Both of these ships were commissioned in the late 80's - the 1980's:
The Lady Washington, the official tall ship of Washington, is a replica of the original Lady Washington, which was built in the 1750's with a single mast, as a sloop, to carry cargo around colonial ports. After the war, she was refitted with a second mast, making her a brig, to add stability and control for the voyage around Cape Horn, and was the first American vessel to make landfall on the west coast. She ran aground on a sand bar, and was battered to death by the waves. The current Lady Washington, built in Aberdeen by the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority (which continues to operate her), launched in 1989.
The Hawaiian Chieftain is an amalgamation of several designs of tall ships, also implementing modern techniques and technologies from the 80's. It was built by a tall ship enthusiast who wanted to make a tall ship that could serve as a cargo vessel serving the Hawaiian and other Pacific islands that don't have large ports. It was never used for this purpose, as it wasn't economically feasible. It traansferred through private hands a few times before being acquired by the GHHSA in 2004.
I started out the day by driving back to the mooring of the tall ships to tour them. They request a $3 donation, and I only had a $1 and a $100 bill, but they let me board anyway, telling me that the small store they have in the cabin could probably make change. I checked out the Lady Washington first, and spent a while talking to one of the crew members, who told me much of the history of the two vessels and of the original Lady Washington and her captains.
I finished checking out the deck of the Lady Washington, then transferred to the Hawaiian Chieftain. Here, I spoke at length with two different crew members. The first told me about the educational and volunteer programs they offer: to be a volunteer, you have to pay $500 for a 2 week stint aboard, where you are trained how to be a crew member on the tall ships, which includes room and board. Afterward, providing you pass muster, and the captain approves, you are then able to volunteer for free for as long as you want - typically around a year at a time, though some people serve for a few weeks or 18 months or more. She also told me that she is from New Orleans, and is part of a tall ship organization there that just got their non-profit status, and is working at building/buying a tall ship to be based there.
Next, I spoke to another crewman, who has been volunteering for a month, and is going to serve for about another year. He is a machinist who joined the crew right after graduating from college based on the experiences of a friend of his, and is thoroughly enjoying the experience. He serves as the gunner for the Chieftain, and we discussed cannoneering at length, exchanging tips.
They were nearly closing the tour period to prepare for the day's Battle Sail, so I went down to the store in the cabin of the Lady Washington to try to make good on getting change so I could give a donation. Unfortunately, they couldn't break my $100, so I gave them the $1. I also have decided to email them a few of my photos to use as they wish as further support.
Back on deck, I took a few more pictures before going back to the upper dock.
Photograph Sail up Chehalis River
After the tour, the ships repositioned to hasten the departure of the sail, and the photographer I met the day before gave me some pointers on the route they would probably take, showing me some places up river that I could get a good vantage point of the ships as they were under sail.
After they cast off, I drove south, up the Chehalis River to Cosmopolis to watch the ships as they sailed up it and fired their cannon. They sailed much further up river than I had expected, and I never saw a good volley of fire between the ships, but I got a few nice shots.
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