The People

Tall Ships

Captain Paul DeGaeta. He may be grinning, but he knows there's a blow on the next day. We ended up in the right place at the right time. Good job, Cap.

Paul DeGaeta and Kip Files co-own and operate the Victory Chimes.

The two agonized over acquiring the ship for quite some time before finally deciding to buy her. One factor that compelled them to proceed was the fact that one of the few potential buyers was a Japanese concern who wanted to turn it into a restaurant, thereby loosing the historical value of this well used vessel.

Paul credits the former owners, Domino's Pizza, with the good condition of the ship. They spent a lot of money restoring her and fitting her out for passenger service while still retaining her sense of history.

Paul is quite knowledgeable about military history and has amassed a collection of military artifacts that he displays in a museum in Florida where he winters as a writer.

Some of the crew. From left to right; Julie, Steve, Jeff (First Mate), Kurt, and Robert (Second Mate). Not shown are Pete (deck-hand) and The Galley Goddesses; Meredith, Sarah [Maine], and Sarah [Idaho]. I learned a lot from these people. Good journey...and many thanks.

Julie had just earned her stripes in therapeutic massage and is bound for Hawaii to crew on a steel-clad tall ship.

Steve was selling his car in preparation to crew on a yacht bound for the Caribbean shortly after leaving the Chimes.

Jeff had just bought a small sailing cruiser and was anxious to get in one more trip before the season ended and he started refitting her.

Kurt was actually a paying passenger. He and Robert had crewed together before and he was hoping to apply to crew on the Victory Chimes next year. Kurt has a degree in Marine Biology and currently works as a HazMat chemist in Texas.

Robert is a 'land man' in Texas when he's not crewing. He and Kurt are in the enviable position of being able to do sail training on the square rigger 'Elissa'.

Sarah [Idaho] was heading home for the winter and hopes to be out of the galley and working the deck next season.

Pete will be crewing on the 'Nathaniel Bodwich' next season, another schooner out of Rockland.

I have no news on the plans of Sarah [Maine] or Meredith, the cook, but if they're still aboard next year, I'm sure they won't mind seeing me charge into the galley to bear a hand.