Aboard Cuauhtemoc

It's high time I finally take you aboard some of these Tall Ships.
The first one to open to the pblic (and thus the first one I boarded, for I wasted no time) was the Mexican naval training bark Cuauhtemoc--fast becoming a popular feature of this blog. And why not? Cuauhtemoc was definitely the center of the show!

From my perch on the bluffs overlooking Stockholm Harbor where I set up to watch the first ships arriving from Finland, I had a pretty good view of the pierside where the biggest vessels were docking. From that vantage point I could relax and enjoy the harbor--and keep an eye on whether any of the ships were opened for boarding.

Little more than two hours after the Cuautemoc had docked, I spotted a surge in the crowd alongside the ship--a surge toward the gangplank. The ship was open!

I scuttled down from the high bluff and found that the Cuauhtemoc was indeed open to visitors--a full 36 hours ahead of the official opening of the Tall Ships Race visit to Stockholm. What can I say, Mexico knows how to greet the public and win a following.

When I reached the gangplank, a large group of her own crew was returning to the ship. In the short time they had been in port, the officer cadets had already headed out sightseeing, many of them passing by me with Vasa Museum gift shop bags (talk about role reversal).

Three minutes later, I was in that cathedral of rigging.....although it was something of an unconventional 'cathedral' with all the festive mariachi music blaring away from the loudspeakers. Livliest music on the planet and mighty refreshing amidst the melancholy ballads of Northern Europe.

Once I got over the inital 'awe response', I headed up the starboard alleyway past the galley and.....OH MY LORD. MEXICAN FOOD!!!!!!!

Like a golden ray of sunshine on a stormy day came the most fantastic aromas of Mexican cuisine. Holy smokes! I had not smelled Mexican food in months. It is a good thing the crew had the presence of mind to string a rope across the entryway to the galley or I would have been in there in a moment--and in a bit of trouble with the half dozen Mexican cooks already warding off the tourists. But oh, how I wanted to get down on my knees and beg for an enchilada or a taste of guacamole.

I was suffering horribly from Mexican food deprivation, I tell you. Sure, you can buy "nachos" in Stockholm, but it isn't at all the same. For one, there is no cheese--WTF?. How can that be considered Nachos? What is the world coming to when a cheeseless pile of imitation corn chips can pass as a platter of sacred Nachos? A travesty!

Biting my lip for an extra measure of self-control, I continued forward past the cooks and crew. Some looked as if they desperately wanted off the ship, to go explore this new port, and maybe have some real Scandinavian pickled fish instead of the same old burritos and fajitas they had to suffer through each day.

Well, I managed to get myself past the fantastic smells and up onto the foredeck....where the smells of good Mexican cooking were even stronger! The skylight hatches to the galley were open to alleviate the heat and I just about dived down one, aiming for that big kettle of refried beans or the mountain of tortillas.

But in the nautical environs of the foredeck my principal passion regained its grip on me and the salt air caught my attention again. What a spectacularly clean and tidy ship! I mean, I've seen 'ship-shape', but the Mexican crew had a true showpiece here. The carefully coiled lines....

...the spotless and perfect deck planking, the smart uniforms, the carefully flaked headsails...

...the freshly painted deck equipment, the polished anchor bell...

...even the 3-inch guns were glimmering away in the sun, their brass components polished up to the point where the reflection off of them constituted a weapon in itself.

Even the belaying pins were shined up on their varnished mohagany pinrails and hung with perfect coils of new (synthetic) lines. Note that even the shrouds, painted in a galvanized aluminum paint, are perfect--each one square and spotless.

In fact the whole rig was pretty near perfect. The masts and yards were freshly painted and the sails clewed up smartly--but not furled. That way they flopped lazily in the breeze, giving the rig a little more life than the other ships had (As if the mariachi music wasn't lively enough).

The midship's bell station/smoke stack with all its cast bronze plaques was equally well maintained. Kind of struck me like a shrine of some sort.....

The main ship's bell was so perfectly polished that you could almost see your future in it! these sailors must have spent all day and night rubbing away at the bronzework.

As I came aft I noticed that all the ship's senior officers were gathered amidships by the gangplank, all in their finest 'Class A' uniforms.

A minute later the piercing scream of the bosun's pipe snapped the entire ship to attention and an apparently important woman came aboard with a full salute from all ranks.

Then all filed into the restricted officers saloon after them. I am still most curious who it was. But that whistle piping her aboard will send a chill down your spine like nothing else. I suppose it is rather like a dog whistle, now that I think about it. Poor dogs....

Whoever the mystery woman was, she must have been important. As soon as she was piped aboard, a signalman ran up a special pennant denoting that somebody of stature was on the ship.

Yet, amidst this official visit, the ship was still crawling with visitors coming aboard to admire, to explore, and certainly plenty (usually those by the wheel gazing off through the tangle of rigging) came to dream.

For the dreamers, it worked out nicely because the Cuauhtemoc has two steering stations for people to pose by. The first is just aft of amidships and is the steering position used when under engine power or in close quarters like when entering and leaving harbor. It has an engine telegraph etc and has good forward visibility.

The second steering station is on the fantail at the stern. It is much more traditional, has no engine controls, and provides a view of the sails--important for a cadet instructed to take a 'trick' at the wheel and be damned sure not to backwind the sails! Have you ever seen such a fine piece of luxury furniture?--And this is meant to go to sea!

In fact, even the ship's launches were stunning furniture pieces, beautifully varnished up--even the bronze propeller is all polished to perfection! As a work-boat kind of guy myself, all this seems rather outlandish, but then again, naval discipline was never for me.

But that isn't to say these masterpiece craft were not intended for working. They aren't just show pieces. While I was aboard the crew came and swung out one of the boats for lowering.

A half hour later they were bobbing about, touching up the paintwork on the Cuauhtemoc--and being darned sure not to drip on the launch!

Well, that's the Cuauhtemoc. As ship (bark, actually) of unparalleled spotlessness and military perfection well worthy of its namesake Aztec ruler-god. Indeed, she--and her crew--are a stunning emissary for Mexico.