Sunday, July 30, 2017

tall ships halifax 2017


As you can tell it was a bit of a foggy overcast day here yesterday when we walked down to the harbour to see the forty or so tall ships that came to town on Friday. We'd spent an extra half hour on the park beach in hopes of seeing a few of them sail in that day but were disappointed.


Despite hundreds of people crowding the boardwalks who made my chances of getting decent photographs of the docked ships more difficult, I did my best - and came up with just four.


It appeared that just about everyone there was lined up at each and every ship to go aboard for a tour, an understandable urge when the ships we usually see are unromantic giant cruise liners or container ships.


Of course, none of these tall ships are very old and, for the most part, very few have wooden hulls - they simply bring to mind the sheer magnificence of the Age of Sail when the forests of Europe and then the New World were felled en masse to build the magnificent fleets of yesteryear. They leaked, yes, and those that didn't sink on the high seas in battles or storms were dismantled long ago.

Nevertheless, I look forward to seeing them under full sail on Tuesday when they leave our harbour in Parade. I'll try to get more and better pictures then. It's a rare and lovely sight.

****

A magician was working on a cruise ship.

Since the audience was different each week, the magician did the same tricks over and over again. There was only one problem: The captain's parrot saw the shows each week and began to understand how the Magician did every trick.

Once he understood, he started shouting in the middle of the show, "Look, it's not the same hat!" or, "Look, he's hiding the flowers under the table!" Or "Hey, why are all the cards the ace of spades?"

The magician was furious but couldn't do anything. It was, after all, the Captain's parrot.

Then one stormy night on the Pacific, the ship sank. Too bad but these things can happen.

Hours later the magician found himself on a piece of wood floating in the middle of the sea and, as fate would have it, sharing the board with the parrot.

They stared at each other with hatred, but neither of them uttered a word.

This went on for a day... And then 2 days. And then 3 days. Finally on the 4th day, the parrot could not hold back any longer and said...

"Okay, I give up. Where's the freaking ship??



6 comments:

  1. Enjoy tomorrow's windjammer parade.
    May no tall ship mysteriously get charmed away. :)

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    1. It was a good time for sitting in the sun on a breezy day.. but aren't they all? :)

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  2. we had the tall shops in Boston Harbor a few weeks ago - maybe some of these! Love the joke!

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    1. Hi Suz, and welcome. Yes, they were the same ones.

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  3. Hi Susan,
    The pictures are actually quite appealing since some indistinct features could resemble any era to conjure up thoughts of yesteryear, particularly from the appealing misty image. So some have a surreal quality but overall they are all very appealing. I agree the old sailing ships which braved the world of the cruel sea are magnificent.
    Great joke.
    Best wishes

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    1. Hi lindsay,
      I'm glad to know you like the pictures as they are - mysterious ships emerging from the mists of time. The hardest thing was to distance the photographer (me) from the hundreds of people crowding around the walkways in order to establish that dreamlike atmosphere. I'm not a photographer but I enjoy framing shots. Many thanks.
      All the best

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