A Stop At Willoughby

There was an old Twilight Zone episode where a harried businessman is stressed from home and the office. On the commuter train one time he gets off at Willoughby and encounters a slow, friendly, bucolic town where everything is slow and easy, and from a by-gone era.

The train he is riding lurches and brings him out of his daydream. The next night on the train, the conductor yells out Stop At Willoughby and the poor fellow gets off and is greeted by the same friendly easy lifestyle. He decides to stay. The next scene is the trains conductor and engineer looking over his body as a Willoughby And Sons hearse drives his body away.

Well, disregard that last part. Let's focus on a place called Willoughby. I think mine would be on this 130 foot Baltimore Clipper schooner class, The Privateer Lynx, that myself and my son-in-law rode on recently.

Nevermind that there was no wind, just being part of it was special.

This ship will end its two-week stay in St. Petersburg and begin a long journey around the Keys and up the East Coast to New York to begin the Tall Ship summer circuit.

I must figure out how to get my own sailing vessel. I think its called Florida Lottery.

Frankly, to see this ship with its yardarms, ropes and timeless lines and then throw the huge flag on top of it, well, its downright awe-inspiring.

Berthed up front of the Lynx is the Sorcha, the mega yacht owned by the owner and founder of Jabil Circuits, a technology company based here in St. Pete.

Flag on the bowsprit. "You know how to do that, doncha, Steve? You just put your bows together and...sprit." OK, reference to an old movie. Nevermind.

The bow of the Lynx.

The bow of the Sorcha. A 200 year difference in shipbuilding.

And soon we will board and be off on a "sailaway".

This is cool.

"Let me drive!"

Life clings stubbornly wherever it can.

A tar climbing up the rigging to grease the mast.

See?

Yes, he is wearing a safety harness.

The sails, attached to what looks like wooden O-Rings, slide up and down the mainmast. Grease helps to reduce friction. Astroglide for masts.

I still get knots in my shoes. I could never work these lines.

OK, we are all on, now out we go.

A pretty neat modern boat, belonging to the Coast Guard.

That's it for today. Wednesday the rest of the trip.

Comments

Philippe Park and The Tocobaga Indian Mound

About ten miles or so north of Bedlam is a place called Safety Harbor. Its the place that has the 300-500 year old oak that the city tried to kill I featured a couple weeks ago on BFE . They have a pretty nice park that has some interesting history, too. Count Philippe landed here and introduced the pineapple and cigar making to the Tampa Bay area. Today, however, I want to mention something else about this area, besides the really nice scenery. Phillipe Park was also the home of the Tocobaga Indians. The Tocobaga occupied the Tampa Bay area from around 600 A.D. to the 1600's. This is a fairly common view of old stately moss-laden oaks down here. This shot was taken atop the only Tocobaga Indian mound in the area. This exact spot is home not only to the Tocobaga until they died out, but then to Count Phillipi who settled the area after the Tocobaga died out. The place is full of oak and ...

Flashback Friday

Class, Or Lack Thereof The Dwight Vice gravestone in Oquawka, Illinois. I bring this old chestnut out every so often just to remind me that class is classless. Dwight Vice was killed in his home near Oquawka in 2001. It was one of those things that can generate crime: two guys thought Dwight had a lot of money stashed at home because of his pot-selling sideline to supplement his fishing job. Not really one of those big drug deals gone-bad things. Marijuana was, according to the trial, about the only stuff Dwight sold. But these two guys barge into the house and killed Dwight and attempted to kill his 11 year old kid, Darryl, before they took off with what money they could find. His son, now 23, was stabbed in the back and left for dead. He survived and is wheelchair bound and has undergone several surgeries to repair his wounds. He will be paralyzed for life. None of this is pleasant. Reading the f...

Warsaw Brewery

Roadtrip! That word is like a dog whistle to me. The Wombie's played coy with me a couple days but finally we loaded into the Chevy (sadly, no Jeep) and headed south to Warsaw, Illinois. They tried to keep it a secret as to what was down there but loose lips sink ships but it was good anyway. Warsaw is a small town around Hamilton and to get there you get to travel the Great River Road along the Mississippi. You get to go through Nauvoo, too and get to see the magnificent Mormon Temple overlooking the river. Its a great couple hours of scenery and juicy things to see and then, before you know it, you are trying to find an old closed brewery that has been transformed into a restaurant and bar. There are many overlooks and scenic cut outs along the Great River Road. There is even a little history if you are into it. This marker notes the place where a vanished town, Montebello, used to exist. It was also the...

Existing In BFE

Search This Blog