After almost 10 months in shipyard at Thunderbolt Marina, GA, Spirit of South Carolina cast off Friday morning, 20 February, at 0730,, following a TowBoat US tug, down the Wilmington River to Wassabaw Sound.
Captain Andy Hudak was in command. An experienced schooner Mariner, Capt Andy was on board for a second try after the aborted attempt the previous week for insurance issues. This time he brought along his daughter, Gray, on a high school break, who immediately laid in with the Volunteer crew.
Volunteers, Bryan Oliver, Eli Bundy, Nate Mack, , already a veterans of the previous attempt, and Gray formed the Volunteer Contingent. Todd Cole, who was onboard for the first attempt, couldn't quite make it this trip, driving in from Atlanta, given the short notice
Capt Heath Hackett, the Project Manager, joined by three large motor yacht captains/systems specialists, and, of course, Hunter, made up the rest of the crew of 10.
Crew all drove in late the previous evening, in time to find a berth, throw in their gear and themselves with it. Muster would be at 0700, about the same time that the Towboat US would pick us up and guide over the bar. The ship herself was already sea-stowed and ready for sea, from the previous attempt, only needing to disconnect shore power, and cast off dock lines.
And we did just that, after a breakfast Hunter put together of scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage, muffin selections. All hands piled on deck, pulled shore power. Bryan assigned volunteers to dock lines who took them in with help of the tow-boat captain waiting on the dock. Capt Andy did a tight 180 degree maneuver in middle of the ICW channel to point her southward, and we were off.
Weather was predicted to be fair, with a less 10 knot NW breeze on our beam as we headed up the coast. It would stay that way until our left (NW) turn into the Charleston Channel, when the wind would be on our beam
Excitement was already in us, since Andy announced his attention to set sail-all of it (Foresail, Jumbo, and Jib), once we made the outer mark of Wassabaw sound. He might have had second thoughts given our small crew, had he realized that Spirit of South Carolina carried another 500 Square feet more of foresail, than Harvey Gamage or most other schooners of similar rig.
As we motored down the river towards the Sound and open sea, Heath lead his team of Engineers on a tour of the ship, and her systems, particularly bilge pump operation. After wards, Bryan oriented the hands on the standard disciplines of boat checks, managing the rough log, and disciplines of standing watch.
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| Bryan demonstrating a flat coil on the foresail sheet. |
Immediately following boat checks orientation, the crew rehearsed the drill of "dressing the Foresail"-preparing the sail for raising by casting off gaskets, running aft the halyards, coiling down the gaff vangs, downhaul, and foresail sheet.
As Spirit of South Carolina approachedd the turn around the outer marker, Capt Andy directed Bryan to "Dress the Foresail". At approximately 0930, we rounded the outer marker and set a course of 060 degrees up the coast. Bryan shouted down the deck, "Hands to set the Foresail".. Capt Andy walked forward and divided crew across the throat and peak halyards, while he "called sail" and managed the weather gaff vang. Next he quickly explained the sequence of the sail set evolution and the commands they would likely hear. Bryan had mentioned to him the additional weight of 500 more square feet of canvas the foresail was carrying, heavier than the typical schooner foresail. With that in mind, Andy explained his tactic for belaying the peak halyard at some point and sending all hands to the throat halyard to sweat it the rest of the way up the mast. Once made fast, all hands would then line up on the peak halyard and sweat it up the rest of the way.
Once the Foresail was fully set, sheeted in and drawing nicely on a beam reach, I pointed up, and shouted out what they'd just accomplished. I won't lie to you-for a second there, I enjoyed the amusement of our motor yacht sailors, hands on their knees, gasping, and exclaiming. It took a bit for them to gaze up at the sail.
Once they saw their result, to their credit, together, they readily jumped into the next tasks. We set the jumbo, and the jib, in quick succession, they learned to sweat the line, take the line to a pin, coil and hang, then looking for other tasks. We were quickly forming a crew.
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| Eli and Gray leading the way to lunch |
With all sail up, trimmed for a beam reach we shut down the engines and experienced for the first time for many of us, no sounds except creaking of the boom and gaff jaws around the mast, some rigging stretching, and blocks clacking. With seas less than a foot, there was no additional background music was waves breaking, but it was cool enough.
Hunter announced a lunch buffet of sandwich makings in the salon, Capt Andy organized the crew into 3 watches, six hours on and six off, beginning after dinner at 2100.
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| Eli not quite ready to relinquish the helm |
As dusk approached and Hunter called Supper was ready, I was slightly surprised, that Capt Andy hadn't yet called to take in sail. Conditions, had remained nicely consistent, and forecast to remain so, but on our previous attempt he explained is plan to take in sail at night and resume motoring out of an abundance of caution.
Hunter performed his usual magic on his shoestring budget, laying out a Chicken Teriyaki, rice and green beans dinner. The watch was officially set at 2100, and we were still under sail. The night would've been perfect if not for hazy highy cirrus starting to obscure the otherwise well-defined star constellations. It remained that way all night as we sailed on thru all three watches until approx 5:30 AM as we approached the Charleston Sea Buoy. Being off watch, I decided to dress up, hearing muffled clomps of feet across the deck, scraping of a block along its horse.
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| Capt Heath easing the Foresail Peak Halyard |
On deck, most of the crew was already on deck, just to help, and were standing by to take in the Foresail. All sail came down in sequence, interrupted by occasional fouling of a line that required clearing before the lowering could resume..
All this executed, in pitch black night, of course except for occasional headlamp with a volunteer/motor yacht pick-up crew, of widely divergent levels of experience. Youngest crew members, Eli, ands Grey, in harnesses and gaskets draped over their shoulders, scampered out into the head rig disappearing in the darkness, to lash down the flogging jib, way out on the pointiest end of the ship.
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| Capt Andy at Sullivan's Island Light off starboard -final approach into the harbor |
Dawn, and 0730 we approached Sullivan's Light. Bryan was point out to anyone who would listen, the spot 3/4 mile NNW of "red 14 buoy", the site of the Hunley sinking.
By 0830 we approached the Maritime Center and bore off onto wide circle that would slowly takes us within 200 yards where Capt Andy, assisted, coached by two of the motor yacht Captains would slowwwly drift down onto the dock, alternately burping the starboard, then port engines to maintain her optimum stern-first angle of to the dock as we edged closer. I could overhear Capt Dave standing next to Andy, coaching on finessing each engine, tweaking here and there to slowly push her closer. Now our Volunteers on dock were identifiable. Ken Follett, Doug Hartley, Christian Lawyer, and Dave Brennen, had already responded to Nate's Texts the previous night, that they would be available to take lines.
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| Nate Mack directing securing of his #4 dock line |
20 yards off, Nate Mack heaved the # 4 line over, as Christian hauled the dock line in and took it over a cleat, Gray, made a perfect toss of the # 2 messenger line across the water where Dave grabbed it and dragged aft to secure initially on a piling. Next, Bryan tossed #1 over the dock, nearly hitting the boat on the other side. Ken grabbed it and dragged it towards the south end to get it onto a piling,
Finally, Trey, one of Heath's Captains, tossed over # 3. For the next five minutes, Andy played throttles, warping back and forth to gradually line up midships with the gangway opening. All lines adjusted off pilings to cleats, fenders stuffed in between the hull and the huge rubber "yokohama" blivets; crew turned to rigging up and running out the gangway. Nine months in shipyard work had thoroughly discombobulated the pinrail arrangements, creating minor confusion looking for boat falls to hoist the gangway.
That completed, dockside volunteers joined crew onboard to help harbor furl the foresail and jumbo.
As the last few bits of deck tidying up, Bryan went below and returned with an object. There's a story behind it.
It seems, that once a few weeks back when the schooner Harvey Gamage was still here, Heath was on board conferring with her Captain. He had related this conversation to me, about how he was for two hours, standing on this guy's "pirate ship" working out some details.. "Pirate Ship?" I respond feigning horror, and sadness at, once again, the impression of these beautiful vessels reduced to the stereotype of a Disney movie prop. Well, I couldn't just let that go.
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| Captains, Dave and Trey, look on as Bryan awards Capt Heath his "Pirate Ship Operators Manual" |
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