Jeanie Johnston boat

I’m obsessed with travel. Always have been, and thank goodness I have had the opportunities in my life to make this happen. I think because of the enjoyment of travel, I also find it fascinating to see all the different ways that people travelled in the past. One of my favorites is by Tall Sailing ship.

There’s an element of romance to the thought of hopping aboard a sailing ship, battling the ocean, the waves, and navigating the world by the stars. The reality, however, is much different. It was dangerous, it was dirty, it was crowded, it was smelly. And more to the point – people did not always travel because they wanted to. Sometimes they travelled because they had to.

Here in Dublin, there’s a replica tall ship that sits in the harbour – named the Jeanie Johnston.
Back in February, I took my friend’s daughter on a little adventure to go check out the ship and take a tour.

The Jeanie Johnston is an exact copy of a 408 ton cargo ship purchased in Liverpool in the mid 1800’s. As famine gripped Ireland, the “original” ship ferried over 2,500 immigrants from Ireland to North America to start a better life. It was captained by James Attridge. Inside the boat, there’s a museum of how life was with several mannequins in various positions. You go in with a guide, who was pretty cool because he took an hour telling the group lots of stories of life on the boat and the passengers lives before, during, after they arrived at their destinations. This included stories about how people crammed 6 – 10 to a bunk (see the feet behind the mannequin) and slept in shifts to make due as they crossed the Atlantic. The center “tables” were designed for eating, entertainment, and sleeping on.

There were plenty of things onboard that were prohibited for the safety of passengers and crew. Things like open flames and fires, fighting, cursing, gambling, spitting, and alcoholic beverages.

One of the most impressive things was the story about how the captain hired a surgeon, named Dr. Blennerhassett, to travel on the boat – to take care of the passengers – and make sure everyone stayed healthy. The captain did this out of his own pocket and because of this – the boat is one of the very few who can boast that no life was ever lost on board the ship.

For more information, please see:

http://www.jeaniejohnston.ie/

Hansesail Trip – & Photos

For those of you not on my Preferred list – I’m reposting part of an earlier blog…

Earlier in August, I did make one trek with Micha (prounounced Me-sha) to Rostock. I got to see the Hanse Sail 2008 – which is a parade of some 200 tall ships (clipper ships, whaling ships, and transport ships) and a race between them out on the high seas. You know me – and all the pictures. Here’s a few of the best.

More can be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/phoenixesrose/sets/72157606875617954/

The Aphrodite.

Thalissa’s Mermaid Figurehead

Mercea’s “King of the Seas” figurehead

Catching Some Wind

Stad Amsterdam’s Railing and Rigging

The Month of Hell is Over

Sorry it’s been such a rough month folks. Between Supervisor and Manager being on vacation and winding up working 10 – 12 hours a day covering some of the different things at work while they were out I didn’t have much time to post blogs, commentary – or even have much fun.

I will say that now that everyone (almost) is back in the office I might be able to catch a few breaths and start to live life for life’s sake instead of for work.

In one week (the most brutal of them all this month) – I had:

2 Powerpoint presentations (I built them and gave them)

2 team meetings (not my own – where I do a presentation q/a session to other groups)

and a Developer conference presentation (for an hour).

In between doing my normal job, learning all the new features coming out, handling escelations to that would normally go to the sup/ manager – and making sure everything was co-ordinated – I thought that was impressive.

Amazingly, my pup was good the entire time (yes, I gave him an extra bone) didn’t tear anything up – didn’t even get into anything (curiousity killed the cat but the dog just slept on the couch I guess) and was my little hero through all of it. Especially when, upon coming home after a long day, I’d flop on the couch and fall asleep – some nights with no dinner because I was so mentally exhausted.

Yeah… I’m glad it’s over. I spent this weekend relaxing, sleeping, and figuring out the pattern for crocheting slippers.

On a side note – I did make one trek with Micha last month to Rostock. I got to see the Hanse Sail 2008 – which is a parade of some 200 tall ships (clipper ships, whaling ships, and transport ships) and a race between them out on the high seas. You know me – and all the pictures. Here’s a few of the best.