Lady Washington (HMS Interceptor) is in So Cal!

[WillyWonka]

Lady Washington, which played the HMS Interceptor, is touring the waters of socal this winter. Here's your chance to see the famous brig; see the boom that Orlando Bloom hung from, and the quarterdeck that Johnny Depp once stood upon. But more importantly, the Lady Washington is a full-scaled, working replica of a 1780 merchant trade vessel, specialized in teaching and educating about the life at sea 200 years ago.

The original Lady Washington was also the partner ship to the Columbia, whose replica, as you know, is in Disneyland

Her schedule:

Marina del Rey, CA Dec. 6-19, 2007
Long Beach, CA Dec. 19-31, 2007
Long Beach, CA Jan. 1-7, 2008
Oceanside, CA Jan. 9-14, 2008
San Diego, CA Jan. 14-21, 2008
Oxnard, CA Jan. 23-31, 2008
Ventura, CA Feb. 1-10, 2008






(from the movie)

website: http://historicalseaport.org/web/index.html

[PirateMickey]

Re: Lady Washington (HMS Interceptor) is in town!

Yeah, we were aboard her when she was up here in NorCal.

Awesome!

[alphabassetgrrl]

Re: Lady Washington (HMS Interceptor) is in town!

She looks even more beautiful in person. And if you go on the battle sail, they fire the cannons.

[Professor Ratigan]

Re: Lady Washington (HMS Interceptor) is in town!

Got to do a night sail when the Lady Washington was up in half moon bay in SF. Her and the Hawaiian Chieften did night time broadsides. OMG that was great.. I highly recommend seeing her to all the people here. Thanks WillyWonka for posting her schedule.

[Tammy77]

Re: Lady Washington (HMS Interceptor) is in town!

Saw it in WA over the summer, was reaaly neat to tour.

[MysticalSkye]

Re: Lady Washington (HMS Interceptor) is in town!

Wow! I'm going to have to try and make a trip over to one of the spots when I'm home for break!

thanks for posting this!

[Tractor]

Re: Lady Washington (HMS Interceptor) is in town!

I know a few people that used to sail on her. She was also used for Star Trek opening scene as I have been told.

[Datameister]

Re: Lady Washington (HMS Interceptor) is in town!

I'm hoping I'll get a chance to see her at some point. 'Twould make a nice complement to my photos of The Black Pearl, methinks.

[StrikeYerColors]

Re: Lady Washington (HMS Interceptor) is in town!

i am dying to see her! OMG i am seriously considering postponing my trip home now. I drive up to norcal tomorrow, but maybe i can push it back until thursday! does anyone have anymore info, like if they're giving tours, how much things cost, etc?

[Steve DeGaetano]

Re: Lady Washington (HMS Interceptor) is in town!

Mr. Wonka--who was/is a mate on the ship--can fill you in.

As a tease--Willy and I are working on a very detailed future MiceAge article chronicling the history of the Columbia (both real and Disney), the Lady Washington, and a detailed look at both ships.

[StrikeYerColors]

Re: Lady Washington (HMS Interceptor) is in town!

As a tease--Willy and I are working on a very detailed future MiceAge article chronicling the history of the Columbia (both real and Disney), the Lady Washington, and a detailed look at both ships.

I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

Well, I finally found on the official Lady Washington FAQ page that dockside tours are free, with donations of $5 requested. But how will I know what time it's at the docks if it's out sailing around having pretend battles some times? And I couldn't find the prices for the different sails, just a number to call to book them, which makes me think I can't afford a it.

[Datameister]

Re: Lady Washington (HMS Interceptor) is in town!

Well, I finally found on the official Lady Washington FAQ page that dockside tours are free, with donations of $5 requested. But how will I know what time it's at the docks if it's out sailing around having pretend battles some times? And I couldn't find the prices for the different sails, just a number to call to book them, which makes me think I can't afford a it.

Sweet! Hey, I don't know, either, but if you find out, please do us all a favor and post the info here, okay? =D

[WatchYourHeadNStep]

Re: Lady Washington (HMS Interceptor) is in town!

Such a pretty ship........boat!

I think I will comandeer said ship (nautical term), hire a crew in Long Beach, sail her to San Pedro, CA and pillage and plunder my black, weaselly guts out!!!

Can't wait for the New Year's Eve cruise!

Now if we could only find where the Black Pearl really is berthed!!!!

[rurounikengyrl]

Re: Lady Washington (HMS Interceptor) is in town!

YAY i'll be in Long Beach area around that time! Do you get to go ON the ship?!

[Lynn, Renaissance Woman]

Re: Lady Washington (HMS Interceptor) is in town!

You have two sets of dates for Long Beach. Is one of those sets really for San Pedro? It would be nice to look down the hill and see her.

[WillyWonka]

Re: Lady Washington (HMS Interceptor) is in town!

I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

Well, I finally found on the official Lady Washington FAQ page that dockside tours are free, with donations of $5 requested. But how will I know what time it's at the docks if it's out sailing around having pretend battles some times? And I couldn't find the prices for the different sails, just a number to call to book them, which makes me think I can't afford a it.

Hi. I'll try to answer all the questions in this thread so far in 1 post.

The Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain (traveling together) offer 3 public services: dockside tours, leisure sails (adventure sail), and battle sail.

Dockside tour: you're invited to step aboard the 2 vessels and explore the deck and below decks. crew members are stationed at various points to answer all your questions. however, I find that most visitors don't even know where to start asking as stepping aboard an 18th century tall ship can be quite overwhelming, so you can just ask them to "tell me anything" and they'll usually give an interesting tour. you'll also get to see the crew work and see what it takes to keep these boats working. the boats do not leave the dock.

dockside tour is not meant to be a "guided tour" like you might find at museums. no one will walk you around but instead you are free to explore at your own pace and stay as long as you want. however if the crowd exceeds about 500 or 800/hour they will start running guided tour in order to flow and rotate people around. they have a max capacity to keep as per USCG.

Leisure sail : you can book aboard the Lady Washington or Hawaiian Chieftain for a 3 hour sail. To answer the most typical questions: yes, they do put up sails; yes, the boats are sail powered (once outside the bay. motor is used initially to take the boats out to open water and then shut'd off); yes, the sailors climb aloft; yes, everything is done by hand!

Once outside and safe from motor traffic the sailors will begin putting up sails as directed by the sailing master. this involves a lot of sailors shouting on deck of phrases and words you've never heard before or knew existed. it's a lot of fun and is a cacophony of noise that is a symphony in itself. no, it's not scripted--what you hear is not a result of crew members memorizing a script and recite it for you--this is not a park ride passengers of all ages are invited to participate in line handling, and are often encouraged.

The rest of the sail is done as leisure. you're welcome to relax on deck, or talk to the crew and try to get the saltiest story you can find. or have a picnic. they'll be light amount of manuvering. crew members usually sing like they do. they may fire the black powder cannon. If you ever wanted to see how to drive a 200 ton tallship made of wood, rope and canvas, BOOK THIS SAIL!

Battle sail: Somewhat like the above--it is a 3 hour sail with passengers, except the 2 tallships will engage in battle. To answer the most typical questions: no, it's not scripted; yes, the boats can come in very close ; yes, it is LOUD; no, we don't know who the winner is before the sail ; how do you know if you've won? you can typically judge by the crew's reaction and moods at the end of the sail

some public like to call this the "mock battle sail". that's an unfortunate term, as there is nothing "MOCK" about this sail (or any sail). The only thing that's not "real" is that they do not load shots into the guns (but instead fire blank charges, and count "hits" as how well the shot is placed, which you can judge by the return echo). the manuvers that you will see all come from the minds of the master and sailing master, which mean every sail will be different. think of it like laser tag--a multi-million dollar laser tag...

passengers are typically not invited to participate in line handling on these sails since things must be done very quickly, precisely and there is a lot of dangers in those lines.

I hope this has answered your questions about what you get to do on those boats.

For the prices, I'll try to give the best I can remember, since I've never dealt with selling tickets.

Dockside tour: donation
Adventure/leisure sail: $55 adult, $45 child (<11) and senior
Battle sail: $65 adult, $55 child and senior

Schedules: beside the port schedule I posted in post 1, most ports **USUALLY** carry the same weekend schedule as follow:

Saturday: 10-1 dockside. 2-5 battle sail
Sunday: 10-1 adventure sail. 2-5 battle sail

There may be 4-5pm dockside tours on weekday. Most definitely check in with the office for the current schedule (800-200-LADY).

Some tips if you're visiting the vessels. In my experience the dockside tour around Long Beach and further south can be VERY busy. There may be lines to get on board. If you come at 12:50 and the boats are closing at 1 and there are still 50 people on board, you will most likely be denied boarding. plan ahead!

For the sails, you can make reservations in advance with the office or go down to the boats and make reservations there if there are room. both boats together can only take 88 per sail so room is limited.

Choosing of the vessel is first-come first-serve at pre-boarding, NOT AT RESERVATION. You must report to the boarding area as directed by the steward 30min-1hour prior to sail time to come get your boarding passes and request the vessel of your choice there. Lady Washington typically fills up first (45 passengers).

Lady Washington vs. Hawaiian Chieftain. What's the difference? Lady Washington is a replica built 1988 after a vessel by the same name in 1780. She used to be a trading vessel and now conducts public sail and educational sails.

Hawaiian Chieftain is an original design, built to trade sugar canes between Hawaiian islands. She's built as a 1850 trading vessel and therefore her "technology" is almost 100 years "advanced" of the Lady. she's steel built, similar to clipper ships.

WHEW. hope this will help you guys plan and decide to check out the boats in person. I will admit that, yes, the crew members get asked A LOT "is this where johnny depp stood" and while they'll answer, I encourage you to ask them more challenging questions like the history of the vessels, or how would one navigate an ocean without GPS, and they'll even show you the tools

now, some pictures to convince you







(you can see the deck can be crowded. pack accordingly!)

(no, I don't get paid to post this.... I BARELY get paid working on the boats as it is!)

Let me know what else I can answer. I'll be visiting them throughout december so you'll probably find me :-x

[WillyWonka]

Re: Lady Washington (HMS Interceptor) is in town!

You have two sets of dates for Long Beach. Is one of those sets really for San Pedro? It would be nice to look down the hill and see her.

It's a copy/paste overlap. the boats are skipping san pedro this year and both sets of dates are at long beach, about the shoreline park, at the end of pine ave.

[Pirate Lover 68]

Re: Lady Washington (HMS Interceptor) is in So Cal!

Just a heads up if you're going to book a leisure/adventure sail... When the two boats visited San Francisco we booked an adventure sail on the Lady Washington. I'm a huge POTC fan, this felt like a huge opportunity. I have done the dock side tour a number of times, I was thrilled to get to be going on a sail on the Lady Washington. The problem is...not enough folks booked the tours to take both boats out...so the captains flipped a coin and all the folks were to load onto the Hawaiian Chieftan. I didn't want to ruin the day for me and my wife and we went out. It was nice, it's a lovely boat, it just wasn't what I wanted at all. I wrote the home office for the two boats and not only did I not get an offer to make it up to me, I didn't get any word back at all.

Anyway, the point is, if you book a leisure tour, just know, you could end up on either boat.

[Pirate Lover 68]

Re: Lady Washington (HMS Interceptor) is in town!

Choosing of the vessel is first-come first-serve at pre-boarding, NOT AT RESERVATION. You must report to the boarding area as directed by the steward 30min-1hour prior to sail time to come get your boarding passes and request the vessel of your choice there. Lady Washington typically fills up first (45 passengers).

Just FYI, this wasn't stated on the website many months ago when I took my trip. Hopefully this is something they've added to the website. They should also add that if they don't have enough passengers to fill both boats, they may pick one or the other, and you'd have no say in which one you're going out on.

[StrikeYerColors]

Re: Lady Washington (HMS Interceptor) is in So Cal!

well, thanks so much for all the info, willy!
i have been on several tall ship tours, and i really really want to do the sail. looks like i'll be saving my money and checking the schedules more frequently from now on! i wish i was going to be in so cal during the same times as the ships.