Thursday, March 27, 2008

Captain John Alexander Lockhart, Shipmaster.

This is a painting of the clipper ship Cutty Sark.

We are in Samana Dominican Republich, my 3great Grandfather, John Alexander Lockhart, stopped here on his way to California on his sailing ship The Hungarian.

I just wanted to do one post from the islands. So this is it.

On the way down here I saw many flying fish (maybe 75 or so) There is sargasso strips all over.

The winds were 30 knots, the seas were 7.5 to 12 feet, The ship ride was smooth only a few got sick.

The ocean is blue, blue, the air is warm, warm, The food is good, good.

We went ashore today and did a tour. It is a very poor country, when the kids tell you they are hungry, they play the part well, they look hungry.

A post from at sea wouldn't be complete with out an old sailors poem, so here it is.....

Sea Fever by John Masefield

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,

And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,

And a grey mist on the sea's face and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;

And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,

And the flung spray and the blown spume,and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again to the vagrant gypsy life,

To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;

And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow rover,

And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

Janis and I say "HI TO EVERYONE", and yes we are having fun!

7 comments:

Ernie Branscomb said...

Hi
We are in Tortola Vigin Islands. 18th parrellel.

I got to be the 12000 visitor to Ernie's place.

This shipboard computer service sucks, it glitches and it is slow.

But, At least I get to stay in touch. I do my e-mail ernie@branscombcenter.com so that works okay.

Be back the middle of next week.

Oh yeah, Janis and I are official Rum Smugglers. We sneaked three hip flasks of rum back on board ship. One white, one amber, and one spiced. The coke to mix it with is going to cost us more than the rum did...

We hiked on the top of the V.I.s' higest peak, somewhere around a thousand feet tall.

Sorry about the sloppy posting. i'm not checking it. will fix later... maybe...

Anonymous said...

Rum gone! headed to another island!

ERNIE

Anonymous said...

You guys stay dry. There's hungry things in that water.
The spiced rum is great with root beer but I bet that costs as much as the coke.

Jim

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you are having a fine time, and those of us left behind in SoHum are getting all sorts of vicarious thrills, so thank you.
It is nice to see the Masefield poem; as a small girl I memorized it and used to wander about reciting it with much drama. Usually to my cat. I lived in the desert then, so poems about seagulls and blown spume were very special indeed.

Robin Shelley said...

Heck no, don't stay dry! Jump right in the water & swim with the dolphins (painted on the side of your ship)! It's the root beer you want to avoid..... with rum, Jim?!! Yuck.

Anonymous said...

Loved the photo of the Cutty Sark, Ern. Gary built a model of it when he was a youngster.

Last I heard, Bon Voyage had nothing to do with staying afloat!! so be careful, especially if swimming with the dolphins.

It's weird living in Ho-Hum's ville. You see, depression slaps the ones you leave home when you go on all of these cruises and fancy outings. It forces us to do things we shouldn't and would never do. We drove as fast as we could to the coast to indulge in buckets of clams, shrimp and clam chowder, it made us feel so much better. No, we didn't drink rum, but the pink water wasn't half bad and the drive home was pretty good.
Cousin

Ernie Branscomb said...

Clarrisa, I didn't mean to ignore your comment. I'm impressed by anyone that can memorize lines. It’s difficult for me to memorize. Even more difficult for me to deliver lines with the feeling that they deserve. Maybe I gave up to easy, I don’t know. But I know that I look for the meaning in things, and study lines carefully, so maybe I get more out of the lines than most people. Who knows?