Sailing On The Tall Ship Elissa In Galveston, Texas, With Carrie McAllister

Most of us spend our days on dry land within the walls of offices and our homes, but many of us understand the call of the sea. In this interview, Carrie McAllister talks about her love of sailing on the tall ship Elissa out of Galveston, and how it has given her confidence as well as adventure. I talked about my own tall ship sailing experience from Fiji to Vanuatu in episode 1, but Carrie found a way to sail in the same city where she works. You don’t have to go across the world to experience escape from your daily life. Sometimes you can find it close to home. Carrie McAllister is a neuropharmacologist and life sciences consultant. She’s also a volunteer crew member on the Tall Ship ELISSA out of Galveston, Texas, and an instructor in the Seamanship Training Program. And today, we’re talking about sailing and tall ships, in particular. Show Notes * What qualifies as a tall ship * What life is like living on a tall ship, both above and below decks * On Galveston’s humid climate south of the rest of dry Texas * The interesting history and restoration of the Elissa, a tall ship found abandoned in Greece * The best places for an introvert on a tall ship * The importance of emergency preparedness on a ship * Customs and language that’s specific to the sailing community * On the superstitions specific to sailing and sailors * Recommendations for good books related to sailing You can find the Tall Ship Ellisa at GalvestonHistory.org. You can also find pictures on Instagram #1877tallshipelissa Transcript of Interview with Carrie McAllister Jo Frances Penn: Carrie McAllister is a neuropharmacologist and life sciences consultant. She’s also a volunteer crew member on the Tall Ship ELISSA out of Galveston, Texas, and an instructor in the Seamanship Training Program. And today, we’re talking about sailing and tall ships, in particular. So, hi, Carrie, welcome to the show. Carrie McAllister: Hey, Joanna, thanks so much for having me on. Jo Frances Penn: Oh, I’m very excited. First off, tell us a bit more about you and how you got into sailing. Carrie McAllister: Sure. Well, first I have a confession to make. I don’t actually know how to sail a normal sailboat. A 205-foot-long tall ship, yes. But the little boats, I’ve just never done it. I didn’t grow up around sailing. I’m originally from Phoenix, Arizona, which is the middle of a desert. And maybe that’s why, but I’ve always been really just in love with water. Anytime we’d go to the pool, visits to California, I’m in the water, at the beach. I’ve just always loved water because it was never a constant part of my life. But sailing was something that I knew that people did, but it was never part of my experience. So, it never occurred to me that, ‘Hey, I could maybe one day go out and learn how to sail a boat.’ Then when I was about 10 or 11 years old, I read this book called ‘The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle.’ And the basic premise of the book is there’s this 12-year-old Victorian girl, very well-bred, and she sails on her father’s merchant ship across the Atlantic to join the rest of her family. With their circumstances, she ends up unchaperoned, completely alone in the middle of a crew that’s about to mutiny. And at one point, she sides with the crew against the captain and the captain’s like, ‘Well, fine.