The First Ship

The train traveled alongside the water slowly; the children who were sitting on the other side of the train had gotten up to be able to see the water. And Georg and Maria heard their comments.

From Marta they heard. "That's a lot of water, Frau Schmidt."

"It is dear but it's pretty."

And from Liesl who was looking down near the coast line, they heard. "The water's deep blue color changes to a green-blue near the shore."

Friedrich commented on the shoreline. "And I see beaches with white sand, others with lots of pebbles and some are full of rocks."

A few meters later the train had pulled into the train station and stopped. Here Father Wasner took charge. He stood in the aisle to speak to them.

"Everyone, we need to get off here and walk to the dock; it's not far."

The children were excited; they stood and were already in the aisle when Father Wasner reminded them.

"Children, no need to be in a hurry; the ship isn't going anywhere until we are aboard her."

"We know, Father. But we've never seen a big ship before."

"Then Friedrich, you and your brother and sisters are in for a big surprise."

And Georg was wondering if this ship would have any markings to reveal it was the Pope's ship. Setting aside his thoughts, he stood and took Maria's hand and helped her down the steps which had been placed at the exit door.

As soon as everyone had left the train, port attendants went on board and began to bring all their bags, trunks and Maria's guitar to movable carts. They went on towards the dock as the family took in their surroundings.

They followed Father Wasner. He led them on a path which was several meters from the water. There wasn't anything to see along the path. In about twenty minutes they saw a structure and Father Wasner told them.

"This is Fort Michelangelo. And yes that's the same Michelangelo who was the famous painter. He was an architect too. He completed the fort which had been started by a less famous architect, Donato Bromate. It was built to protect the city from pirate attacks."

"It's huge, Father."

"Yes, Louisa it is. It still looks the same as when it was built. We need to walk past it to get to where the ships dock."

Everyone walked quickly. As they rounded the far end of this massive fort they saw the port. And right in front of them was a ship docked in one of the port's piers. Although it had no name on it Georg knew it was the Pope's ship.

He knew all about the ship the British had built for his Holiness the Pope. The English Press wrote about her. He had read that she was, the beautiful armed steam yacht, the beautiful steam yacht the Immacolata Concezione. And Georg knew all about the eight bronze cannons she carried. He wondered if they were still on the gun deck.

Father Wasner's voice caught his attention.

"This beautiful ship is going to take you to Spain."

Georg hadn't expected Kurt to exclaim.

"Hey everyone, this is going to be fun."

Georg smiled at Kurt. "I'm glad you're excited."

"We all are," the other children announced. Maria made a comment to Georg.

"I didn't expect the ship be a sailboat."

"The ship is both a sailboat and one with an engine; that tall round tube is the tunnel for exhaust. And Maria, I need to tell you the ship may still have its cannons."

"So this ship was really built for war."

"It was. But this ship never shot an explosive from one of those cannons. The war was over before the British finished building her."

"I hope they won't scare the children."

"I don't think they will. I'm sure one of the crew will tell us all about them. We need to catch up to the others; Kurt's walking really fast."

The couple picked up their pace and everyone had a good look at the ship. The exterior was battleship grey metal. She had three masts; each one had four cross beams for the sails. Only Georg and Maria noticed the cannons protruding from openings in the side of the ship.

The group was greeted, not by the Captain, but by a sailor. They would soon learn he wasn't an ordinary sailor.

"Welcome to the yacht, the Immacolata Concezione, the Pope's ship. I'm Brother Paul. I want to have a good look at my crew. You need to form a straight line from oldest to youngest."

No one questioned him; although there were smiles from the children. They remembered the days of whistle sounds and straight lines.

Isabel was the oldest. She was flanked by Franz. And Georg stood next to him. Next in line was Max, Stefan, Phillip, Katia, Maria, Liesl, Friedrich, Louisa, Kurt, Brigitta and the youngest girls, Marta and Gretl were last.

"You follow directions well; you must be experienced in forming straight lines. I see the children are smiling.

"Now that I can see everyone, I will ask for volunteers to help the Brothers. I need a volunteer to help in the galley."

No one spoke. "Ah, you don't know the word galley, it means kitchen."

Katia raised her hand. "Signorina, you will be helping Brother James. He's already started to prepare our dinner meal.

"Now I need someone to help Brother Andrew keep the ship clean."

Isabel and Liesl both volunteered to help him. Father Wasner was assigned to Brother Peter who was their chaplain. Maria and Max had an assignment too; they were assigned to Brother John. Their job was to keep everyone joyful and happy by singing.

Stefan and Phillip went to help Brothers Simon and Bartholomew raise the sails. Friedrich was assigned to Brother Luke in the infirmary. Kurt and Brother Thaddeus were assigned to help the ship launch from the dock. Louisa was with Brother Mathew whose duty it was to ring the bell announcing their departure from the dock.

Marta, Gretl and Brigitta were all assigned to Brother Matthias in the library and game room; sailors loved to work on jigsaw puzzles or play Backgammon. And Georg received his assignment last. He would go to the Bridge and help the Captain.

"Before you begin your assignments let's go find your berths."

"Find our what, Brother Paul?" Brigitta asked for everyone.

"The place where you sleep, young lady."

Before leaving the top deck, they heard. "The first deck you will see on your way to your berths is the gun deck. You will see the ship's eight bronze cannons."

"Real cannons, Brother Paul?" Friedrich asked.

"They are real but they were never used. The war was over before she was launched. And she doesn't even carry any cannon balls."

And Maria and Georg exchanged smiles. Now everyone followed Brother Paul. Kurt stayed right behind him. The stairs were rather steep; but everyone managed to walk down them holding onto the handrail. They noticed the cannons as they walked to the stairs to the next deck.

There berths of all shapes and sizes were located for everyone. Friedrich and Kurt shared a berth with a trundle bed. At bedtime it was pulled out for sleeping. Another was in the shape of a V. That V was one bed and along the sides was the other two; it was perfect for Brigitta, Marta and Gretl. Liesl and Louisa shared one with rather narrow beds on each side. Similar berths were found for Katia and Isabel, Franz and Max and Stefan and Phillip.

Father Wasner had a large berth with a single bed. He knew this one was connected to the elaborate berth for the Pope. No one ever slept in the Pope's room. And Brother Paul had a surprise for Maria and Georg. There was actually one with a big bed for them.

And after making all the berth assignments, Brother Paul announced. "Report to your assignments; the ship is getting ready to sail. Those of you down below will be able to come topside as soon as all the sails have been raised and Louisa rings the bell."

For now, Georg left Maria and reported to the ship's captain on the Bridge. This was the place where the big steering wheel was located. And there also was an actual platform where one could stand and have a perfect view of the sea.

Captain Archibald Haddack was there to greet him.

"Captain von Trapp, welcome on board the Pope's Ship. Please address me as my friends do. I'm Archie."

"And I'm Georg."

"I'm sure you and your family are more than ready to be under way. Let me pipe the command."

Captain Archie put his boatman's whistle to his lips and gave the sound to commence raising the sails. Neither Stefan nor Phillip had been in the navy. Brother Simon explained what they needed to do.

"Gentlemen, your job is easy. All you need to do is keep the rope ladders taunt. We can climb them when they wiggle but when they're taunt we can do it much faster."

The two men breathed a sigh of relief; this they could do; although, they were inclined to hold their breath as the two men climbed to the very top to unfurl those sails first. After all the sails were unfurled, Brother Simon yelled to Brother Thaddeus and Kurt.

"Release the docking ropes and throw them ashore."

The wind had already ballooned out each sail. One could compare them to race horses the moment before the race begins. The sails were poised to race this ship towards its destination. And as soon as Brother Thaddeus and Kurt had released the ropes, several dockworkers gave the ship a shove. It was now headed out of the port. And Brother Mathew told Louisa it was time to ring the bell.

Everyone down below heard it and began to arrive on the top deck. They were in awe of the sight of the ship now. None of them had ever seen a sailboat. They were ready to enjoy this adventure on the Pope's ship.

And Archie spoke to Georg.

"I will need to maneuver the ship between the islands of Corsica France in the north and Sardinia Italy in the south through the Strait of Bonifacio. Once we are though it, the ship will be in the Mediterranean Sea and on its way to the Port of Gibraltar. Georg, you should return to your family and be sure everyone is doing well."

"Thank you, Archie. I will."