We sailed on George S. Patton's yacht "When and If." The vessel was commissioned in 1939 and derives it's name from the General's own hand. "When the war is over, and if I live through it, Bea and I are going to sail her around the world." Hence the yacht's strange name "When and If."
The giant rubber duck was in attendance...
All of the ships were tied along the Duluth harbor wharf
Under way on the When and If as we follow the Pride of Baltimore out of the harbor
Overcast, but no rain. A great day to be sailing!
What an interesting bit of history. She's an 80 footer, with a 15ft beam. Made of mohagany on oak framing.
Out of the harbor with the sails rigged, we chased and overtook the Pride of Baltimore - II
The Pride's answer to being overtaken... She fired her cannon
As we came back to the wharf, a piper, drummer and a man on the oars came by. I have no idea who, why or what they were trying to achieve. Sort of like a Monty Python interlude.
This is the W and I under sail off of Key West. A beautiful schooner from 1939!
Lots more to post, maybe next week. I hope you all enjoyed our sail on the When and If.
Every once in a while I get to visit some really interesting places and I like to share those on the blog... With a little luck I'll get a post up by Sunday!
We went to our favorite theater last night and caught the Marvelous Wonderettes... hilarious, clever and very well acted. -been humming songs from the 50's all morning...
Here's a clip from another theater taken a few years ago. Last nights show requested no pictures or recording. We really had a great time! Poor Mr. Lee!
I'll close with a pic of the neighbors...
These wild turkeys have been visiting all summer! Our hound dog goes bonkers whenever she's sees them.
Lots of great things to do in the summer. I suppose that's why it has always been my favorite season. We made it to the Duluth Blues Fest this weekend and finally to a museum dedicated to a local WWII hero who flew the awesome P-38!
Duluth has a great lake front venue for outdoor festivals
The main stage. You can see ship traffic just to the left of the stage, very cool!
This ocean going freighter has in harbor at anchor yesterday.
Pushing the Nikon/Sigma to get a pic of Ray Fuller...
The rescue helo flew by, couldn't resist the pic. I started my career as an engineer at Bell Helicopter...
Finally! The Maj D Bong Museum - local flyer WW2 Ace and master of the P-38
This is the real deal... a WWII German Flak Gun
This P-38 was on static display in Poplar, Wisconsin for many years after the Maj's death. It was restored in the 1990's by the MN Air Guard stationed in Duluth. They did an amazing job!
Whoa, what hve we here? LOL, yup I also worked at CAT for many years in the engine division designing and analyzing large bore diesel engines... So this little WW2 airfield tractor caught my eye. It's amazing to me that the drivetrain multibody dynamics were already simulated by calculation when this guy was brand new!
My father was a WW-II US Navy Frogman and he spent his war time in the South Pacific disarming stuff like this!
Another pic of a great bird...
Alis Chalmers built these "snow machines," in the 1940's - whats old is what's new.
Nicely restores Jeep
Even a spare V-12!
WW-II Japanese flyer goggles and heated mitts.
WOW, this is an AIR DROP scooter!
Something I had never heard of before... this is a Ford manufactured jeep like vehicle made for the Russian Army in WW-II
