Showing posts with label Pirate cruise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pirate cruise. Show all posts

28 August, 2012

Yo ho . . . NOT!

566

28 August 2012

R. Linda:

Here is something I'll not be doing again, a pirate cruise. First off, after me prior little adventure, I will say being on the pirate crew side be great fun (when one is conscious and not laying on deck knocked senseless by a boom) . . . being a passenger . . . not so much.

Sunday, nine of us 'hearties' took hampers of goodies for a late-day cruise on a picturesque Massachusetts harbour, aboard a pirate ship. Or, what was billed as one anyway. Now having seen HMS Bounty (built for the film), all those wonderful tall ships in Boston Harbour, and the antique tall ships in Portsmouth Harbour, we were expecting something akin to those ships. Nah, not what we got. This ship was decidedly not wood, but metal, made to look like a pirate ship, in this case, a modern brigantine. That wasn't too bad, but the ship itself was very small. The ones I had seen were a bit bigger and had more masts and a crew bigger than three.

Not to be picky or anything, but the video of this particular cruise showed at least eight crew members all dressed like pirates and acting like pirates. It touted a great time to be had by all. That was what we expected.

The ship wasn't our first problem, no not at all. First off, we were not told you couldn't drive down to the wharf where the ship was anchored, but we did anyway, through crowds of people who made room for us as if we were celebrities allowed to go where no one else could. And then once we got down there and discovered the problem, we had to back up the street because there was no room for turning about. So, slow going up the road to the wharf and slower going backwards, back down the street to the street we came in on.

Second, the wharf parking lot seemed like it was right next door, but considering this was a tourist community, there was no easy access to the other wharf. No, you had to go outside the town and back down into it from another direction and once in the lot itself, if one could find a parking space, good luck!

So we ended up parking on the outskirts of the town with a two-mile walk to the wharf, but we were smart we had unloaded the goodie hampers and two persons to take them to the ship before the two-mile hike.

One carload of three had made it to the wharf in record time and DID get parking in the wharf parking lot, the sods. So they were there perusing the . . . say it with me, Linda, "souvenir gift shop" while the rest of us were either backing back down the crowded road, turning out of the wharf full parking lot, or traversing the back streets for any kind of parking.

I will digress to the start of this. The facts are that four of us left together and we knew the carload of three had left slightly before us and we could possibly overtake their arses. The carload of two left shortly after us, so we knew we were ahead of them on the New Hampshire Highway going south to Massachusetts. So there we were sailing along, laughing about overtaking the carload of three. We texted to find out where they were and found out they were 14 miles ahead. We had pretty clear sailing (car-wise that is) and we fired off text messages that we were about to overtake them UNTIL we got within two miles of them to find the carload of two had somehow caught up to us after a 12-minute late start and now we were behind THEM!

We couldn't have that, no, no, so we manoeuvred passed them when the highway opened to four lanes. It was a thing of beauty to wave as we passed three lanes over. We had got at least a mile ahead of them, and within sight of the three carload bunch when our driver took the wrong turn around the roundabout, when we had one more road to go, and the carload of two went by laughing and waving as we looked to find a place to make a quick U-turn. Yes, we were cursing our over-smarty arse selves for that. But later, as it turned out, we weren't the only car that had gone up the wharf where there was no parking. As we were backing out, the carload of two were heading in! It was a thing of beauty I tell ya because they didn't see us, they were too busy trying to not hit people, and we got out unseen. When they were halfway up the crowded road Tonya (who we had dropped off with the goodies), saw them from the top of the wharf and came down to tell them their mistake. We celebrated that even though we did not get there first, at least we wouldn't be third! Of course that was IF we could find a parking place before they could. And we did! We were razzed on the roundabout turnoff, but our excuse was that we had gone from warp speed to plaid and couldn't stop. I don't think they believed us. So that is the extent of our fun for the day.

So back to the cruise TO . . . wait for it . . . nowhere! Once the men of the party could pull the women away from gaping at all the fabulous, quaint little seaport shops filled with delicate hand-blown glass, homemade fudge and ice cream, exquisite oil paintings, crafted jewellery, and crafts of all kinds to port side, we were sort of all right until they saw the ship. Every single woman in our party pulled their significant other to the side and said this: "Oh my God that ship looks sketchy, and that guy with dreads if he's supposed to be Captain Jack? He forgot his costume, the whole thing looks kinda scary can we rethink this?" Which is Woman Speak for "I'd rather go shopping and spend all your money!"

As it was we had arrived with nary a minute to spare so there was no discussion, it was getting on board and that was that except for THIS:


A quick run into the kiddie shop to dress yours truly up like a pirate along with the rest of the party. This be an assist with me eye patch.

Yeah, they had all got kiddie pirate kits that included an eye patch, bandanna and hat. I got fitted up last and as I was busy getting the hamper with the wine onboard, I didn't catch the joke until we were almost boarded. They had all removed the pirate wear and yours truly was the only one dressed like one. I tell ya! I made short work of that I did and got on board to look around like where to go. There was hardly any room and there were 13 passengers, nine of them being US. We were told we could sit on the life jacket boxes in the back of the ship and this we did with the people who weren't with us spread out among us, so conversation was going to be a bit awkward.

(We should have known something was amiss when we were told that if we saw any pirates putting on life jackets we might want to do the same. Oi!)

Not only was conversation going to be strained, but the champagne was uncorked and we didn't have enough glasses for anyone but our party, so AWKWARD! As it turned out we didn't get any more than one drink because the first mate and captain kept moving between us, and there was no handing anything across the deck to the ones on the other side because you just couldn't! This also inhibited any distribution of food for the same reasons and to add to those reasons, the first mate gave us a running commentary on everything PIRATE the entire trip out and back, and it seemed impolite to interrupt or get up and walk to the other side while this was going on. We were literally a captive audience and the idea of mutiny did run through our minds as we sat there thinking we could be eating and drinking but no, we were listening to what would be great if we were in (as Tonya said), third grade and not past the age of 8 years old!

Yes, some of us got a glass of wine, and others got bits of cheese. We sat with the wine eyeing the cheese and vice versa. But the twain, R. Linda, never met!

So let me start with the muck bucket that was our ship. It was small, it had no wooden floors or rails, it had two masts and what looked like faux cement floors. The guy with the dreads was not a Captain Jack impersonator, nor was he fully dressed like a pirate. I think it was the khaki shorts that gave him away and well the socks and shoes. He was the guy who hoisted the sails and furled them back up. He also loaded a small cannon and fired it but we couldn't see him do that because the first mate stood blocking our view, but at least we HEARD it. The dreadlocked guy was named after a vacuum cleaner, and none of us know why. But I am sure there be a story there somewhere, but none came. Oh here let's get a shot up for you.
 
Our SHIP, the dreadlock guy, AND those white chests are what we sat on

Now our Captain was not dressed like a pirate at all. He was dressed like Ernest Hemingway ready to go marlin fishing. He was very nice, a pleasant type, but he did a lot of dissing (under his breath) of the first mate (more on that long-winded crew member in a minute). Anyway, Captain Hemingway looked very fisherman-man-like, as he told us about community members he didn't have a fondness for. Yes, this was a case of too much information and we don't know who he was talking about but we wore commiserate faces since we didn't want to walk the plank.
 
Our captain looking for a marlin off the side of the "ship"

The third member of the crew, the first mate was a bearded man dressed in full pirate costume. WELL, WONDERS OF WONDERS. At least ONE did. So much for a pirate cruise with PIRATES, no one told us it was one pirate, a half of a pirate and Ernest Hemingway. Oh well, live and learn, huh?

This first mate was or is, a pirate actor who "lives the pirate life" or so we were told. He seemed a very nice man, but where the pirate stuff was concerned, sort of full of himself on that. We were regaled with a song as we pulled off. Now you are probably thinking isn't that pirate-like or what? Well, it was even more pirate-like when you consider the two little boys running to the gangway shouting "NOOO!" They stood at the port very upset as we pulled off. Seems they missed the boat quite literally and even though we were six feet from the dock, Captain Hemingway in true pirate fashion pulled off without them. I could see the parents were going to be in for an evening of "WE COULD HAVE SAILED ON A PIRATE SHIP BUT DADDY COULDN'T FIND A PARKING PLACE!"

So the entire voyage we were told such things as this: A pirate never says yar, har, or arg. No THAT is a misconception that developed with the Long John Silver Television series of old (before I was born) where Welsh actor Robert Newton used his Welsh language which he incorporated a lot of yars, hars, and args because that is what Welsh people do. Yes, I sat there thinking since when? I may be mistaken but seems to me that "yar" is a variant of "yare" which means a boat that is easy to handle. "Har" is a variant of "hare" meaning a fog, and "arg" is a term used when a pirate be frustrated he can't say "yar" or "har." But all pirate terms are just the same. But I could be wrong, who knows and even better who cares?

Then we were told that pirates don't act like that "unnamed pirate of recent Hollywood films." Now why the name Captain Jack was not said aloud seemed strange. It was almost like two curse words that weren't to be said onboard a moving ship. Furthermore, it was said, and more insultingly, that pirates are not portrayed with bad impressions of Keith Richards! There you have it!

Okay, then we were treated to some stories about pirates, one being of the first and only American female pirate Rachel Wall whose hubby was a pirate. When she got tired of being left alone she joined him and became a pirate too. This story be true. I have read that she'd scream she needed help when another ship came within sight of hers, and the sailors would come to help her only to be beset by her husband and his pirate crew, then robbed and murdered for their good Samaritan attempt. However, this fascinating story ended on a sour note to every woman on our cruise, when the first mate said, the pirate queen Rachel's end came because women make stupid pirates. YUP. When Rachel was on land, she saw a bonnet she liked, and so took it off the head of the woman wearing it. But, as she went to rip the woman's tongue out the police came and hauled pirate Rachel off to the nick. When brought up for the robbery charge, she told the authorities she was a pirate and the charges were upped to death where for robbery she'd do a little time and get out. But she "stupidly told them who she really was and so became the first stupid woman hanged in Massachusetts. So women make stupid pirates."

Yup, glittering female eyes were eyeing the first mate and it was plain to see that ripping out another tongue could become a reality. Oi!

Thankfully, HE got off THAT subject and got busy. Busy putting on three pistols, a baldric with a sword, got himself a few knives, a hatchet and a blunderbuss. Now this action of saying nothing but adorning himself with all this hardware, well some of us thought we were in for a treat. Maybe the vacuum cleaner guy was going to mutiny and get shot or stabbed or hacked or something. OR, maybe there was a boatload of pirates going to commandeer our ship and the first mate was going to fight them off and save us all. But no, no none of that, instead we got a history lesson on how to make a hatchet, and how a pirate would never wear a sword since that was the sign of a gentleman. Now wait, why would a pirate have a social consciousness on the etiquette of the day? Would a pirate care, hells no. So we didn't buy that. We figured if a pirate could take a sword off officers on a ship he has pirated, he's going to keep and use that sword. Yeah, he couldn't afford to buy one, but if he had one . . .

We learned what "lock, stock and barrel" meant, and where a blunderbuss comes from (duh) and we would have seen it fired, but he dropped the flint in the ocean. We were all for him diving in to retrieve it and we all fully understood he'd be weighted down with all that equipage and never resurface, yes indeed.

We were getting fecking hungry and this wasn't doing it for us. And just when we thought we would be able to get up and talk and drink and eat and be free of pirate facts, he started singing. Yes, he did. And each song was prefaced with a little song history like "THIS song you might find familiar, it's the same song that the words to SpongeBob SquarePants are sung, AND if you like you can all sing along with me," and that didn't happen. Then after less than polite applause, we were told that the ditty A Drunken Sailor was really a very dirty pirate song. And here I thought it was an Irish drinking song.

 
Storytime on the Muck Bucket

The ship bobbed (that's the best description I can come up with) as we "sailed the harbour. Never really leaving it, to the lighthouse and back. And two of us were terribly seasick even with the Dramamine. Which also made one of those persons terribly sleepy (having not taken the non-sleepy version). Sleepy and sick not good. Oh here, let me share the harbour and lighthouse.

 
Lighthouse and land

 
The harbour and land

Meanwhile, the captain was "ticking points" in true Wolf Larsen style but every time the first mate would tell what he thought was a joke, our captain would make a joke out of the side of his mouth about the first mate to snide giggles from the ladies within hearing.

The sunset was the only saving grace, it was beautiful as we bobbed along and as it set we actually counted down the sunset (to take our mind off our hunger pangs, thirst and seasickness). Yes, you would have thought a NASA rocket was firing in the wrong direction, but well hell, we were sober, food-less, and not happy.  Here is a picture of me and Ton just as the sun was setting and the countdown was almost done.


Almost gone

When we bobbed into port the first mate had no trouble telling us we could tip him and the tipping we'd have liked would have been tipping him backwards over the railing, but we did tip him and each one of us, as we passed him to the gangplank, said it was "nice" but I knew that it was meant sarcastically. One of us had the audacity even to tell him he had a lovely singing voice. As soon as we docked, we were like rats leaving a sinking ship. We needed food. We'd gone hours without thanks to the long educational phase of our sail. And guess what? When we got back EVERYTHING WAS FECKING CLOSED! Yup, notta shop or EATERY was open. Notta! And this made some of us noticeably quarrelsome. There was one seafood place open and we'd have to act quick because we had a half hour before they closed, BUT our seasick companions wanted nothing of seafood EVER. So we stood there debating what to do, and where to go and it was decided none of us knew the area so we'd look elsewhere. Since we were all parked in different areas, it was decided we'd split up and meet at the first open eatery we could find. Only what happened was we found Five Guys only by Tonya's hawk eye in Rockport, the carload of two found a Dennys in Gloucester and the carload of three, a Friendly's in Salem. So we were all spread out.

So while we got some lovely pictures, this sail was not what any of us expected. What they need is a Captain Jack or someone talented to ENTERTAIN and get the passengers to join in and have a good time, instead of sitting like rocks in a mesa waiting for the sun to go down. And they need to have more than a crew of three but if that isn't feasible, at least dress them ALL up like pirates or don't advertise the cruise as a pirate cruise. Here are some pictures:

 
Where we should have eaten instead of starving on a ship

Red sails in the sunset -- oh how we wished!

Half pirate in the rigging

Looking like we were pulling out to sea, but we didn't

Full sails to nowhere

What a sailor must see at sea, moonrise through the rigging

Last one - all hope dies with the sunset - SIGH


Gabe
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