Tall Ships Gold Rush RaceLevy's Log
° Index ° Eagle ° Guayas ° Hawaiian Chieftain ° Kaiwo Maru ° Deep Sea Derby, 1852 ° Levy's Log
0800 hours: Two of my brothers and I boarded the Kaiwo Maru at Pier 35 in San Francisco. Again, this was a result of volunteer work done on behalf of the Parade of Tall Ships. We had a choice between sailing on the Kaiwo or Ecuador's Guayas. Because I was scheduled to board the Guayas on June 6 for Long Beach, because theKaiwo was the largest sailing vessel in San Francisco's harbor that day, and because I'm intrigued by Japan's ceremony, art, and attention to detail, I chose her to sail in the Parade of Tall Ships.
With our family seafaring history, and as my brothers are sailors, we were excited. I'm a novice with regard to sailing vessels, so this narrative is without knowledge of accurate terms and is being written with the help of Richard Henry Dana's The Seaman's Friend: A Treatise on Practical Seamanship.
The Kaiwo is run as one would expect the Japanese to run a ship. Above and below deck, she is immaculate, the trainees efficient, the teamwork excellent. Although we had no basis for comparison, never having been on a large sailing vessel, undoubtedly her crew, appearance and sailing capabilities will hold up under the closest scrutiny by the toughest sailor.
0900 hours: The Kaiwo weighed anchor from her berth at Pier 35 and motored out through the Gate to her position about ten miles into the Pacific, along with the U.S. Coast Guard Eagle, Columbia’s Gloria, Indonesia’s Dewa Ruci, and Ecuador’s Guayas. Canada's Concordia was seen on the horizon, sailing in haste to take her position in the Parade of Tall Ships. Fortune blessed us with a sunny day, moderate winds, and light swells and chop. With this weather condition, the Kaiwo's speed under full sail would be about 14 knots. Crew activity seldom stopped. As the Kaiwo sailed out, crews squared her for show, checked lines, took lunch breaks . . .
1200 hours: While awaiting the Parade of Tall Ships to begin, we were escorted below to the officer's dining mess for a superb Japanese lunch: Miso soup, teriyaki fish (don't know the type); daikon, lightly steamed carrots and more daikon, white rice, tea -- and ginger, which helps ward off seasickness.
1300 hours: Back on deck, we saw that the Eagle, first in formation, was closing in on the Gate, sails full. Crew on the Gloria were unfurling hers. The Gloria passed under the bridge with all her canvas unfurled. Within minutes, boats of all shapes and types, helicopters, and small airplanes surrounded the ships. It was dramatic, fun, and somewhat overwhelming.
The Kaiwo's crew stood on deck, barefoot, white pants rolled to the knee, yellow safety helmuts on all, awaiting the command to climb above and begin loosing sails. As we cleared the heads, the wind dropped somewhat and the crew climbed the rigging to unfurl the lower top gallants, which had been loosened earlier, but reefed because of the strength of the wind. They then set the upper tops, stays'ls, heads'ls and the upper top gallants. The Kaiwo sailed so smoothly that those of us without sealegs didn't even lurch. The Kaiwo is an immaculate ship, managed with ease, with a narrow beam given her length.
By the time the Kaiwo passed under the Golden Gate in full sail, the bridge was lined with spectators, traffic was virtually stopped, and thousands of craft filled the Bay in greeting. Multi-colored carnations were thrown from the bridge, landing on deck. Cheers filled the air. Crew collected the flowers and placed them in between openings on board.
Looking up through the sails of an elegant vessel such as this is almost beyond description. The City has a sublime landscape when viewed from the Pacific and it is exciting to see her from that vantage point. Immigrants to early California often wrote that they lacked the words to tell of their impressions upon seeing San Francisco for the first time after months at sea, and of hearing the cheers from welcoming crowds of family and friends waiting on shore. Like our ancestors, our senses filled with the beauty of entering the waters of San Francisco Bay on a lovely sunny day, surrounded by pomp and circumstance . . . We paced the upper deck, excited at the vision before us, the camaraderie of sailors and their shouts of "konichi wa" to the Kaiwo's crew. It was extremely easy to imagine what it must have been like for our great-great grandparents when they arrived on these shores with their hopes and dreams.
1600: Back on shore at Pier 45. A few people who had been invited to join us begged off because of work, family, the departure hour, etc. . . they missed the opportunity of a lifetime. We will never forget this day.
Tuesday, 6 July, 0620 hours: Boarded the Blue & Gold Fleet’s Ferry at Larkspur Landing to meet with the Guayas in San Francisco. It seemed appropriate to be taking a ship to meet a ship. The Golden Gate Bridge was anchored in a light fog which shrouded the Bay for the first time in more than a week. Fellow ferry passengers talked of the Tall Ships, of how exciting it had been to watch them sail under the bridge on July 2nd.
0800 hours: The seven volunteers who were invited to sail on Ecuador’s Guayas met at Pier 45.
0900 hours: Escorted on board and our four-day adventure with the Ecuadorian Navy began. We didn’t know this until days later, but the six women on this journey were the first women to ever sail on the Guayas, which is a training ship for the Ecuadorian Navy, and which does not have female crew. For the record, the women are:
- Alison Healy, who worked long hours to keep the Tall Ship event on track after all "officials" bailed when funds were cut.
- Ana Belan Diaz, from Spain, in the U.S. to attend U.C. Berkeley’s English Program, a volunteer on the Tall Ships project, and inadvertently our translator during the voyage.
- Daniela Rahm, a Swiss student who also attended U.C. Berkeley’s English Program during summer, and who also volunteered to work with Alison.
- Sue, coordinators of volunteers for San Francisco’s Maritime National Historical Park, and who learned to sail on East Coast schooners.
- Lawrence Dray, a lawyer in Paris, France, here to attend the U.C. English Program.
- Dianne Levy, who volunteered to help with publicity and to build a web site for the Tall Ship event.
- Guy de Lacrosse, ship’s agent for InchCape in San Francisco, originally from France, also a volunteer, made up the rest of our privileged party.
An extraordinary honor has been bestowed upon us and we are all grateful for the kindness and generosity of Fernando Flores, Ecuador’s Consul General in San Francisco; the dashing Captain Diego Mantilla, Ecuador’s Consul in Washington D.C.; and Captain Serrano with the splendid crew of the Guayas.
As I write this, two days after I left the Guayas in Long Beach, the effects of the ship and ocean are still with me. I feel as though I’m listing to the left, and in a constant, light rocking motion. It’s an eerie feeling, and one never experienced after kayaking, even after a one-day, 50-mile kayaking journey under three bridges in San Francisco Bay or after living out of the kayak for six days in Baja, California.
1030 hours: We followed the Eagle, which had weighed anchor at 1000. The Guayas was helped into the stream by the tugboat Bear, and we moved through a lifting fog and cold wind towards the bridge as crew set three of the barque’s topsails. We traveled with a combination of motor and sail until the San Francisco Bar Pilot Boat caught up to take the pilot back to shore. Then the "unofficial, official" race began. Because this race was not sanctioned, the Captains had to decide on racing or not.
1130 hours: The crew set all sails as we headed SW at 12 knots. Captain Serrano and crew were not used to our cold winds, nor were they used to the strength of the wind. 12 knots is fast for a sailing ship and the Captain said that at this rate we would reach Long Beach by Wednesday evening rather than the expected arrival on Friday morning. I was disappointed at the news that we would be at sea for only two days if we continued at this pace.
1300 hours: Fresh air, sunshine, the constantly pitching deck, AND the Dramamine I’d taken to ward off seasickness (when acupressure wrist bands didn’t work) made me sleepy. We had been moved to our shared quarters, which, it turned out had been vacated by midshipmen. The room 12 foot by 10 foot room was set up with 12 sleeping bunks and 12 lockers. Each bunk measured approximately 5 feet 6 inches long by 3-1/2 feet wide by maybe two feet high and had a four inch foam mattress. Oddly enough, they were very comfortable – a cave-like nest in the middle of an ocean. Adjacent was a washroom, toilet, and two showers (photos are to come). We have no idea where they had to sleep, but we clearly inconvenienced several of the crew as we took over their bunks, and we greatly appreciate their graciousness in allowing us to do so.
1600 hours: Surfaced from my rocking nap and headed for deck, where Daniela sat with a pair of binoculars. Although this is not migration time, she’d sighted a couple of pods (herds? schools?) of whales heading North. Ana found Oreo cookies, banana chips and other snack food on board, so we snacked while sitting towards the bow of the ship in a cold wind.
Wednesday, 7 July
0700 hours: Meals are quite elaborate. Breakfast consisted of juice (often lime, which is excellent), homemade bread or rolls, a slice of ham, and yogurt; lunch and dinner started with a diced vegetable salad, followed by potato, vegetable, or noodle soup with shrimp (always soup – it’s an Ecuadorian custom), and a main course which might be chicken with a vegetable sauce and rice, or ceviche with fresh lime (my favorite). The wind died down, Guayas’ speed dropped to about 2-3 knots, so sails were reefed, and the motor started when Captain Serrano officially announced that they would have to drop out of the race if we were to get to Long Beach in time for the Parade of Tall Ships into the harbor at 1400 on Friday. We spent the day napping, watching for dolphin and whale, and helping on board. Sue, Daniela, and Alison were particularly willing to pitch in and work. Being the senior member of the females on board, I decided my task for these four days was to learn to stand like an officer on deck, hands behind my back, and move with the motion of the ship without lurching in any direction. This isn’t easy!
1900: The ship’s band began setting up for their twice weekly (Saturday’s and Wednesday’s) performance. Captain Serrano said that the music keeps up the spirits, andthe crew works faster and harder as the music plays. The group, which consists of guitar, conjas, snare drums, four trumpets, keyboards, and a metal ridged instrument (that I don’t know the name of), is excellent. They were even invited to open The San Francisco Chronicle’s Aquatic Park stage for the Fourth of July Fireworks festival. The Captain said that the Guayas may be the only ship that has a band on board specifically for music. Their uniforms are different in that they resemble army fatigues.
While waiting the band to set up, Guy stood on the stern deck calling a friend on his Nokia (with Cellular One service that worked 15 miles offshore mid-way between San Francisco and Long Beach -- my almost-useless Pacific Bell service won’t even work on land!). He wanted the words to La Vie en Rose so he could sing it for the crew that evening. The evening was marvellous. The Back Street Guayas Boys practiced in the background while the band played various Latin songs. A midshipman bowed to Captain Serrano when he politely asked permission to dance with the fair Daniela. I was impressed at the manners, which seem so lost in America. Once the dancing started, various crew asked the ladies to dance on the slowly rocking decks. All, it seems, of the South American crew danced beautifully with that Latin motion that seems so difficult to duplicate. Sue has a strong, lyrical voice and sang a blues song for the crew. The Back Street Guayas Boys danced in unison to American taped music (I forget which song). We had a fantastic fairy-tale evening of dancing at sea on a replica of a 19th Century ship to old and modern music. I remembered reading how gold-seeking immigrants who sailed to San Francisco during the 1800s would pass time by doing what we were doing now – watching for sea life and dancing -- in that case it was often Irish jigs played by a fiddler.
Thursday, 8 July
1130 hours: One of the midshipmen pointed out that we had a Tower of Babel on board the Guayas. Languages represented were Spanish (of course), English, French, Swiss/German and it was quite common to hear sentences comprised of most of them. When Guy’s missing jacket was found, he exclaimed "Tres bien! Muchas gracias!" This, too, represented the early days in San Francisco (and in America) as people came to this coast from around the world. 1800s conversations would have included Italian, Gaelic, German, Russian, Scandanivan, Chinese, Spanish, etc . . . This combination of cultures made San Francisco the fascinating place it is, with clothing, food and custom from around the world. Then, as now aboard the Guayas, conversation must have been difficult at times and very humorous at others as we tried learning each others’ idioms.
Update: Since that sailing and the graciousness of the Kaiwo Maru's captain and crew, we have spent two weeks in Japan. And we have sailed the Mediterranean from Italy along the French Riviera, to Greece and Turkey. We's boarded ships and toured the Caribbean (all islands), kayaked in balmy South Pacific waters, and boarded small vessels everywhere we wander: New Zealand, Australia, San Juan Islands (kayaking), Ireland . . .
Tall Ships: The Fleet for the 21st Century 
Thaddeus Koza
This new and revised edition includes photographs and descriptions of over 175 vessels, including the major class 'A' ships along with many class 'B' and 'C' vessels from around the world. These are the tall ships of today and can be seen at major world ports during the years. Organised alphabetically, the book offers an impressive photograph of each vessel, supplemented by photographs of details ranging from figure heads and binnacles to flags and rigging. The text describes each ship featured, its history and notable events under sail, along with its technical specifications. An ideal book for everyone interested in these elegant vessels, their enduring history and traditions.
Tall ship rigging includes: Two-Masted Schooners, Brigantines, Topsail Schooners, Full-Rigged Ship, Barquentine, Three-Masted Schooners, Brig.
Sam Jefferson
More than 200 paintings, illustrations, and thrilling descriptions of the adventures and races on the water. First-hand accounts, newspaper reports and log entries. Racing out to the gold fields of America and Australia, and breaking speed records carrying tea back from China, the ships combined beauty with breathtaking performance. Speed was of the essence in order to reach port with goods first.
1850-1856 Characteristics, Construction, Details
William L. Crothers
More than 35 years exacting research, this book presents detail of 152 clippers that comprise the culmination of the shipbuilder's art. Every facet of clipper ship design and construction is covered, including wood species, scantlings, fastenings, midship sections, interior living areas, and details of scarphs, keels, stem- and sternpost assemblies, frames, timbers, and bracing, with some 160 intricately drawn illustrations by a man whose unequaled work has earned him a national following among modelers and maritime museum directors.
Pacific Marine Review:
The National Magazine Of Shipping, Volume 19
Pacific American Steamship Association.
A reproduction of a book published before 1923.
China Tea Clippers
George Frederick Campbell
The history of the China tea clippers is examined, especially their struggle in the 19th century for economic survival in the face of the steamships. It also details advances made in design, hull construction, rigging, sail plans and deck arrangements.
American Clipper Ships:
1833-1858
Adelaide-Lotus
Volume 1 covers all American Clipper Ships built from 1833-1858 whose names begin with the letters A through L, and Volume 2 covers from M through Y. The criteria used to define a Clipper Ship, which is a ship "of peculiar construction, designed for great speed rather than for capacity." (p.v) The authors consider the Ann McKim launched at Baltimore in 1833 to be the first Clipper, and the era of the Clipper to be over by 1858 with the launching of The Star of Peace at Newburyport. The books are basically listings of all 352 known Clipper Ships arranged alphabetically. Clipper ships, in addition to being exquisite vessels, were beasts of burden. Their loaded holds raced around the world; first goods in a foreign port -- San Francisco being a "foreign port" at that time -- brought in the highest returns.
American Merchant Ships:
1850-1900
(Dover Maritime)
Frederick C. Matthews
Willis John Abbott
A chronicle of the high courage, the reckless daring, and oftentimes the noble self-sacrifice of those who use the Seven Seas to extend the markets of the world, to bring nations nearer together, to advance science, and to cement the world into one great interdependent whole. Willis John Abbott (1863-1934), American journalist and author of several maritime books, gives a detailed account of the history of merchant shipping in the United States.
The Old Merchant Marine:
A Chronicle of American Ships and Sailors
Ralph Delahaye Paine
The Clipper Ship Era 
An Epitome of Famous American and British Clipper Ships, Their Owners, Builders, Commanders, and Crews
1843-1869
Arthur Hamilton Clark
Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
Dana's father received a law degree from Harvard and eventually closed his practice in favor of his literary leanings. Dana also attendard Harvard and developed into a fine writer. After his sophomore year he contracted measles, which affected his eyesight and forced him to leave Harvard because he could not read. Not wanting to add to his father's financial difficulties, he joined the crew of a ship called the "Pilgrim" and sailed around the Horn to California's West Coast just prior to the Gold Rush. This is his journal of his two years "before the mast" (ordinary sailors lived in the front of the ship) that became an international sensation.
The Seaman's Friend: A Treatise on Practical Seamanship
(Dover Maritime)
Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
(Not necessary well-regarded given today's competition of illustrated books which better impart a sense of sailing during the 19th century. It is here because of the value of Dana's Two Years Before the Mast.
Czeslaw Milosz
Interrelated essays by the Nobel Laureate on his adopted home of California, which Lewis Hyde, writing in The Nation, called "remarkable, morally serious and thought-provoking essays, which strive to lay aside the barren categories by which we have understood and judged our state. Their subject is the frailty of modern civilization.
Copyright © 1998-2017.