EVERETT – Johnny Depp made living at sea look fun in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies. But talk to Alex Marts of Seattle and he’ll tell you something different about the life of a sailor during the 1800s.
“They had the worst food,” Marts said. “They were usually wet, and they slept among the cargo.”
Marts, 16, is a crew member for the Lady Washington and the Hawaiian Chieftain, two sailing ships modeled after 19th-century vessels.
The Aberdeen-based Lady Washington appeared as the Interceptor in the first “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie.
The ships are docked at the Port of Everett until Sunday. Dockside tours of both are offered daily.
Landlubbers with a yearning for open water this weekend can take part in sunset sails or mock sea battles.
The sea battles, complete with cannon fire, are offered Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. Sunset sails are tonight and Saturday at 6 p.m.
Tyler Tanta, 6, visited the ships Wednesday afternoon with his grandparents, Dennis and Sharon Couch.
Dressed in his finest swashbuckling attire, Tyler kneeled near the Lady Washington to have his picture taken. The captain’s cabins were his favorite.
“I really like the cabins,” he said. “They were like big libraries.”
Tyler’s grandparents said their tour of the Lady Washington also was educational.
“It’s a great opportunity to learn about sailing and life aboard a ship,” Dennis Couch said.
Crew members man the decks of each ship, ready to offer guests tales about sailing and what it would have been like to be at sea for three years at a time.
As education coordinator, Marts is full of interesting tidbits about the history of the ships and what a sailor endured at the hands of the ocean.
Marts decided to make sailing his career after taking three years of lessons and volunteering with the ships. He left high school a year early and got his GED.
“I eventually want to get my captain’s license,” Marts said.
The life of a crew member is still difficult even in modern times, Marts said. Galley duty and swabbing the decks begin at 8 a.m. and the ships sail until 9 p.m.
But it’s all worth the thrill of living on the high seas, he said.
“That’s what I like about it,” Marts said. “You’re at the mercy of the sea. You have no control.”
Reporter Jasa Santos: 425-339-3465 or jsantos@heraldnet.com.
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