drop off fee -- as long as we promised to drop the car outside of the state of Florida. Yeah, we can do that!)

We arrived in Baltimore shortly before the ship was due to dock at 10 pm. This was the first time ever we participated in docking the ship from the shore -- usually we were aboard when docking -- and were interested to add this view to our repertoire. We were with ship's agent Bosco, who was much better than us at spotting the dark silhouette against the confusing lights of the Inner Harbor, but once it was pointed out to us we happily anticipated our reunions with the crew we'd met before, and the chance to meet the new members, and to enjoy the beauty of the ship itself.

Once aboard, we quickly fell into the familiar rhythms: up at 08:00 or earlier for breakfast, dressed and ready to work by 08:30, ship maintenace or cleaning chores until we opened for the public at 10:00, chatting with visitors all day, with breaks around 1:30 pm for lunch and a hour or so mid to late afternoon for siesta (which we often spent exploring the ship's immediate surroundings) , then working again until close. After we closed to visitors around 7:00 pm, there were more light tasks like topping up the water tank and shutting down the video projectors, and we basically chilled out until dinner around 8 or 8:30. After dinner we'd share a quiet beer or rum and conversation on the foredeck and watch the city lights, till finally tired but happy we'd head to our bunks for the night. And next day, do it again.

A few pictures, with stories, of our time in Baltimore:

Another ridiculous juxtaposition - the plastic dragon paddle boats allowed people to view us from the water.  And it was fun to watch the kids at play.

Baltimore Harbor used to be really dirty. This trash-eating vessel, looking a bit like a dragon's maw itself, motors around the harbor every day to control litter.  We also saw litter booms, and solar-powered trash compactors.

One of my very favorite things is having friends come to visit! Here friends Bryan and Sharon brought their girls and posed for pirate photos at the wheel. I'd never met the baby, and the older daughter had certainly grown since we'd seen her last. It was delightful showing them around our ship, and seeing their gentle parenting style when we went out for lunch after their tour. And they weren't the only toddlers and parents whose visits remain in my mind. There was one 3-year-old who slipped away from his mom and promptly ran under the ropes and climbed to the poop deck. I was quite concerned as I chased after him, thinking he could climb and fall overboard, but happily I reached him before that and escorted him back to his frantic mother. Later that afternoon we were strolling on shore in search of ice cream when we again saw her and again she was chasing her runaway toddler. I totally understand why some parents would find the idea of leashes appealing.  Another mom was desperately afraid of heights but equally eager to have her young son experience the ship. He ended up trustingly holding my hand as I took him for a personal mini-tour, to see the steering wheel, to peek out one of the cannon ports to wave to his mom on shore. 

My view of the ship from above, from the 27th floor of Baltimore's World Trade Center. Gotta love crew perks!

Nightlife was only a few steps away. Here, dueling pianos.

And a disco ball, just because.

We were docked right next to the Constellation; we offered their volunteers free tours of the Galeon and they reciprocated. Crew-to-crew tours tend to be more detailed than what they can offer to the general public. They are a true warship and their cannon deck dwarfs ours!

Hammocks illustrate the tight quarters and lack of privacy for the crew of the Constellation.