Exhibit puts you in Navy captain’s chair

"Left full rudder."

"Man overboard."

"Battle stations. Battle stations."

I was the admiral of my fleet recently at Odyssey Maritime Discovery Center in Seattle.

Thanks to Senior Chief Petty Officer John Trail, the harbormaster for Naval Station Everett, the bridge of the USS Charles E. Trail overlooks Seattle’s gorgeous harbor.

No kidding, you feel like you are standing at the hub of a Navy vessel inside the fascinating museum at Pier 66. Trail designed, furnished parts and rounded up fellow volunteers to create the bridge display.

Perhaps you’ve seen Trail’s ship bridge at the Children’s Museum in Snohomish County. The museum’s executive director, Nancy Johnson, said Trail brought the idea to re-create a bridge to the museum, did the design and worked with the staff to complete the almost year-long project.

"John is absolutely wonderful," Johnson said. "A lot of people come to us with ideas, but they don’t always follow through. John followed through every step of the way."

At the Seattle museum, a full indoor bridge is set up with real Navy equipment Trail salvaged from decommissioned ships.

Dials are illuminated. Buttons turn. The telescope works. Command someone below with a telephone. See a console with helm and throttle, binnacle and voice tubes.

And my favorite — sit in the captain’s chair.

It was too cool.

"For the projects I did in Everett and Seattle, all the material came from Bremerton," Trail said. "Other museum projects I did in Hawaii, for the Honolulu Maritime Museum, came from an inactive ship storage facility at Pearl Harbor, when I was harbormaster there."

He also salvaged naval equipment for displays at the Los Angeles Maritime Museum and the World War II "Victory" cargo ship in San Pedro, Calif.

Imagine donating that much time, considering his busy job. As Naval Station Everett harbormaster, Trail supports every Navy ship and visiting foreign warship and sail-training ships that dock from Northern California to the Canadian border.

"That means beans, bullets and black oil, Navy slang for food, arms and fuel," Trail said. "Plus everything in between.

"I also prepare mooring plans for all the ships that visit during Seafair and the Portland Rose Festival," Trail said. "I could bore you to death with the details."

The bridge at the Seattle museum, which will be officially commissioned in January, is a monument to volunteerism and to Trail’s father, who died in April. His dad, a 22-year Navy man, was a World War II veteran who, like most fathers, knew the answer to every question in the world.

"I’d ask him what it was like sleeping in a hammock," Trail said. "I could ask him anything. He died in the middle of this project."

Michael Bittner, executive director of Odyssey Maritime Discovery Center, approved of the Navy destroyer’s name.

"John asked me what I thought of using the name of a career naval enlisted man," Bittner said. "I indicated that I thought it would certainly help provide a human face to the efforts to create a naval bridge."

So the USS Charles E. Trail was born. John Trail’s dad retired as a chief. Six of his uncles retired as chiefs, and one as a lieutenant commander.

John Trail, 45, who was born in Virginia, said his love of naval history began when he served on the recommissioned battleship USS New Jersey and met World War II- and Korean War-era seamen, who taught younger sailors the ropes.

Trail said the older crew had their own salty nautical language. He’ll soon learn the language aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, where he will finish his career, then he plans to retire here with his wife.

"I like the weather, sea, mountains and trees," Trail said. "People are friendly here."

In retirement, I wouldn’t be surprised if he still promotes his passion.

"I want to teach the public about the Navy," Trail said. "How they visit foreign ports and repair orphanages. The public never sees that. It goes on all the time."

Trail said he builds ship displays for every nameless sailor who stood the watch, fought the fight, with no recognition.

The USS Charles E. Trail honors one of those remarkable sailors.

Columnist Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451 or oharran@heraldnet.com