The Pecking Order

Our chart, showing the way through the last lock.

Note that there are more people in the rigging 

than we have crew members!

On Saturday we stopped in Sault Ste. Marie, just before entering our last and final lock on the way to Duluth. After the lock, Lake Superior opened up in front of us, huge and sprawling.

We pulled in behind Mammoth, a hulking behemoth of a tall ship. You could tell she had a large crew when I looked up and counted ten kids climbing up to the yards - then Captain Flash gave the exact count: 47 crew! She said most of them sleep in hammocks, old school style, and have to take down their hammocks during the day. 

Eve and the whole crew preparing for the lock.

It just so happened that this guy was driving by and saw there were tall ships in town, and pulled over to see who it was. All three of his kids had worked on tall ships at one time or another - and two were still at it in Chicago and on the west coast, and one had even sailed on the Marlin! So he gave Seth #2 and I a ride to the grocery store. Seth #2 has a nasty habit involving nicotine and needed to refuel. I was happy to get a chance to buy a few provisions and get a glimpse of the town - which was, I have to say, nowhere near as picturesque as I had imagined. But this guy runs a business that offers walking tours of Sault Ste. Marie, and ghost walks (this seems to be all the rage now in small touristy towns), so he managed to pack in a mini-tour of the town complete with ghost stories.

When we got back to the boat, muster was called and Seth #2 started in. He tends to forget that he's not the captain. Captain Flash handles it gracefully from what I can tell, but it wold drive me crazy. I'd probably say something smart-alec-y like, "Thank you for that introduction, Seth #2." It's not so hard to understand though. How do you take the captain out of the captain?

Zucchini enchilladas.

This is an interesting thing that I've also seen happen with Smith. She says she wants to be bosun, but she's been a mate too long. That's what she is now. It's hard to step down once you've stepped up.

Saturday's Menu

Breakfast

Sausage gravy and biscuits (I used chicken broth in my gravy this time and halved the amount of sausage; I think they liked it)

Lunch

Zucchini enchilladas, black beans and rice

Dinner

Pulled pork on homemade buns, mashed potatoes (I meant to make fries but ran out of time)

Dessert

Rice Krispie treats