[Public-List] A sailing story...

[Jonathan Bresler]

Gord,

Thank you.   Anytime you end up aboard with Dan Moreland, you're doing well.
Enjoyed following the Picton Castle in Tall Ship Chronicles
(
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhzrXlo8lrA&list=PLdSZLbTROV6vtxJeGs2DHGqb39f8Ue5ob
)

Perhaps I missed it.  Which movie?

Jonathan



On Tue, Mar 11, 2025 at 3:27 PM Gordon Laco via Public-List <
public-list at lists.alberg30.org> wrote:

> So there I was…  in the later part of a project which sent me with a
> colleague to a tour of seaports in Europe starting in Barcelona and ending
> up in Marstal Denmark.  We were examining and interviewing sailing ships
> for use in a film project.  What a gig.
>
> We flew from Brest to London Heathrow, then took a train to Weymouth.  I
> was quite excited about this particular stop because aside from the ship
> there being particularly interesting, I knew squadrons of motor gun boats
> of the Royal Canadian Navy operated from there during World War II.   There
> is a video on youtube called ’Spitfires of the Sea’ which was shot in
> Weymouth during the war.  I was very pleased we were going to actually be
> there.
>
> We arrived and saw the ship.  She seemed perfect in size, condition and
> especially with regard to the very professional officers and crew aboard
> her.  We had dinner with the Captain and a representative of her owner…
> then we began walking back to our hotel.   Imagine the dark narrow streets
> of a very old English town.  We were both pretty jolly and also pleased… we
> thought we’d found our ship.
>
> As we passed a corner pub, my colleague said ‘hey Gord, let’s have a
> nightcap.’  We stepped in, sat down at a couple of high stools behind one
> of those stand up height cocktail tables and gave our order for a couple of
> Irish Whiskeys to the waiter.
>
> While waiting for the drinks, we realized two things.  One was that it was
> pretty obvious we were the only (relatively) sober people in the place.
> The other was that we seemed to be the only happy people in the place.
>  The drinks came, we paid, and agreed we’d knock them back and leave.
>
> Before I raised mine to my lips, an older woman came up to me.   She was
> missing many teeth, had bad breath in addition to stinking of urine, and
> basically looked rough.  She looked at me and said ‘Wanna dance?’   I
> replied ‘ah, no thanks’.
>
> At this she turned her back on me and shouted to the room ‘I TOLD-YA DEY
> TINK THEY'S TOO GOOD FER US!’  There was a grumble from the crowded bar.
> Everyone was looking at us.
>
> She staggered away and was immediately replaced by a muscular young man
> wearing what looked like a football uniform (English football).  It was
> filthy and torn.  He only had one shoe on, barefoot on the other, and his
> face and knuckles were cut and bruised from a recent fight.  He was very
> drunk.  He leaned over the table and said with great menace ‘Why doncha
> wanna dance wit da lady?  Why doncha? Why doncha?’   He was swinging his
> right fist at his side…
>
> I was just about to snatch my glasses off my face when suddenly the Sea
> Hag who’d first come up leapt onto his back screeching ’SO YER PIMPIN’ ME
> NOW ARE YA BILL!’
>
> The two of them crashed into a table, knocked the people at it over.  In
> an instant there was a huge brawl started. A chair flew and other people
> started piling in from other parts of the room.
>
> My colleague, the director of the upcoming show, grabbed me and said
> ‘LET’S GET THE F*CK OUTTA HERE!’    We jumped over the fighters rolling on
> the floor and ran out.
>
> In the street we were putting on our coats and my colleague said to me
> ‘Hey Gord, I think that’s the REAL Coronation Street in there!’
>
> Laughing we went back to our hotel and the next day took a train ride back
> to Heathrow flew to Denmark to see another ship.
>
> We gave the Weymouth ship a glowing report and the process of engaging it
> started… but it transpired that her British owners were only a front for a
> Russian ’sports management agency’ and they were not nice people.  I felt
> badly for the good people who sailed her but we had to disengage.   We
> ended up using PICTON CASTLE based in Lunenburg… yes she was right in our
> back yard so to speak, and was the first ship I showed them… but that’s
> movie making.
>
> I guess it’s not really a sailing story but it does have to do with
> sailing ships.
>
>
> Gordon Laco
> www.gordonlaco.com
> 705-527-9612
>
>
>
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-- 
Jonathan M Bresler
S/V Constance Alberg 30 #262
Annapolis/Eastport MD