Shanghaied!

"Dear Ma and PaThe ship has set sail for Oregon to rebuild the city. I hope Nana, Nona and Papa are doing great and I have a few stories..." Deckhand Crew Member Phoebe

"1906, April 22Dear Mother and Father,As you have heard, I have been taken on a ship...the Captain calls it "being shanghaied." The people seem nice, except Mr. Llyod, he is the first mate and is in charge of discipline. You may be wondering, 'how did I get tricked?'...Well...we (notice I said WE) followed this "Mr. Hawkins." He told us that there was a ship we should see. So we followed him and he gave a sheet. Now at the time I had no idea what this sheet was and really did not care, but now I realize that I was signing a very important document.I miss you soooo much,Rigger Crew Mate Charlotte"

"Mr. Hawkins told us of the Joyful life onboard, and the fine pay.  Yet, the second we set foot on the ship I knew we had been shanghaied.  We were forced to work on the ship with the strict first mate, Mr. Llyod and the not completely sane cook/doctor Onion. (Who became Princess Onion under circumstances I will get to later).  The only thing that stopped this voyage from being a complete nightmare was The Captain.  He was firm but kind." Ronan Rigger Crew."Then on the poop deck a man look and said in a stern voice, 'Whats this!' Hawkins walked up at the front of the line. 'Sir, you said you needed a crew,'  said Hawkins.'Not little childern!' said Mr. Lloyd, 'You are all green but we are going to turn you into sailors.'" Deck Hand Mate Sadie"My first day of work on a ship was hard. We even swabbed the decks, which I, personally, think is the coolest job on this ship." Quartermaster Crew Member Jonah "My group was with Onion our first task was to swab the deck.  Swabbing was fun but getting the water was hard because the buckets full of water where super heavy and they splashed all over us." Gita Quartermaster Crew"Today was fun but tiring! I loved all of the acting and the characters! My favorite character was Dr. Onion! My favorite thing I did today was raising and lowering the dory, eating dinner, and washing dishes. I liked my day!" Boat Crew Member Soleil "I got the job of the boat crew and had to lower and raise the dory and did the dishes every meal." Roman Boat Crew"My experience here was challenging but also fun.  The sky and the breeze are so calm.  I can hear the ship saying stuff to me. It sings me lullabies in my ear.  I hear the seals singing shanties. I love this a lot.  I love the Balcutha." Deckhand Mate Sadie"We had to raise and lower the ensign and kept bell time." Pheobe Deckhand Crew."We just got fired from a boat. I'm so glad it was awful. The oatmeal  was soggy. The bed’s were hard as a rock. And the blanket's thin as paper." Lily Deck Hand Crew "The job of the rigger crew is to raise the bosun's chair and assemble the block and tackle." Charlotte"The sea gulls are crying. The boat is groaning. The sea lions are yowling. The water is flowing, a cool night it is." Rigger Crew Mate Charlotte."The Balclutha will dock in Oregon soon.  I am going to escape then and come home.  I have to go now because my break is over, so goodbye for now.  I am looking forward to seeing you after I escape." Boat Crew Amiya"Then we needed to raise Lisa on the bosun's chair and tell her what to buy us and give us. This was the fun part." Boat Crew Member Roman"We put Lisa on a swing high in the air and demanded lots of things in the end we got most of what we wanted." Quartermaster Crew Member Gita"When the voyage was done, we sang and said Farewell." Boat Crew Member Soleil