Sea History 111 - Summer 2005

Page 28

S~!l!jstory '1 'M'US'T' dOwn to tfie seas 'Jlnl a(( '1 ask is a talf sfi!f1 'Jlnl tfie wlieefs kick. tlie

ana

ana

'1 mmt dawn to t!i.i soas Q(Jain, fur tk 'ls a wi(I ca(( anl a cfear caff tliat may

'Jlnd a({ '1 ask is a winly day witli tlie 'Jlnl t!iej{ung spray atuf tlie 610wn s 'I must

aown to the seas ll[lai11 to the VQ(Jl1

'TO tfie gu{('s way anl the wfiafe's way wfim 'Jlnl arr '1 ask is a merry yam from a ta~liing 'Jlnl quiet sfeep anl a sweet !ream wlien tlie {ong

The "vagrant gypsy life" of a crew member on a sailing ship may not appeal to many people today, but it certainly has its select fans . Rigel Crockett is clearly one of them. With a shipbuilding father and a sailmaking mother, Rigel may have had no choice but to become a sailor. At the age of 12, Rigel served as cabin boy aboard Ernestina, a 156-foot schooner out of New Bedford, Massachusetts. It was here that he first met Captain Dan Moreland. After a summer of training from Moreland, Rigel dreamed of becoming a ship captain himself one day. Soon after, Rigel began building his own boat, following his father's advice that the length of one 's boat should match one 's age. Three years later, it was done. (The boat did not grow, although Rigel did.)


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Sea History 111 - Summer 2005 by National Maritime Historical Society & Sea History Magazine - Issuu