Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Thursday Thirteen - 116 - 13 Things About Travelling 25 Years Back in Time


1 - Setting the scene

Last week I told you the romantic tale of the first Tall Ships festival that came to my home port of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The year was 1984 - I was 19, my sister was 16, and a trek down to the waterfront to see the huge Russian tall ship resulted in my sister and one of the Russian sailors falling for one another.

We met the Kruzenshtern again when it sailed into Sydney Harbour in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Michelle and Rashid spent every second together, as if it were the last they would ever see of each other.

Because it was.

After writing to each other for two years, Rashid was drafted into the Soviet army and presumably sent to Afghanistan. Though my sister and I had obtained travel visas and were planning a trip to see Rashid in his hometown, political reality crushed their plans - and we never heard from Rashid after that.


2 - Fast-forward 25 years to 2009.

After living in Toronto for over a decade, both my sister and I returned home to Halifax. I'm now married and my sister is in a long term relationship with a truly wonderful man.

When we heard that the Kruzenshtern was due to arrive in Halifax this summer for the 2009 Tall Ships event, we knew we would go aboard her together - for old times' sake.


3 - Last Thursday, July 16th, all the ships arrived in port and I went down to the harbour front on my own to see them.

It was a heart-swelling moment when I first laid eyes on the masts of the Kruzenshtern high above Pier 23. And definitely bittersweet.

The route for the tall ships event included stops in Hamilton, Bermuda and Charleston, South Carolina - and between those two ports the Kruzenshtern lost the top half of the foremast in nasty weather.


In this 1984 photo, you can see Rashid waving to my sister from the middle yard, just to the right of the mast.


The part of the mast where he stood is now missing.


The remains are now secured on deck.


4 - On Sunday, July 19th, my sister and I drove over to Halifax, parked in the south end and walked down to Pier 23. Though the configuration of the docks has altered in 25 years, the Kruzenshtern was moored in the same basic area as it was when we spent all those hours talking to him over the side of the ship. Its immense size means there's only one real place it can be accommodated - where the modern cruise ships now dock.

Rashid once stood where that Russian cadet stood, at the bottom of the gangplank. That's how we met him in the first place. We just started chatting with him. Imagine.

Of course there was a line-up to get aboard. We had to wait for a bit, until enough visitors disembarked.


This is my sister once again boarding the Kruzenshtern after all these years.


5 - Surreal!


Talk about Flash-back City.


Everything on deck was just as it was when we were last aboard. Except for our missing friends, of course. Especially Rashid.


6 - Some things were exactly the same, but so many things were magically different. See where Rashid was standing in 1984? During the time when the Iron Curtain was in place, most of the Kruzenshtern was off-limits to the public. Only the central section of the upper deck was allowed to visitors, including my sister and me - even when we got secretly waved aboard when Soviet officials were elsewhere.


On Sunday we were allowed to roam the entire length of the deck, from stem to stern. This shot was taken from the same location where Rashid stood in the picture above.


7 - The flag that flew from the stern of the ship in 1984 was of course the red hammer and sickle of the Soviet Union.


This time it was the restored flag of the Russian Federation.


The traditional Russian flag was first flown in the mid-1600's, and was restored to use in 1991. After a 70-year blip, Russia is Russia once more.



8 - In the some-things-don't-change category: apparently I'm a big fan of salmon pink.

This is me wearing salmon pink capris, standing beside Valery in 1984.


And this is me wearing a salmon pink t-shirt, standing beside one of the ship's wheels this past Sunday.


9 - But you can bet there weren't any tables selling souvenirs in 1984. The evils of capitalism, don't you know.

This year, however, I bought myself a lovely baseball cap with a picture of the Kruzenshtern embroidered on the front, along with the name in Cyrillic script.


10 - In the knock-me-over-with-a-feather category: When the Kruzenshtern was here in 1984, the Soviet state was officially atheist. Although when the universe kept smoothing the way for my sister and Rashid to spend time together - when everything was stacked against them - the Russian sailors often pointed to the sky and indicated they believed God was stepping in.


But who knew this magnificent chapel was hiding behind water-tight iron doors aboard ship?


Just amazing.








11 - We'd never seen this beautiful carved bench before. But it looks old enough to have been already old in 1984.


It was up there on the aft section of the deck.


12 - The thing that touched us the most about this visit from the Kruzenshtern was seeing one or two Russian cadets free to roam around Halifax however they wanted.

In the Soviet era, they were barely allowed off the ship - and then, only in groups of a dozen or even twenty. Accompanied of course by official minders.

Not anymore!

Before we left the ship, we talked to an extremely handsome crew member - I'm serious. He was model-gorgeous. We asked whether there was a Rashid Kamalov on board.

We didn't expect him to be there - and he wasn't. Rashid was a cadet from a marine college when we met him, and the sailors aboard the current Kruzenshtern are cadets from the same college. But there is regular crew, as well, so we had to ask. Just in case.


13 - The Parade of Sail took place Monday, beginning at 12:00. Lucky for me - yes, really really lucky! - I work right down on the waterfront. And my lunch is from 12:00 to 1:00. I enjoyed the Parade of Sail with tons of other people. I love hanging out with the masses.

However, the Kruzenshtern is the diva of the tall ships, and didn't head into the harbour until I was back at work. I was quite down about missing her, but my friend Tracy raced past me on her way to see the ships at 2:00, saying, "The Russian one's going now!"

I asked one of the women from my team to cover my position for five minutes while I raced out and caught the Kruzenshtern making her majestic way along the harbour.


I knew it would take awhile for the ship to make its way down to my building. I returned to work for a bit, then asked my manager if I could high tail it back to the waterfront to watch her depart. Of course he said yes!

Here the Kruzenshtern follows behind the Cisne Branco from Brazil.


Goodbye, beloved.





Hope it's not too long before I see you again.



Here's a time lapse camera version of 2009's Parade of Sail.

The tall ships appear at the 1:20 mark.

When the fire boats turn on their spray at the 2:45 mark, the parade is officially underway.

The Kruzenshtern enters the harbour from the right at the 4:55 mark, and is seen best at the 5:12 mark.



Janet in Michigan says I am so happy to find one of you girls. Oh I can't believe how much you look like Aunt Sheila in the photo where I can only see your nose and eyes.

Hootin' Anni says Love the memories, and the time forward to today. Great idea.

Hazel says I must say my heart sank when I read - "Because it was." Can't help wondering where could Rashid be now.

24 comments:

Alice Audrey said...

Funny about the salmon pink clothes. I had a shirt that color in the same time period. My mother recently gave one just like it to my dd. I keep thinking it's the same one.

janet in michigan said...

I AM SO HAPPY TO FIND ONE OF YOU GIRLS---I SAW JULIANNE'S WEB AND SAW YOU BUT I COULDN'T FIND YOU. I HAVEN'T TALKED TO YOUR MOM SINCE YOUR GRANDMOTHER PASSED. I SURE WISH I COULD COME UP THAT WAY ONE OF THESE DAYS---IT WOULD BE A DREAM OF A LIFETIME. I DON'T HAVE A BLOG AS OF YET BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW HOW T START ONE, BUT I WILL VERY SOON. TAKE CARE AND I HOPE TO TALK TO YOU SOON. LUV YA JANET LANDRY-BOYD CHERRY53BOMB@AOL.COM

JANET IN MICHIGAN said...

OH I CAN'T BELEIVE HOW MUCH YOU LOOK LIKE AUNT SHEILA IN THE PHOTO WHERE I CAN ONLY SEE YOUR NOSE AND EYES, YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL AND INTERESTING SITE---I WILL KEEP READING. EMAIL ME SOON PLEASE.

JO said...

it's always good to go down the memory lane... it must have taken you quite awhile to write this meme.

Mine's up. Happy Thursday!

Americanising Desi said...

this was fun :)
loved it!

Click Here For My Thursday-13

Hootin Anni said...

Now THIS 13 was just too fun! Love the memories, and the time forward to today. Great idea.

I played ...come on over if you can find time to visit with me. I'd love your company. Happy Thursday.

I am Harriet said...

Interesting list and story.
http://iamharriet.blogspot.com/2009/07/thirteen-richest-americans-and-some.html

Hazel said...

I enjoyed reading your list as much as your last week's T13. I must say my heart sank when I read - "Because it was" can't help wondering where could Rashid be now. I like the christian images on board, and I think salmon pink is pretty.

Kailana said...

Great idea for a post, Julia! I enjoyed it!

Akelamalu said...

What wonderful, nostalgic memories for both you and your sister. Wouldn't it have been wonderful if Rashid HAD been on board! :0

MsSnarkyPants said...

How very poetic that the part of the mast where he'd been standing was gone. *sniffs*

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

Yeah, it's poetic that the part of the mast is now gone... but it's also sad.

And that chapel! Who'd have ever thunk???

poefusion said...

Hello Julia~ I'm so glad you and Michelle were able to bridge the past with the present, even if it were to just reunite with the ship. It's still been my favorite series of posts by you. I wish you all the luck in finding Rashid so you can close the final chapter of this story. Hope all is well. Have a great night.

Julia Phillips Smith said...

Alice - I like the color so much, I picked it for my blog background, too. Can't get enough of it, I guess. And I always think of red as being my favorite color.

Janet - ((hug))!! How on earth did you find me? But I'm SO glad you did!!

Jo - It did take my lunch break plus a couple of hours in the evening - but it's what I enjoy, so it feels like fun.

Americanising Desi - Thanks!

Hootin' Anni - Glad you came along for the ride!

Harriet - The whole experience was so incredible. I've really enjoyed sharing it with everyone.

Hazel - Perhaps with so many people thinking of Rashid, we might hear some news after all.

Kailana - I wonder if we passed each other down at the waterfront...? I'll have the rest of the tall ships next week. Just had to finish the tale of the Kruzenshtern.

Paige - So glad you popped by for the story!

Akelamalu - We had kleenex in our pockets, just in case.

Ms Snarky Pants - I'm wondering myself if that's a message to us about him.

Susan - Is it any wonder I'm a sucker for heartbreaky romance? And the chapel totally blew my mind.

Michelle - Thanks for following the story along with me. Reuniting with the ship itself was very soothing after all these years. But seeing all the freedoms these new cadets enjoy really made my heart sing inside.

Devilish Southern Belle said...

Wow, what a story! I love your sister's plaid capris, and think I had some just like them in 1984 :)

I got misty-eyed reading your jaunt down memory lane. I bet I'd bawl if I actually delved that deep into mine.

Thanks for stopping by my T13 post!

Shelley Munro said...

I enjoyed the tour. :)
LOL about the color salmon. I cling to my favorite clothes and I can be wearing them in photos several years apart.

Thomma Lyn said...

Wow, what a beautiful, poignant post. I got a lump in my throat reading it. And your pictures are a delight -- what a ship! And I, too, wonder what Rashid is doing now. Real life, as engaging as a great novel -- thanks for sharing! :)

jillconyers said...

Great story/T13!

Jen said...

What a romantic story and I loved the photos. I wished it would have ended with Rashid being on the ship, but I guess that stuff only happens in movies.

Funny about the salmon pink!!

Anonymous said...

Wow, that's so sad but cool at the same time. And you must love salmon pink, indeed -- your blog is the same color!

Amy Ruttan said...

Kind of bummed Rashid wasn't there. I was really hoping he would be. LOL!

Travis Cody said...

How wonderful to be aboard the ship again.

Anonymous said...

Здравствуйте, Юлия. Очень интересно было прочитать Вашу публикацию. Я был на Крузенштерне в том рейсе. Вот только очень сожалею, что ничего не знаю о Рашиде. Но обещаю попробовать узнать. А вот Валерия я видел чуть менее двух лет назад. Он сейчас ходит в море и живет в Калининграде.

Rashid Kamalov said...

Dear Juliа, thank you for the wonderful story about our meetings and for good memory about me. I carried in my heart warm feelings to Michelle and to you through all life. I am glad to know that you are well, we can email each other. It is so well you are here!