aggienaut | Living the Dream

It's about time I introduced our crew. From left to right: random guy biting Captain Jeremiah's armpit; Jeremiah, captain of the Lady Washington; myself, rocking suspenders without a shirt yep; Amber, cook on the Lady; barely visible between Amber and Pony I'm assuming is Josh, because he was always near Amber, she referred to him as the puppy; foreground wearing "I love sailors brains" shirt is Sara, Jeremiah's wife and bosun of the Lady; behind her is Pony, our bosun; with the mic is Staples, AKA "Incident Report," a deckhand on the Lady; Elmo, first mate on the Lady; head behind Elmo is Jimmy, first mate on the Chieftain; second from right is Fingers, rumour has it he was once a male stripper; and rightmost is Knuckles, our cook.

   This was karaoke night in Friday Harbour, San Juan Island. Just about every guy from both boats joined in the shirtless singing of "Bohemian Rhapsody." More pictures: 1, 2, 3.

   Last time I came into Friday Harbour I came via ferry and thought it was beautiful and awesome ... never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed at that point that next time I came to the island I would do so at the helm of a tallship under sail. (:

   When I worked in law offices I used to randomly ask people, upon meeting them in the hall "so, living the dream?" in an optimistic voice as if expecting the answer is obviously yes. It always brought about a hearty chuckle followed by a sad shaking of the head and "definitely not."
   I've done the same thing here a few times, asking shipmates at random times if they're living the dream. Their reaction has always been pretty much the same. A chuckle and a vague sarcastic "oh yeah" and perhaps a look of suffering.. followed a moment later by a more serious look and "yes, actually."