A brush with fame

I have been busy all morning working on the generator trouble, and have re-routed the cooling water hose to a different thru-hull with much better flow, so must just get the pump back into place on the generator and I can finally run it. There still is something clogging the proper thru-hull but I can work on that some other time. For now, I do not anticipate running the air conditioning any time soon.

Yesterday, I noticed this beautiful old ketch, photo below, sitting across from the Customs dock on my way to the hardward store - we park the dinks just forward of this boat, so I have to walk by what ever is tied up there. Today, when I went in, about noon, I stopped and asked the mate about her. While we traded stories,( he single hands a 50 ft Beneteau supposedly and calls the bar that Paul, Joyce and I used last year at the Lagoon in St. Maarten for internet, his 'office'.), his captain came up and I asked him some more specific questions, such as the name Gadget, and the apparent trademark infraction printing of the cartoon character on the stern. Turns out the owner is the producer of a number of shows, and developed the Inspector Gadget series and movie. BUT, guess who the original owner was? It is Walter Cronkite's last boat - and the chair at the helm still has the brass plaque with Walter's Seat inscribed. There is a popular photo of the Clinton's sailing aboard her in his last years. She is a beautiful, well-cared for boat, a year or 2 older than my Annah Foster, and was custom built for him in Wilmington NC.

So, after leaving Gadget, I walked over to the grocery for a take out box lunch, and wandered around a bit until close to the time for the Queen's visit. I have written a couple times this week, that I wouldn't stand in line to meet a Hollywood star or any American politician, but there is something different about the queen of England. My mom would have loved this, I think, as Elizabeth's coronation was such a big event, and they were close enough in age that Mom could identify some way. I found a fence area, behind the stage, where no one at all was standing, but as her arrival time approached, it filled up on both sides of me and behind, including, on my left, several elderly men in wheelchairs who had served Bermuda, in both Eqypt and Italy, in WW2. We spoke a bit, I thanked them for their service, and we made a few jokes and then I left them alone.

I believe that today I heard the only 21 gun salute, live, that I will ever hear in my lifetime. The honor, which shocked everyone at first volley, was for the approaching queen, timed perfectly for the last volley to fire as her car turned into the square. The custom started, as I understand it, as a naval courtesy. A visiting war ship would fire all of it guns as it entered a foreign harbor, to demonstrate that they were empty and the ship had no bellicose or miltitary intentions. It later became a tradition to fire at least one shot as a ship approached a foreign harbor, as an honor, and continued up the chain from there to 21 guns. Or so I believe.

The queen exited her vehicle out of sight from me and first appeared, walking.

She mounted the steps on this little platform to be met by the commander of her honor guard, and then walked an inspection line with him.

Afterwards, she was introduced to the dignitaries waiting in a greeting line, and then disappeared from my sight into the Town Hall on my my right, and someone lead 3 children up holding the flowers to present to her when she exited the building.

After receiving the flowers from the children she headed my way, and the photo below was taken with no zoom at all. She got so close, that I put the camera into my pocket out of respect. I was actually shocked to see her approaching. She walked up to the fence within 3 feet of me and smiled, and I sort of stepped back, a half pace, since she was here to greet her subjects, not some old, fat American. But she looked at me and smiled and moved on. But suddenly, someone was standing right in front of me. It was Prince Phillip, and he is looking me in the eye and talking to ME, asking if I was the caregiver to these old gentleman, to which I replied, "No Sir. I am just an American who sought shelter here from a storm last week aboard my sailboat. But these men are some of your veterans from WW2." He nodded and turned to them, and then stopped, and turned his head, and over his shoulder asked me how my vessel was, to which I replied, "Just a bit of mending needed, sir." And he winked, and nodded, and moved on.

Well, that about does it for me. Touched an American icon's boat, and talked to royalty, all in one day. Time to get back to the real world and get that generator fixed. I am sure glad that I took that shower and shaved this morning, and put on a clean shirt.