For the past four years, a multi-colored Volunteer T-shirt has been available. Due to the absence of any Volunteer Operations Budget, those T-shirts have been available only for sale at cost. Those shirts will still be available at the same cost of $20.
Spring Break? Race Week? Something was competing with our Volunteer Day. Again this week, just four of us mustered Saturday morning. with another four we could've easily sent over the small boat to exercise her engine, test her new patch, and inspect the schooner's hull for next maintenance projects. As it was, all we could do was evaluate the excellent patch job done last week by Tony Marchesani and Walter Barton. A totally custom job, made challenging by the leak's proximity to a high seam, and a deep convex surface at aft end of the boat's starboard pontoon. All indications indicated she was holding nicely,, a professional looking job too!
But with just the four of us, Tony, Walter, Nick Swarts, and Bryan Oliver, we were left to the last pre-shipyard down-rig project: overhauling, two-blocking, and and stowing the remaining running rigging tackles below in the forecastle. It took spud wrenches, marlinspikes, a 28-inch adjustable crescent and most of a can of Breakfree to loosen the 10-year rusty nuts from their shackle bolts. Finally, both the mainsheets transom turning blocks, and quarter-tackle blocks, along with their gasket-coiled lines were labeled and handed down into the forecastle berth until someone else in shipyard was ready to hand them back up for scuffing sanding and oiling.
All but Nick and Bryan were left after Lunch. ..Fine with Nick who laid out six fathom length three-strand ropes, worked on fine tuning his knot speed tying techniques. By 2pm Nick announced he was ready to take on the Bloom 6-Knot Challenge; six knots completed to a standard in 30 seconds. Bowline, Round Turn-2 half-hitches, Figure-8 stopper, Slippery Reef knot, Highwayman's Cutaway, and Sheetbend.
Nick was now the first Volunteer to attempt the Challenge after Carin Bloom first took on the Challenge at the Georgetowne Wooden Boat show in October and started the ongoing Challenge for all deckhands. If he met the standard, he would be the second name, under Carin's to be engraved on the plaque now displayed in the Saloon.
Skeptically, Bryan watched Nick arrange his six different ropes out in front of the Fife Rail, all laid out without any bights or loops that would facilitate a "head-start." Bryan explained the rules. He would start the stop-watch as Nicks hand touched the first rope, and stop the watch as Nick dropped the last rope. Each knot would be inspected according to the standards of the Crew Manual and Ashley's Book of Knots.
Nick reached for the first, and in one smooth movement effortlessly worked the round turn and two half-hitches, an impressive start. The second- highwayman's cutaway again a seamless effort, looking promising. the third, on the figure-eight stopper knot Nick took an extra pull. So far he was on track, at just under 18 seconds. His fourth, the sheet bend, a supposedly simple bending of two different rope ends, created a few seconds confusion, the fifth, a slippery reef knot, perhaps the most complex, was smooth, but required an extra tug. By now the stopwatch was approaching 38 seconds. As he finished his bowline, and dropped it, the time stopped at 45 seconds..
Frustrated, but not disheartened, we retraced each of his knots, identifying where time was lost, and where his technique faltered. Un-phased, Nick insisted on trying again.. This time he dropped two seconds off his previous time, but on two knots, continued to falter. After one more try, we called it a day. We agreed on some conclusions.. the Challenge is reachable, but quickly weeds out the careless, and punishes those who have not mastered the intricacies of how a particular knot works,, the kind of insights at over centuries, master mariners have absorbed with experience that enables them to instinctively choose and work the right knot, under any conditions.
Here's hoping more volunteers step up too. The Six-Knot Challenge is worthy of bragging rights, beyond our Schooner.
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| SSV Denis Sullivan in Charleston Harbor last year. |
On the schooner's visit this past week, arriving Monday afternoon, 7 April, Denis Sullivan was able to gain a berth by "rafting up" to Spirit of South Carolina for three days. Denis Sullivan acknowledged the support from Spirit's Volunteers, by offering the opportunity for volunteers to sail with their crew to Savannah-Thunderbolt Shipyard- a 21-hour overnight passage.
Five Volunteers accepted the invitation. On Sunday afternoon at 1300, Bryan Oliver, Walter Barton, Nicholas Swarts, Sam Sablotsky and brother Levi Sablotsky climbed aboard Denis Sullivan, and joined the crew for which, all but one, would be their first ever off-shore passage aboard a traditionally rigged schooner. Total souls on-board numbered 12.
As the last of us boarded and stowed our gear into assigned bunks, the Mate mustered volunteers on deck for a deck orientation and assignments to the station bill-for Fire, abandon ship, and Man Overboard.
Around 1400, Capt Flansburg directed his mate to begin taking off docklines. "From the get-go", Captain and crew demonstrated the next level of sailing seamanship. As last lines were cast off, with volunteers laying on the halyards with the rest of the crew, the Fore staysail was set, followed by the Foresail and Mainsail. Thanks to a slack high tide, and a light westerly breeze, Denis Sullivan sailed off the dock. The Captain didn't bother to fire up the two diesels until we were in the channel southeast bound to Ft. Sumter. While there was a light favorable breeze, the modern-day necessity of keeping our schedule required a speed over ground (SOG) of at least 5 knots or more.
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| Nick Swarts, 1st of the five volunteers to take over the helm |
Passing through the Jettys, the Mate, assigned watch positions, with B watch set at 1500. Captain Flansburg relaxed his watch discipline a bit due to the short duration of the voyage and proximity to the coast. He didn't require a Lookout forward; that role fulfilled by the quarterdeck. Bilge checks occurred once during the watch, not once an hour. Otherwise, Volunteers took turns at the helm for an hour, and hourly taking the ship's position and plotting it on a huge chart below in the chartroom.
As we came abreast of Redbuoy #14, the Capt directed new course of 215 degrees, roughly paralleling the coast approximately 9 miles off-shore. The sea state remained at 1 foot, with apparent wind on our nose at approximately the same speed as our SOG, no not much help. The function of our sail set became more for stability-less rolling than actually powering the ship.
At 1600, the watch changed to begin the full four-hour set. Capt Flansburg led the watch with deckhands, Autumn, Sofia(Engineer), and Volunteer Bryan. Bryan started the watch on the helm for the first hour, to be relieved just in time as supper was being prepped. Originally, our own Ray Krugger had agreed to come on board as Cook for the passage. However, he'd been preempted by a higher priority and had to bow out. That left the crew, with a pantry and larder full of left overs for the remaining 2 days to Thunderbolt. No worries. Sofia found six frozen pizza's and baked them to perfection, making up a huge salad to go along, and a pitcher of passion fruit/lemonade punch. Volunteer Walter's donated bag of fresh brownies topped off the event.
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| Sam Sabotsky and brother Levi at Supper |
As A Watch took the deck at 2000, the expected full moon had not yet risen. Sky was still cloudless and stars started to appear. Sea state was calm, less than a foot high, winds so slight the apparent wind remained on our nose just filling the sails for stability. For the evening, Capt directed dousing the Fore staysail, so we remained under Foresail alone.
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| Bryan's view of his guide point steering towards the Sea buoy at Wassaw Sound |
By sun-up, Denis Sullivan was approaching the Sea buoy for Wassaw Sound where we would round well to the south, then steer north up into the sound, and the Wilmington river. Our speed had been slowed to just over a knot or two, to better time our arrival at the Wassaw sound bar, and high tide. Those on deck strained eyeballs gazing to the east at the anticipated sunrise and possibility of sighting the split second green flash as the sun's upper limb first cleared the horizon. But wasn't to be.
Breakfast spread was an interesting melange of everything left in the fridge and freezer., of which there was plenty.. left up to the diner's imagination.
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| All luff hanks cut, foot robands loosed, the staysail hangs loosely before being laid out on deck. |
Now the Mate directs laying out of docklines. We'll be docking bow on, and port side-to. on a low floating dock, and remain there for the shipyard project, no hauling out needed. The major project of unstepping the bowsprit would be accomplished from that location.
Volunteers retrieve and help bend on heaving lines and set all the sausage fenders off the port rail as low as possible. Capt Flansburg eases the schooner off the ICW channel into the fairway, then a hard left, slowly into the slip, ghosting to within two feet of the dock before sending lines over. Within the next five minutes, the schooner is made fast, double lines sent over, finished with engines.
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| Sam, Levi, Walter and Nick at final Muster. |
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| Denis Sullivan's crew, Sofia, Capt Flansburg, Hunt, Methven, and Autumn, Jeremy's Fist. |
As things wind down, casual conversation between crew and volunteers leads to offer to send anyone interested up the foremast. The offer is immediately taken up by all the Volunteers.
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| Nick just back down a step after slapping the trestle trees above him. |
Salley Davidson, Walter's sister, is waiting with transportation to get volunteers back to Charleston, so most load up. Bryan is hanging back to wait for Chris Sosnowski , due in at 1500 to pick up stragglers.
Every one is cleared and safely home 3 hours later, with a few bragging rights.
On Saturday, the 12th, only three volunteers mustered on deck, but it was enough to take on the one salient project needing to be done, soon...which was the repair of our Small Boat. The prior week, Bos'un Bryan had purchased the correct rubber patching cement kit, along with squares of rubber patch material. While Bryan Oliver disappeared below to start prepping for his part in educating 35 Charleston Collegiate Students next week,
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| Toy shows off his plan for clamping and pressure-plating the patch ( out of site below the corner) |
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| Walter applies a second clamp over the two opposing wood pressure plates covering the patch. |
The project entailed an intricate sequence of scraping, sanding, roughing both surfaces; followed by an even covering of adhesive allowed to become tacky, thus starting the placement of the patch, even pressuring it all over the subject leak area. This latter step was awkward, given that the seep was in the apex of a rounded end of the boat's pontoon. Some Ingenius use of c-clamps, and soft (rotte) plywood that curved to the shape, enabled the even pressurization all over the patch. With that done, all left was for the patch area to cure for seven days before removing. |
| Boatyard volunteers just finished stacking old Bevin's Skiffs for transport to another film set. |
The Society has recently expanded their curriculum to the finishing of Remote Control racing sailboat kits. Additionally, the Society leases out it's stalls to different boatwrights for their own projects. I, myself have taken advantage of this by leasing out a stall to restore my "Beetle Cat" to proper trim.
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| Perry Gervais gets his first look at one of Colton's new "old" water craft. |
Well, one of the regulars with a semi permanent construction site here is Colton Bayne, a respected Shipwright in his own right, happens to be the son of Mark Bayne, the Shipwright who build Spirit of South Carolina. Colton accepted a commission by a group of film producers to build a pair of authentic "Bateaux" .
These would be fully working props for a documentary film around the African American contribution to Maritime commerce in the low country. Bateaux (French for "boat") were built by enslaved African American boatmen. Simple, functional, they were perfectly suited as fishing boats or cargo carriers between the plantations up and down the coasts to Charleston.
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| Brandon Clark, Perry Gervais and Sam Gervais complete the strapping down of the two bateaux for transport. |
Tuesday Afternoon about 1800 hours.
The Sailing School Vessel Denis Sullivan, eight days out of St Croix, with a crew including about 14 Ashley Hall students, arrived in Charleston Tuesday, at 1800. Originally scheduled to sail, and arrive here on the 10th, Capt Chris Flansberg made the decision to make all propulsion available to get into Charleston ahead of the large weather front. Denis Sullivan made it by about 3 hours. If you'd been tracking on Shipfinder, MarineTraffic, or some other AIS tracker, you'd have noticed they were averaging about 9.7 knots most of the way.
Denis Sullivan has become a regularly twice annual visitor to Charleston on her way back and forth from her summer cruising grounds around St. Croix. Capt Flansberg has been Mate, and in command of Spirit of South Carolina in 2016, so is familiar with the ship and this port.
Six Volunteers mustered aboard Spirit of South Carolina in time to take lines and assist Denis Sullivan's crew in rafting up next to us. Waiting on the dock and observing the whole process were about fifty Ashley Hall student family members.
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| Old Salt Volunteer Chris Sosnowski checks the path down the gangway one last time before bringing up the families. |
Nick Swarts, Lance Halderman, Dale Maxwell, Ken Fonville, and alum, Michael(Adam) Reed , lined up the length of Spirit's port rail to take heaving lines as they came across in turn, from Denis Sullivan.
Captain Chris Flansberg, in command, working with his Mate, Mak, and Bryan Oliver on Spirit's deck, expertly warped the ship back and forth, shifted lines over directly to the dock cleats, finally softly nudging the big green schooner close on, padded with eight fenders.
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| Dale Maxwell and Nick Swarts finish lashing together the two gang planks spanning the two ships. |
Now the crew shifted to readying the gangway, lowering a foot to align with our deck steps. Maxwell and Lance brought aboard two salvaged aluminum gang planks to stretch across the space between the two schooner's cap rails.
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| Dale, Nick and Ken Fonville, ready to assist Ashley Hall families over the rails to welcome home their daughters. |
With all in place, Chris Sosnowski began sending shore visitors down the gang way. Nick, Swarts and Maxwell, and Ken Fonville helped them cross over the gang plank and safely onto Denis Sullivan's deck and a reunion with their daughters.
Denis Sullivan is scheduled to depart Charleston Sunday at 1300 for Thunderbolt Marine in Savannah. Capt Flansberg has invited Spirit of South Carolina Volunteers to join the passage as guest crew. Five of us have volunteered for that experience.
