Aside from our scheduled trainning session this past Saturday I also volunteered to join another crew on Sunday for the 400th reenactment of settlers landing at Hampton, VA. John Collamore of the Colonial Seaport Foundation coxswained the shallop Explorer for the event.
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Altogether the event was rather small - being principally made up of only a handfull of reenactors ashore. However, we in the shallop had fun. Separate from the rest of the speeches and festivities, we waited patiently with our cargo of three settlers waiting to land. We got underway from the marina at Fort Monroe and stood out the short distance to the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, where we anchored on the North side for about an hour. Then we picked up and shifted to the other side of the bridge and anchored again. All the while, we had a relaxing afternoon in the shallop, talking and joking around. Conversation ranged from sea storiesfrom the various sea service vets present to a discussion of vampire hunters in 17th century Europe. Being around these folks - mostly from Blackbeard's Crew and the Crew of the Archangel - is always interesting and highly enjoyable.
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So finally our moment in the sun came. Dutch (the afore mentioned John Collamore) got a cell phone call coordinating our landing, and in we went. We landed on the beach at Strawberry Banks without a problem, and just as everyone looked up to see the crowd, we realized that the biggest Indian (can I say that? or is it Native American. No offense intended) anyone had ever seen is standing on the beach with a spiked club. Of course he was there to 'greet' us as part of the scripted friendly landing but whoa geez was that guy huge. And I'm 6'5"! There was a collective moment where everyone kind of looked at everyone else and said, "you go first". I mean seriously, talk about one of those "flash" moments - imagine what that would have been like to land at for real. We knew he wasn't going to use the club, but crap - I mean this is the kind of person that can only be characterized as a serial crusher, a huge frickin guy [hear Boondock Saints]. The worst part is that I'm sure he's completely awesome - for those of us in the boat crew, we may never know.
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We got underway as soon as we'd dropped off our three "settlers" and stood off shore about a hundred yards - aiming to run West the quarter mile to the Hampton River and the marina that would haul us out. Afterward, we all dropped by Marker 20 in downtown Hampton for a few drinks and an early dinner.
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All in all, I spent a highly enjoyable afternoon with some great people.
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Lessons learned:
1. Don't let the huge guy with the spiked club smell your fear.
2. Going to a random event once in a while can be a lot of fun - even if it's not your group you go with!
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Thanks again, guys - it was fun. Big guy - if you read this, get in touch! And not with the club please - send an email!
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Will
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