Probably my several years in the Sea Scouts up on the Chesapeake Bay helped get me selected as a crewman. My plan was to do the trip around the world, then get back on the railroad. But blue water sailing was even more fun than working on the railroad (though the railroad paid a heck of a lot more!). After the Romance voyage, I went on to work on other square rig and traditional schooners, then onto 'regular' sailboats, motor sailors, private yachts, etc. over the decades ever since (but always sail, no power boats).
I never did get back to working on the railroad, but if I sailed anywhere there's train service, I'd go take a train trip! Now I've 'thrown my anchor ashore' (literally, the anchor from my last paid yacht job is hanging on a tree in my front yard!). The walls, floors, and ceilings of my house are covered with souvenirs & photos of the many places I've been and the boats that took me there. It's been a grand journey! Many, many thanks to the Kimberly's! Cheers! Bob Wallace
Freight trains, not passenger trains. I had found out about this little square rigger going to sail around the world. That sounded interesting, so that Summer I did one of their '8 days Virgin Islands cruise' and found out more about the world trip. I thought I could take off from the railroad, do the world trip, and then get back with the railroad. It was going to be my life's career as far as I was concerned! The guys I worked with thought I was crazy: "you're going to work on a boat and not get paid, but you have to pay THEM?!"
Anyway, sailing around the world was even more fun than working on the railroad! So I never got back to the railroad, and just stayed with sailing! Ended up doing 2 more circumnavigations ('83-'85 and 2000-2005) as well! I still remember sitting on the deck of Romance at night in St. George's, Grenada, wondering 'what have I got myself into. I had the best job in the world.'
But I think I made the right choice. Otherwise I probably would have a Georgia wife, some bratty Georgia kids, a Georgia accent, and become adept at bass fishing! (and probably go on a vacation to Florida: "Wowee! Look at those big sailboats! I wonder where they're going?!"). Uh, no. I think I chose well! Cheers! B0B
I just found your "Brigantine Romance" website and I love it! I was a lowly deckhand on the circumnavigation of '75-'77 and cherish the memories. It was a fantastic trip! I had been in the Sea Scouts so I had a basic knowledge of sailing and the knots and stuff but that was my first blue water experience. I quit the best job, my life's career as far as I was concerned: I was(and still am) a train fan and I was a trainman for seaboard coastline railroad working out of Miami. I had 2 1/2 years seniority and quit to go sailing! My fellow workers thought I was crazy. "You are going to pay to work on a boat?"! That was the start of a long career at sea.
I am still sailing now. After a few years on tallships and schooners (Pride of Baltimore, Lindo) I moved on to private yachts and now am on my 3rd circumnavigation! I was engineer on a 94' ketch that was then donated to a whale research organization. I stayed on and am now on a round the world voyage studying sperm whales. Look us up on the pbs website to see what I am up to: pbs.org and click on the "voyage of the odyssey".
I am in Darwin, Australia presently and the "Picton Castle" has just passed through. Her captain is Dan Moreland who was the mate on Romance's '75-'77 world trip as well as long-time crewman on their Virgin Islands tourist trips. I haven't seen Dan since '86. Also, on a chance meeting on the dock here I met Doug Hazleton, a crew member from the '68 trip to the Galapagos. We had a grand time trading "Romance" tales! He is running a boat slowly making its way around the world, left the Caribbean 6 years ago!
A question I have, Gloria and one of the mates, Randy Jones, did a lot of filming with bolex 16 mm movie cameras. Did a film or video ever get put together of the world trip? I have written the Kimberlys in past years but they never said.
Again, thanks for a great website. it gives the Brigantine Romance proper credit and respect.
Bob Wallace
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