Gun Wharf and HMS VIctory

Since I had the day off from racing today, I decided to take some time to visit the Gun Wharf and the HMS Victory. The Victory is still a commissioned Royal Naval Vessel and even though she is in dry dock permanently, she is still manned by naval personnel. I had the opportunity to chat with the night Watch Captain, which was very interesting. It took 10,000 English White Oak trees to build the Victory and she is a triple deck line of battle ship. I have seen the Constitution (the oldest floating naval vessel in the world), and what I noticed is that the Victory is not much longer, but is much bigger than the Constitution. She has massive amounts of free board, and draws 21 feet at her waterline. The rudder is absolutely huge, and is at least 2 feet thick with approximately a 6 foot cord. The rudder has to be 15 feet deep as well. A fine entry is not something this ship can boast, as she seems to reach her maximum beam just a few feet from the bow. It is incredible how big a hole this ship makes in the water.

The watch Captain informed me that there were 6 Americans on board at the Battle of Trafalgar. Apparently, when the Victory was on the way to the battle, they encountered an American Sloop of War, sunk her and took the 6 surviving crew members on board, and they remained on board throughout the Battle of Trafalgar.

I also got to see the HMS Warrior (circa 1860) which is a sail/steam frigate. Also quite impressive, she is probably a little longer than Victory, but still not as big in all other aspects. While eating at a nice Indian restaurant, I noticed three very tall black carbon rigs across the harbour. I could see the hull of one boat, and it looked like some sort of maxi race boat, impressive. The other two rigs were taller and I could not see the hulls. I wonder if those were America's Cup boats.

Good news is that I was able to walk around the Gun Wharf without limping, which tells me my back is well on the mend. I realized today that the injury is the same injury I gave myself goofing around on the little powerboat the week before I left on this trip. One of the passengers on the boat had his shoulder in the water when it happened. I really must be more careful, but I do enjoy having fun. Forecast for tomorrow is for winds around 25 and quite chilly. I wonder if they will send us out tomorrow.