Pilgrim

At the kids school the 4th grade classes spend a night on the Pilgrim in Dana Point Harbor. The boat does not sail. The kids are sailors in the year 1863. The girls have to pretend they are boys as it was bad luck to have girls on the ships back then. Evelyn was known as Sailor Murphy. the kids had to learn ship lingo and address the captain as Sir. The captain and other crew members were strict as they would be aboard a ship in the 1800's. The kids are split up into crews and each crew has to do night watch. The teacher goes as do 3 other adults as chaperons. Evelyn's class was the last class to go and went on Friday, May 11.

Evelyn and 2 of her friends, Jordan and Marissa, went to Rubys for lunch. The kids were told to eat a big lunch as dinner was not until 7 that night.

Evelyn was a Hide Gatherer with Jordan, Scott and Dante. They were the only ones who got to go off the ship. They headed off on a row boat to find hides in the harbor. Sailor Murphy said it was hard work to row the boat. Dinner was beef stew which was "ok". The spice cake for dessert was "good" and the oatmeal for breakfast was "gross".

Evelyn's crew had night watch from 10pm to 12 am. They had to take turns at different parts of the ship and write in the log. Evelyn wrote that she saw dolphins, whales and mermaids. From what I hear it was hard to sleep as sleeping quarters were cramped (Evelyn had to share a bunk with Jordan) and each time a watch would change, everyone would be woken up. One dad chaperone said he got only 2 hours sleep.

Jordan's dad brought Evelyn to the church for Greg's first communion Saturday morning. Evelyn looked so tired! During the day, I found Evelyn in her room sleeping. It was an early night for all of us Saturday night.

From what I have heard, the kids had a great time on the Pilgrim.

Evelyn, Jordan, Marissa
The Pilgrim is a full size hide brig immortalized by Richard Henry Dana in his American seafaring classic novel "Two Years Before The Mast". It was originally built in 1825. The purpose was to participate in the California cattle trade for the owners. Today's Pilgrim was built in 1945. In 1975 the Pilgrim was converted to the present rig. The Pilgrim entered Dana Point in 1981 and provides a National award winning living history program to over 18,000 students a year.

Girl Sailors

Evelyn, Tara, Marissa

The ship