Sailor's Delight

[Dancing sailors on the Indonesian ship Dewaruci; Boston, 6/30/12]

It's a busy week in Boston with not only the annual 4th of July Pops concert and fireworks as well as HarborFest, but this year there's a Tall Ships festival on the harbor as well. We managed a rare early (or somewhat early) morning on Saturday to get over to the waterfront to watch some of the ships come in -- okay, the last ship coming in. The Indonesian ship Dewaruci motored into the harbor to dock at the Fish Pier, its sailors dancing like a chorus line on its masts. It joined the three other tall ships docked there from Columbia, Ecuador and Brazil. Someone asked me which was the best tall ship, which I was kind of taken aback by -- I wasn't judging the ships! -- but going through my photographs now I have to admit that the beauty-obsessed Columbians may have had the fairest of them all in their tall ship the Gloria.

[Columbian tall ship the Gloria at Boston's Fish Pier; 6/30/12]

It was sailor's delight day, clear skies and bright sunshine. Although not humid, it was hot, in the 90s, and there was very little shade to be found out on the Seaport. Even having breakfasted and toting plenty of water, I started feeling faint, wilting violet that I am, so we decided to stop for lunch at one of the new eateries on the docks. Temazcal had inviting dockside tables shaded by an overhang, so we parked ourselves there for a respite, filling up on tortillas and guacamole and their little nest of various salsas - yum. Alas, they were so filling we never managed to order lunch. We will have to go back, though, as the menu looked delicious.

[The view from Temazcal]

Refreshed, we braved the long shadeless walk out to the North Jetty, where the U.S. Navy ship the USS Wasp was open to visitors (after screening through the metal detectors, in case the well-armed guards didn't scare off would-be trouble-makers). Did I mention that it's also Boston Navy Week? Which brings the festival count in Boston to four, but I've probably missed something.

I'm not a military buff by any means, but the USS Wasp amphibious assault ship was impressive. We mainly left all the little kids to trying out the cockpits and handling (unloaded) weaponry, and just admired the views of and from the flight deck. It was well worth the trip.

[Signal flags and island on the flight deck of the USS Wasp]

And so starts my holiday week. I came home Sunday night to get some work done, but will be vacationing the rest of the week with D, doing day trips rather than packing up for any extended stays. Why leave when it's beautiful here, and all the vacationers have left the city's cafe tables open for the picking. Plus there's all these festivals to enjoy.

Happy 4th to all those celebrating this week. Here are more photos from the Tall Ships and the USS Wasp.

Comments

[marja-leena]

At first, I thought those really were dancing sailors! How lovely a day indeed. Happy staycation and 4th, Leslee!

[Relatively Retiring]

No wonder so many people love sailors!
This is a lovely post, which resonates with me because in the next weeks I'm hoping to visit a major Russian naval port on the Black Sea. I wonder if Russian sailors dance?

[Leslee]

Marja-Leena: But they ARE really dancing sailors!! The ship was playing music and the sailors were dancing in unison. I think they may also stand up there and direct the turns. :-)

[Leslee]

Here's another image of them coming in to port:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/leslee/7487327156/in/photostream/lightbox/

[Leslee]

RR: They did seem to be having a great time, but I can't imagine that sailing the tall ships is tough duty for the navy sailors. Do report back on the Russian sailors! And have a great trip.

[Jean]

Hope you've been having a really lovely and hugely deserved week off, Leslee (and taking more beautiful and surprising photos, perhaps?).

[Leslee]

Thanks, Jean. It was a lovely week off, or most of a week off. And I did take a lot of photos, although I'm not sure how well they measure up. Will post some when I can.