Crew Parade

Who doesn't like parades?
One of the big events during the Tall Ships Race visit was a parade of the ships' crews through the streets of Stockholm.

It started out very formal and impressive. Leading the parade--and indeed the entire five day event--was the crew of the Mexican Bark Cuauhtemoc.

Cuauhtemoc had been among the very first ships to arrive, her crew in the rigging with Mexican music blaring away over the PA system. Ever since their arrival, they had been the life of the party--superb ambassadors embodying the pride of Mexico.

In parade they were in top form; crisp and smart in their dashing white uniforms, they marched up the streets in perfect military step.

The officers all had their swords drawn and held to the shoulder...

...followed by the crew dressed in their best.

Then came the sailors of the Swedish Navy, marching along with the three-tongued royal flag out front.

Compared to the Mexicans, the Swedes seemed to be few in number despite having two naval training ships in port. But as you can see, Falken and Gladan--although stunningly graceful-- are considerably smaller than Cuauhtemoc.

Next came the very professional looking crew of the Norwegian bark Statsraad Lehmkuhl--also, exhibiting calm, cool Scandinavian military composure.

They had been a sensation when they sailed in. The rain had been pouring down and yet those tough-as-nails Norwegians were still aloft belting out sea chanties from the yardarms.

A bit further on in the parade a few surprises showed up. One was the crew of the American racing sloop Fazisi. They had the uniforms and...

...I suppose Fazisi is technically a 'tall ship' but i must say that such a speed-demon boat looked a bit out of place among all the slow-poke square-riggers.

Shortly thereafter came the Russians, the massive crews...

...of the even more massive four-masted barks Khruzenshtern and Sedov.

They seemed to come forever, row upon row. First the officer cadets....

...then the crew, wave upon wave sporting the classic sailors' uniform of the former Soviet republics.

Then came an unexpected surprise--the crew of the Malaysian topsail schooner Tunas Samudera--and with them, the parade began to lose its formality. They marched by to the lively rythm of Malaysian drums.

Like a number of the ships and crews, this crew was on their way around the world, showing the flag and proving skillful ambassadors for their country.

But in the midst of the tromping boots, there was a hold up in the parade procession. Using the lull, the crew of the Tunas Samudera suddenly broke into a delightful line dance. Indeed, a spirited group.

In fact, there was a lot of that kind of crew spirit in the air. It started subtly with the Tunas Samudera and then gathered momentum with the crew of the Polish full-rigger Dar Mlodziezy who came up the street banging belaying pins together and singing Polish sea chanties. This stirred some consternation in people along the route, one asking me what these people were protesting (9 out of 10 processions in the streets of Stockholm are protests, not celebrations). But then there were other crews...

...like those of the Swedish gaff-rigged ketch Gratia who all came down the street in togas with the ship's pennant...

...or the fellow who came by wearing a square sail, yardarm and all!

...or those from the German schooner Johann Smidt who dressed up as Neptune and his mermaids and rode an inflatable motorboat on a cart...

Not to be outdone by their countrymen, the crew of the German bark Alexander von Humboldt came next...

...carrying an entire offshore emergency liferaft and wailing away on portable fog horns!

Perhaps my favorite, however, was the crew of the Russian full-rigger Shandart. Not only did they have the most unique ship in port (a design dating from 1703 and very similar to Vasa's rigging plan)....

...but they also came up the street in full period dress from the days when a new Russia was bursting onto the world stage under Peter the Great. Fitted out in colonial dress, they came marching along to the sound of fife and drum, the flags of old (and new) Russia waving overhead.

I know no parade is the same in pictures as it is in person. Indeed, I am afraid you'll just have to try imagining the excitement in the air, the cheering, the drums, the wailing of fog horns...or go to St. Petersburg for the Baltic Tall Ships Race in 2009! Either way, it was such a thrilling spectacle, I could not refrain from sharing it with you all.