The Haunted Boat

Submitted by Lisa H.

This all started at a media launch party held on a San Francisco pier. After a free beer or three or four, we saw some people from the party getting on a boat parked nearby. Being drunk, naturally, getting on this boat we knew nothing about seemed like a great idea. A group of us from the party ignored the quiet alarm (or doorbell?) that sounded when we walked on and ran around marveling at how much it was like "Life Aquatic" and admiring the large wooden helm.

We ran into a guy who said, "Hey, dudes, I live here! Come party with me." He showed us a room that had been used for a Halloween party the night before. It was full of mannequin parts covered in red paint, meant to look like a dismembered Kiss-like clown. In the glaring lights, it just looked fake and weird. Then our host took us to the engine room, room with the helm (again), and the living room deck filled with '70s couches and containing a full wine rack, which was like something out of "Pirate Radio."

Earlier, when we were too drunk to comprehend it, we saw a handful of people climb up to the crow's nest. "Hey, look, some people went up there, whoa!" And "Hey, they're still up there!" But as we sobered up, to three of us at least, it started to seem like a good idea.

The only way up to the crow's nest, about two or three stories above the third-floor, was a narrow ladder. In the middle of this narrow ladder, a taut rope connected to some other ship part was attached. Half way up, there's another pole running through the middle. Then, the crow's nest has no entrance or door — you just have to climb over the rail. We could see the ballpark even better, all the buildings downtown, and the Navy aircraft carrier holding the Blue Angels.

Then we had to figure out how to get down. My friend put on his Dad hat and told me we would be just fine, getting down is easy. Once we were safe on the deck, we had a big hug of post-panic relief. "Oh my God! We made it! That was CRAZY!" Please, no one else try anything like that.