The Picton Castle has had an astounding welcome into Bay City, Michigan, up on the west side of Lake Huron, as they hosted their third Tall Ship event. Situated up the meandering Saginaw river, it is a maze of navigation through lift bridges, and people lined the way as the ships came into Bay City on Thursday, horns and cheering, and we of course blew our horn back!
Our liaisons for this event have been superb. Standing out in the huge crowds by their yellow tee-shirts, Mark, Lynette, Kathy, and Kent have done a remarkable job in making us feel at home—taking the cook shopping, acting as tour guide, nurse, problem solvers, seekers and finders of all sorts of things from garden hoses to tents! We thank them profusely, and as ever at Tall Ships events, the volunteers are a wonderful help and support to us. They make our job so much easier and a lot more fun! Planning ahead solves all the problems we can think of. Good liaisons solve the problems that pop up or that we and the organizers did not think of. Bay City liaison officers were awesome!
Bay City has been a roller coaster of adventure for crew. Many events have been planed to show us a good time. On Thursday night was a big BBQ for all the crews of the ships, more food than you could shake a stick at! Friday night we had a reception for the Bay City Times newspaper and the Saginaw orchestra played a concert almost directly beside us. They played everything from the “1812 Overture” to the theme song from “The Pink Panther” and were brilliant to listen to. The park beside the ship was packed with people spreading out blankets for picnics and settling back for a good summer’s night of entertainment. The captain and officers stood by the ship to meet the Governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm (and she is Canadian, too), as she walked both the east and west side of the river to welcome the ships to Michigan. Tonight we have a REO Speedwagon concert and the Sail Training games this afternoon, in which Laura, Kyle, Jackie and a few others are taking part—bowling, water fights, races. Tomorrow night is a Mariners’ Ball and then we will be off again, this time to Green Bay, Wisconsin.
The crew changed again here in Bay City and we have welcomed onboard 8 more newbies for our sail to Green Bay. Phew! It’s busy here, that is for certain, but we’re having fun!
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