OLD IRONSIDES

When Geri and I walked the Boston Freedom Trail on Sunday, October 23rd, we took a tour of the USS Constitution, nicknamed "Old Ironsides."  The ship is basically a component of the Freedom Trail.  It was in active service from 1797 to 1855 and is the oldest warship in the world that is still afloat.  It saw most action in the War of 1812 and has a record of never having lost a battle at sea.  But enough of history.

Tours of the ship are free and very well done, though you may have a wait and should be advised that touring the ship requires going through a security check.

The photos I took of the ship reflect some of the mistakes I seem to keep making.  I should have gotten at least one good shot of the whole ship.  Didn't do it.  Instead, I found myself taking photos of pieces of the ship.  Here is a shot of one of the life boats.

At least in the following shot I included the name of the ship.

The rigging on this sailing ship was truly impressive.  We were informed that it could take as many as 250 men to raise the sail on the main mast.

Here is a closer shot that I liked.

As we began our tour, I found myself taking photos of rope.  I must have thought there was something artistic in these shots, but they seem pretty mundane in retrospect.  The technical quality was pretty good, though.

The ship was in terrific shape, and the tour below decks was quite well done.  When fully manned, the ship had a crew of 450 to 500, which seems incredible considering its modest size, relatively speaking.

I did get a couple of good shots of the cannon.

And here are a couple shots of the sleeping quarters for the crew.

I'm guessing these hammocks are not original equipment.

Here is a shot of stairs between decks.  (They probably have some sort of nautical name.)

These photos were basically interior shots with not a lot of light.  They were taken at ISO levels of 800 to 1600.  I was happy with the overall quality.