Just How Tall Are the Ships?

During my visit to Richmond in May, I had the pleasure of visiting with friends who had been part of UBC family in Houston, and who had moved to Richmond a few years ago. After convincing Rec to really retire, Gilda also convinced him to move to Virginia, where they built a beautiful home in Midlothian near Gilda's son Robert. They actually spend a few weeks a year there, when they're not traveling around the world, or to Texas.

I met them for dinner at a restaurant, and later spent a nice evening in their home, with Rec and Gilda, and with Robert and his wife, Jo Ellen, and the youngest grandchild, baby Adrianna. Gilda prepared a delicious meal, and I had a nice visit with them, around the table. We talked of Robert's business, which involves, among other things, publishing, and they gave me a book that is just being released, called Back From War, that they are very excited about. It is stories of men and women who've served in the military, and how they dealt with life at home after traumatic involvement in conflict on foreign soil.

During the course of the evening, Gilda mentioned that the tall ships were coming to Norfolk, and that they were going down to see them. This would be while Kay and I would be in Williamsburg in June, just an hour away. I must confess that I wasn't as excited about the possibility as Gilda was, but it sounded like a fun thing, and I wanted Kay to have the opportunity to visit with them too.

So last Friday, we drove down to Portsmouth, just across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk, and met Rec and Gilda at the hotel. We scouted out the area, and found a prime location on one of many of the piers where boats are docked on the Portsmouth side, and we waited in Houston-like hot sun for the ships to come in.

While we were waiting, we met Victor. He staked out a spot on the pier near us. Victor, who lives in North Carolina and owns his own catamaran sailboat, asked if we knew if the Gloria, a Columbian tall ship, would be in the procession. We did not. Victor explained that forty years ago he had served on the Gloria while in the Columbian Navy, and he wore his original ship's cap to prove it.

When the ships began to arrive in the harbor, Victor became our very capable tour guide. "Is that a tall ship, Victor?", we would ask. (There were several different kinds of boats that were part of the parade, and we weren't at all sure which were authentic tall ships.) "What country is that flag? Is it difficult to stand up on the ship's mast? How long is that one?" We had many questions, and Victor knew more than any of us, and he loved sharing info with us.

The tall ships were incredibly majestic and beautiful. There are indeed tall, some 200 feet in the air. Though they had to let sails down as they entered the harbour, we could see some of them far out, and with their distinctive rectangular sails billowing in the wind, they are indeed spectacular.

It was a hot day on the pier, and someone's nose and forehead were burned, but it was a beautiful sight. Kay and I left before all of the ships came in, so we're not sure if the Gloria appeared or not, but it was fun to see just how tall the tall ships really are. And it was fun to meet Victor from Columbia, and, oh yeah, to see Rec and Gilda too.

Care-full-y,
rick