For Something a little Different but Just as Significant.

Boatyard volunteers just finished stacking
 old Bevin's Skiffs for transport to another film set.

 On occasion, this blog has mentioned, even endorsed the Volunteer opportunities open at the Low Country Maritime School. This organization, headed by Sam Gervais has  for several years, partnered with local schools to take on boat building projects as an applied education in numerous academic disciplines.  Students under tutelage
of Sam and the School's Residing Shipwright, Rachel Berquist, coach students thru the construction of a "Bevin's Skiff", a historic classic, period,  simple skiff that for generations was the working (also rigged for sail) fishing boat in the low country .

 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.

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. 

Brandon Clark, Perry Gervais and Sam Gervais
 complete the strapping down of the two
 bateaux for transport.

He actually completed them in around three weeks. On a recent Wednesday four of us volunteers teamed up with the LCMS staff to get them out of their stall and loaded on to a trailer for transportation to a launch spot for first sea trials before turning them over to the movie prop people for final cosmetic work to transform them back to the year 1865.

Volunteers Welcome the Schooner Denis Sullivan.

 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. 

Old Salt Volunteer Chris Sosnowski checks the path
 down the gangway one last time before
 bringing up the families.

Chris Sosnowski took charge of the dock keeping the gangway and near area clear of enthusiastic welcomers and organizing their safe orderly boarding when the word came.

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. 

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. 

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.