Bonus Points for Esmeralda

It was truly unfortunate that the 370-ft Chilean tall ship Esmeralda didn’t arrive beneath the Golden Gate Wednesday morning as planned, because the weather was absolutely stunning on that clear, sunny morning. That said, there was almost no wind.

By contrast, when the four-masted sail training vessel finally did arrive yesterday morning, a heavy fog shrouded much of the Bay, but there was a steady 15-knot breeze blowing through the Gate — an ideal velocity that allowed this Latin beauty to fly all 21 of her sails. In our book she gets ‘bonus points’ for that.

It was unfortunate that more local sailors couldn’t have witnessed her arrival and watched her 300 cadets swarming up the ratlines to furl tops’l and course sails while en route to her Pier 27 berth. If you’ve ever had to go aloft while your boat was underway you’ll have some appreciation of what it would be like to balance yourself on one of Esmeralda‘s yardarms — the highest of which is nearly 150 feet off the water — while using both hands to furl a sail. The ship will be open to the public today and tomorrow (July 22-23) from 2 to 6 p.m., with her departure set for Sunday at 3 p.m. Check out the ship’s website for details.