Volunteers, We Happy Few, Save the Day. No, Really!

 No new news as of today regarding the status of  Spirit of South Carolina in Shipyard, but I hope to visit, tomorrow, Wednesday, but Saturday at the latest. 

This past weekend however, unexpectedly turned out to be both productive and exciting.  In my last email blast, I believe I alerted Volunteers that the 3-masted schooner Denis Sullivan would be stopping in Charleston, on her way to start her winter programs in  the Caribbean.  By last Friday we'd narrowed her arrival to this Sunday around Noon,, High Tide, to catch the slack current. 

Turns out that she was arriving under command of a different than normal Master, Sean Flynn, with a crew that included 14 "Guest Crew" from the Midwest, most who had been involved in the schooners construction and operations on the Great Lakes. 

As part of my welcome communications to Denis Sullivan's Port Captain, I requested that she inform the Captain that the Yokohama's at the face dock they expected to occupy were in disarray, and practically useless as fenders;  should be prepared with fender boards to spread across the dock pilings.  Meanwhile I contacted a few stalwarts to rustle up any that could help take lines Sunday at noon.  Walter Barton, Lance Halderman and David Reid responded, and we all mustered on the dock in time to see Denis Sullivan approaching from the south where she had anchored over night. 

 Between Peter Kinslow, the Dockmaster on shift, and myself we were communicating with Capt Flynn aboard the schooner.  He was rightfully a bit wary. While we still enjoyed a slack tide, the ENE winds were gusting into the teens kicking up lots of chop, and creating a more difficult maneuvering situation for the schooner, who was hoping to tie up starboard-to, but facing a river current and  gusty breezes wanting to push her into those pilings.  An added frustration; Two large Yokohama fenders(huge rubber cylinders floating horizontally)

, strung together on a pole were floating uselessly out of position on the south end of the face dock;, their northern tether having broken loose several weeks ago, leaving the string to float out and stretch south with the tide, held only by a chain bridle around what before had been its southern end. 

 Using a combination of VHF and finally our cell phones, we discussed the situation with the Yokohama's, and specifically what it would take, in the way of water-borne towing strength to pull two thirds of the Yokohama string back into position and secure it.  Denis Sullivan promptly sent over her larger tender-a center console Rigid. Walter, released the line holding the loose end of the yokohama string and dropped coiled line into the tender's bow. The Coxwain made it fast to a center cleat and gunned the engine in reverse pulling the loose end of  the errant two-yokohama string in a large arc out away from the dock, and back into position in the center of the dock where Bryan had been wrestling the single  yokohama back into its correct position.  Within minutes Bryan secured the two-yokohama string along-side their proper pilings.  Lance with a boat pole struggled to keep the huge hard rubber yokohama fenders centered on their pilings while David and Walter creatively bent tag lines on both ends of the Yokohama's to stabilize their position on the pilings long enough for Denis Sullivan to ease up along side.  Bryan stood up from his last stopper knot to look out into the harbor towards Denis Sullivan, and pulled out his cell phone.

But Noooo,,,  While we finished our last tagline lashing,  Peter was yelling for our help. A 70-foot sloop, "Heartbreaker" only 50 yards out had suddenly lost power, while edging towards the Maritime Center Harbor entrance.  Now she was our of control, in danger of drifting into  the entrance and colliding with any of the three huge catamarans' docked inside. A lone Boat US tow was approaching, but had insufficient power to do anything but slow or stop one end of the huge yacht at a time. 

As the "Heartbreaker "was now only 25 feet from the face dock drifting closer, Peter, shouting at the sloops' skipper, and me, we shifted gears to :rescue mode. Bryan called for a Spring line which proved too short to reach the cleat until Peter appeared with an additional rope from somewhere, bent on a sheet bend, adding another 15 feet enough to belay the sloop from slipping back south and into the harbor entrance.  Next a bow line came over; Lance and David,  in turn catching lines and getting them over the nearest cleat they could reach, primarily to stop the sloops drift and allow the small Boat US tug to push her along the face dock, finally centering on those 3 yokohama fenders we'd worked so hard to restore not 20 minutes before, for Denis Sullivan's benefit. 

Meanwhile, Denis Sullivan had been quietly circling out in the channel watching their berth slowly fill up with a huge injured yacht.  A three-way phone discussion and shouting across the water with the tow boat revealed that , the yacht would have to remain at this berth until weather moderated, and a second towboat was made available to pull "Heartbreaker" off the dock and nudge her southward onto the fuel dock.  Meanwhile Denis Sullivan was constrained to find a spot and anchor, again, overnight when hopefully conditions would allow Heartbreaker to vacate their berth. With one last phone conversation with Capt Sean aboard the schooner, Bryan arranged to come back Monday afternoon, same noon time to catch slack tide. Hopefully, the broken sloop would have been herself towed away to a more appropriate berth to trouble shoot her engines. 

Monday, Noon, Steady rain, winds gusting 15 knots,,  Bryan walked down the dock to where The sloop, Heartbreaker was preparing to depart under the care of two Boat US towboats where were rigging tow lines to nudge  her towards the face dock. Christian Lawyer, Shift Dockmaster and Bryan together cast off all eight of Heartbreaker's dock lines.  No sooner was Heartbreaker cleared away, Denis Sullivan sloww-ly ghosted into position 50 feet off the dock, with hands standing by to toss heaving lines.  

Like Clockwork, Capt Flynn shouted out his planned sequence to Bryan and Christian standing by to take lines.  First, #2, spring line leading aft to stop the schooner's forward drifting and pull her bow closer.  Next, #4, Stern quarter line; Bryan caught the well thrown over the shoulder heaver, furiously reeling in the heaving line to reach the heavy looped end of blue nylon hawser, and drag it the twenty feet, around two pilings to the northern end of the face dock, slipping the loop over the huge steel horned cleat, and shout back, "Number Four is ON!" Meanwhile, #1-Bow line, followed finally by #3 spring line are  quickly sent over where an additional  Denis Sullivan deckhand has stepped off of the push-boat, and helping.  Heaving lines, their clove hitches taken off the hawsers, quickly gasket-coiled and thrown back onto the deck. Christian, and the schooners engineer, spend another 20 minutes trying different pedestals, then different power cables before finally joining the right combination. Capt Flynn directs crew to rig up their own gangplank but expresses interest in Spirit's gangway as an option.   So Bryan explains the complexities of Spirit's gangway, and manages expectations including the diligence of constantly monitoring the gangway once rigged up, to maintain a safe, useable platform as the tide cycles up and down... 5-6 feet.   Capt Flynn eye's the configuration for a moment, then nods. Bryan departs to go home and dry out.  

On Tuesday afternoon, with a high tide, Bryan will drop by the dock to check on the Dory, and look over the schooner.. Sure, enough. Spirit's hand-railed gangway is rigged up next to Denis Sullivan's, plank,  and is stretched nearly vertical to clear Denis Sullivan's cap rail.  "Welcome to our world.."

Slow Start at Shipyard

 And,, we're back.

 For the past three weeks, I've been offline, reflecting and recharging by focusing somewhere else.  In this case, a journey back out west, thru Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma, visiting old family spots and doing some sports shooting on the family land in Beckham County, OK. I'll let you google that one if you're curious.

I'm returning to find that not much has changed regarding Spirit of South Carolina. A Coast Guard inspection team was on board last month, and provided it's own to-do list-no surprises there.  Shipwrights that are both qualified and available have been identified The final estimates of work, just to make her floatable again (not yet evaluated the work required for her rig.) has been nailed down and is being, or will be shortly presented to Mr. Baker.  So, actual work has not yet begun. 

Volunteers do have access to the ship for on-deck projects. As shipwrights begin their work, there is, in my experience, always need for additional hands to help out, and in that process, useful skills to be acquired.  As I learn more about the project plan as it unfolds, I'll be able to share more details.

Meanwhile there's still a To-Do List here:

The Dock's Yokohama Fenders must be realigned and secured. It will require five hands, a power boat, and about 2 hours to fix. Look for an email, or SignUP Genius with proposed dates and times, Saturdays.

The Schooner Denis Sullivan will be docking here beginning Sunday 24 October for possibly a week, before proceeding south for the winter. Her presence promises some help opportunities for volunteers.

Our Dory has been neglected.. To remedy that issue, we'll organize  two or three orientations sessions at the dock for no more than two hours, on rigging, launching and safely sailing her as well as rudimentary maintenance.  She's accessible for recreational/training use by any Volunteers who will have completed an orientation session  described above. 

Field Trips to Shipyard:  I'll be driving down to Stephen's Towing where Spirit of South Carolina is "on the hard." We'll be taking off small amounts of gear/items best stored elsewhere, or for training use. Anyone interested in tagging along may contact me thru a SignUp Genius slot as I set up a trip. 

The Yokohama Conundrum: We Gave it a Good Shot

 We knew Saturday's project would be a challenge. Only three of us signed up to help. We really needed five, but we decided to go for it anyway.  "It" was the problem of repositioning three large Yokohama rubber fenders to stay stationery against their assigned dock pilings, as the changing tide and river currents forced them out of position.  Those fenders properly positioned, protected Spirit of South Carolina, and any other sizable vessel using that dock, from bouncing directly against the several vertical dock pilings.

The three giant Yokohama fenders had bees floating uselessly in and out of the pilings of the face dock at the Maritime Center for over a year. In 2023, high wind and wave combined to force two rafted-up schooner's hulls against them, snapping in two places, the connecting telephone pole on which the Yokohama fenders were strung. Since then they were kept from floating off only by a combination of chain and salvaged rope.

Bryan Oliver showed up Friday to scope out the different angles of the problem and assess tools and other materials that might be required to properly secure the huge solid rubber cylinders in place.    Saturday promptly at 11 am, Ken Fonville joined in, as Walter Barton motored up to the face dock in his small center-consoled skiff, motoring from the landing on the Wappoo Cut.  With no one else signing up, our success was going to be iffy. The good news was that we had great weather and tide/current conditions.  The rain forecast had moderated such that we would not expect anything except light sprinkles.  The tide was just peaking at high, so water current was slack, the the whole Yokohama string was reachable from the face dock. 

It would not be an easy fix in the best of conditions.[I'll do my best to paint the picture.. There wasn't an opportunity to take pictures ] We were looking at a combination of five different lines, and two submerged chains, that needed to be managed,, eased, and tensioned. 

Two Yokohama fenders  in a fixed string, were bridled by a chain around a piling at one (south) end of the dock. The end of this chain bolted to a telephone pole segment, on which two Yokohama fenders were spaced out. The two fenders were still attached together with the correct spacing, but the other end of that telephone pole extending out the opposite end with its chain remnant would prove to be too short to reach completely through the center of the third yokohama. and another pole remnant which was chained to a piling at opposite end of the dock.  This chain would prove to be too short to allow it's pole to  reach thru the third yokohama and connect to the two other fenders, forming one long string of three yokohama fenders. 

The easy part was sending down from the dock  five salvaged auto tires to string onto the pole remnants strung between the fenders.  But then it became complicated.   After three attempts, we were unable to force the north-end-waterlogged pole back thru the north fender, sufficiently to connect with the chains of the other two.  Two more sets of hands would have helped manage all the simultaneous pulling, pushing, levering, and prying  As it was, we secured each Yokohama fender next to it's piling, sufficient to keep it there as the tides changed, connecting with 1/2" rope to close the gap between the north fender and the two linked ones.  Hopefully, around mid October sufficient volunteer hands can muster to finish what we could not today. 

The Project begins its early Stages for Spirit of South Carolina' Her Home Dock gets organized. Celebration in plans.

 Last Wednesday, two of us volunteers, Dan Maurin and myself, joined up with the crew at the Lowcountry Maritime School, Boatyard to continue the build of the Penobscot 13. Dan was in a steep learning curve since we were in the midst of shaping one of the lapstrakes; each one individually sized shaped, planed, and beveled over several iterations to complete a perfectly aligned fit over the lower plank. In that one exercise Shipwright, Rachel patiently coached us in several techniques, tools, and PATIENCE, in flat-planing out a perfectly faired curve, with a constantly adjusting edge bevel along a 13 foot (earlier scarfed) 1/8" marine plywood plank. 

Dan is running a straight edge along the stringer
 and the plank above it to identify high edges
 that he'll return to plane down, ensuring a
 flat contact of the new plank with the stringer
 and the plank above. 

Next session we'll proof up our handiwork one last time, then taper out the bow-end over about 10 inches to make the plank fit into the stem, the overlap on the lower plank disappearing  so that it lies flush with the plank under it. An astounding appearance when you look at it.   But you had to be there.. Actually you can be there!  Wednesdays at 4:30 pm for a couple of hours.  A few sessions with Rachel will up your fine carpentry game significantly.

Saturday, 20 September saw the lightest Volunteer Turn-out in almost a year, just Bryan and Ken Fonville mustered together to finish the reorganization and clean-up of our dock. I'm hoping it was the out-of-character shift to 2pm -to-4pm, or the 13 knot breezes that would've discouraged our latest attempt to launch Dory.   As it was, Ken and I made the last loads to the dumpster, secured our remaining hardware behind the bicycle fence, and then turned to the planning of this coming Saturday's final resolution of the Yokohama Fender arrangement. As a last thing, Bryan and Ken laid out a 100 ft length of the 1.5 in diameter dual braid donated by Ryan Smith, then seized an eye into one end while Ken whipped the opposite end. That line would be used to temporarily, or maybe permanently secure the yokohama string in place while setting up the more permanent chains.

Last week, Capt Heath Hackett alerted Bryan that a Shipwright from the Mystic Seaport Museum would be coming aboard on Tuesday to assess/evaluate and draw up an estimate of the work needed. Bryan met them, around 11 am, where they were already engaged in poking, and marking up worm-damage areas at the stem. This time, the work/rot damage was more pronounced than 3 years ago, and oddly enough limited mostly to the port side-the side predominantly exposed to wave action from the harbor side. 

Spirit of South Carolina with her Scaffolding/gangway
 for getting aboard.

We spent approximately 3 hours exploring all aspects of the hull exterior, before climbing the scaffold to the deck and climbing down into the lazarette, the forecastle and chain locker, and finally rudder, to assess any level of penetration. 

Many questions were asked.. Capt Heath and Bryan had learned many lessons from the shipyard experience 2 years ago.  Scott, the shipwright offered several scenarios, and possible approaches, depending on the recommendations of the shipwright (TBD) who would be taking on the project. 

Shipwright, Scott and Capt Heath
assessing situation at the Rudder Post

As we dispersed,  it became obvious as to the length of time our schooner would likely be facing in this shipyard.  Capt Heath was promised his estimate by end of the week, which he would use to start searching the wharfs and old shipyards for an available, competent Shipwright,  and start sourcing timber, planking mostly, which could take several weeks or months, due to the special specs for viable ship planking.. not as simple as you might assume.  

Not yet firm, the Schooner's rig, including the un-stepping of her masts, repair/replacement of components, assessing conditions of sails, plumbing, electrical components of power plant, navionics...,all separate skill sets. 

Some of those projects can benefit from skills at deckhand level, i.e. Volunteers.   

We will be standing by as all this unfolds

Comments  and responses are welcome.. 

t

Spirit of South Carolina is Settling into the Shipyard Environment ; Volunteers Face Two Projects and some fun on the Dock.

 Well!  It's been just five days since Spirit of South Carolina departed for Steven's Towing on Yonges Island. As of today, she's been lifted out of the water and secured on huge block pilings, waiting for good power-washing of her hull to clear away barnacles and other crusty stuff, and to better expose any compromises to her bottom, specifically, rot, or teredo (shipworms) that plague wooden hulls in southern waters. 

Traditional wooden ship Shipwrights will likely be consulted for their advice on resolving issues, ranging from small, scraping out and sealing, to cutting out and filling with a "dutchman" a wood piece custom designed to fill the gap, or finally pulling whole-sale, rotted/damaged planks and replacing with new.  

Other issues, electrical, mechanical, rigging, plumbing, carpentry on deck and below, may be assessed and remediations scheduled for on deck, or waiting  until she returns to the water. One significant project in 10-Year Shipyards will be the down-rigging and removal of her masts and headrig; a Coast Guard requirement every 10 years-hence the name.

Typically, in the Tall-Ship- world, volunteers, when available, would swarm the deck to advance much of these projects, supervised by shipwright and rigging professionals. See the ShipYard Photo Album by clicking on the tab above. The project scheduling and supporting labor needs are still in planning. 

The Shipyard is a serious industrial site which follows the OSHA rules for safety. Everyone(including volunteers) crossing from the front office into the Yard must be wearing an approved Hard Hat, and steel-towed shoes. The Volunteer Grant funded by US Boating America (Sail and Power Squadron) is funding the purchase of approx five hard hats for volunteer use once the go-ahead is made to come aboard. We will need to coordinate the funding and transportation to and from the Shipyard, which is about an hour's drive from the Maritime Center.

For your curiosity, and getting a sense of what goes on, I composed a photo-album of our schooner's past shipyard activity, from Newport in 2015(a 10-Year Shipyard), skipping one in Belfast Maine,2017, then Thunderbolt-Savannah, 2019 and 2022.  This current Shipyard Project will mark her second 10-year cycle.  It's in the Banner Heading of Topics at top of this page.

Finishing UP Two Projects on the Dock

Now that Spirit of South Carolina has left the dock,, The mess of Yokohama Fender arrangement has been exposed. Now is our chance to fix the mess once and for all. With help of Walter Barton's smallboat, a few tools and hardware we can restring the pole and chain assembly to center the yokohamas on the pilings without slipping off due to changing tides. Given calm seas and clear weather, the effort should take no more than two hours.

The second project can go concurrently,, or not.. being the straightening up the dock area itself,,, carting off to trash some, storing away others for salvage or sail, the moving and securing of our gangway off the tourist heavy area and closer to the fenced-up hardware area.  

Finally,, for fun, it's  time to launch the dory and give her some exercise,, set her sail.  Interested Volunteers should signup for a time, to gather for an orientation to ensure safe boat handling, accounting for and good stewards of her rig. With advance notice Volunteers may take her out any day, any time between 0800 to 1800. 

Sign Up Here.

.

Lowcountry Maritime School offers Volunteers a Traditional Wooden ship maritime community and skill sharpening venue

 So, now that Spirit of South Carolina is in Shipyard, pending the appearance of the plan for her, how do we volunteers keep our hands in the game, and our enthusiasm for these ships alive?  

Volunteers finishing touches on Charles Sneed,
 the Yawl boat built for Spirit of South Carolina

LowCountry Maritime School is proving an excellent fit for Volunteers  waiting for Spirit's shipyard project plan to be made known, as well as our part in it. LMS Mission is similar to that of Spirit of South Carolina.  Director Sam Gervais envisions young students completing their LMS projects to naturally migrate up to the larger skill maritime opportunities offered by Spirit of South Carolina. And so we are looking at concepts that will synthesis, in a word, out goals and efforts into something mutually beneficial.

In this one sense, LMS offers an environment for Volunteers thru boatyard building, restoration, and maintenance to sharpen the inherent skills there, but to stay involved in this traditional wooden boating community, which has a larger footprint in the low country than you might imagine.  

Boat Day on Colonial  Lake

Their active period has begun with start of the school year, where they'll be at a number of middle schools with tools, materials, stories, and teachers to use their math reading and other skills to build a floating operational Bevins Skiff.  In between that work, the staff, and volunteers have been building a Penobscot 13, as well as working some other projects.  

Sam Gervais and family taking a tour around
Colonial Lake in this Spring's LMS Boat Day

 

Volunteers meet Wednesdays from 4:30 to 6:30 PM at the LowCountry Maritime School boatyard on 

1230 Pherigo Street in Mount Pleasant,, a block off from Red Drum Restaurant.

Sign UP here,  

or..

 email/text Brandon Clark at LMS that you'd like to attend.

Brandon Clark

843-324-1979

Spirit of South Carolina's Next Phase is Here!

 By the time I get this published, Spirit of South Carolina will have been resting peacefully, fendered-up against a huge barge at Stephens Towing Company (Shipyard) on Yonges Island since Thursday afternoon the 4th of September. 

She had been brought there by a hastily recruited Pick-up delivery crew of professionals and Volunteers, on less than 18 hours notice.  

Yours truly was informed late Tuesday afternoon, and requested to, from a standing start, organize what volunteers could be reached, and react;   2 hands on the dock to take off the gangway and cast off dock lines, and a few more on board to take in lines and send them out again once arriving at the destination.  The directive was not to publicize this event, i.e. no standard email/text blast to 100-plus Volunteers, and see how many could respond, then select the most able-bodied. It was a quick reaction drill that none of us really wanted, but-there we were. If you ever wondered why the Volunteer Attendance Log exists, this is why.

On getting his marching orders, Bryan contacted the delivery Captain, Andy Hudak to coordinate efforts and get his plan.  Capt Hudak was well acquainted with our Schooner having delivered her back to Charleston in 2023 from her previous shipyard. Other old volunteers might remember him from the times he Captained the schooner Harvey Gamage during her port calls here in Charleston.  Along with Capt Hudak, Dave Gugliatti, a Charter Captain/Engineer/second license holder came onboard to inspect, monitor the engines and electrical power, and work the throttles. Also coming aboard would be Sam Gervais, Director of the Low Country Maritime School.

 So, Bos'n Bryan sent out some hasty text and voice mails to the most likely available, and sufficiently capable volunteers to take on this delivery. No time for training-up.   So, starting with the most recently active volunteers, based on logged hours and demonstrated competence, Bryan started texting. Ken Fonville, and Walter Barton quickly responded, but could only be present to get her off the dock. They would take charge of the gangway and casting off the nine dock lines. Lance Halderman, and Maxwell Dale, happened to be on their "weekend" during a cycle break as instructors at the Naval Nuclear Electronics School. They would be able to join crew as deckhands for the delivery.  

The plan was to cast off between 0700 and 0800 to catch favorable tides both, outbound for speed, and inbound over the bar off the Edisto Inlet, and.. before the Shipyard closed for the day. Since she was completely down-rigged, she would be motoring the 46-mile route out past the jetties, down the coast, and up the Edisto River/Intracoastal Waterway to her destination, to be hauled out and begin her long- anticipated every-10-Year Shipyard Phase.

Capt Andy jumps the gap to
take a shore-side look at dock lines
before the crew arrives at 0700..

All mustered promptly around 0715 in the morning. A technical Diver had arrived on site to check out our situation below the water line, later surfacing with positive observations.   Lance had brought along some unexpected but welcome help, his friend Kyra, who had come aboard on several previous volunteer days to earn some deckhand skills. That brought our total complement on board to seven souls - a barebones crew. 

Bryan assigned tasks, and things started moving fast.  While Capt Dave  disappeared into the Engine room to check out what worked and what didn't. Dock lines singled up. Ball Fenders reset to orient on the pilings. Water hoses unhooked and coiled. On the dock, gangway steps were cleared way, as well as space for stowing the gangway, which was next, Ken and Walter deftly unhinging, lifting and swinging the inboard  edge all the way inward

Ken Fonville sends off the schooner while
he and Walter secure the gangway on the dock.

swung off onto the dock. Un-necessary open hatches secured for sea. Capt Hudak directed taking in dock lines according to his predetermined tactic to manage an ebbing tide current.  

By 0815 we were pointed down the North Channel and Ft. Sumter

 Sam Gervais in overwatch, Capt Andy on the helm,
 Dave G. adding reverse throttles to clear the
 bowsprit  off the dock while Kyra
 and  Maxwell coil dock lines. 

On the way out of the harbor, and pretty much the entire passage, there was no wind. The sea was like glass. Our colors  on the transom and on the spreaders hung limp. Cloudless sky.  Temp high enough to feel the heat, but not yet oppressive. Water  bottles filled from the on-deck orange jug, just before, fortified by 3 pounds of bowl-frozen ice.

Just beyond the Jetties, Capt Hudak slowly put the helm to starboard, swinging us around the Red 17 channel buoy and onto a southwesterly course down the coast. There was nothing left to do but enjoy the remaining 5 -hour motor cruise to the North Edisto inlet, then up river to the shipyard.

Bryan broke out the Six-Knot Challenge bag from the rope locker and arranged six  one-fathom ropes. on the fife rail, and invited volunteers to a little practice.  Maxwell got serious with it, and after three rounds, reduced his time for the six knots to 35 seconds. 30 seconds for all six knots made to standard will get his name on the Brass Plaque in the saloon.  He and Nick Swartz are both in striking distance of that distinction. 

An unannounced excitement occurred when a Coast Guard Patrol Boat rapidly approached from our stern, hailed the schooner to prepare to be boarded. Turns out it was a random Safety Inspection. The "Coasties" in this department were required a quota of on-the-water contacts to inspect, as we were literally the only vessel in sight.  The inspection was quick and efficient, and they were off.  

In another hour, Bryan brings his Mark 25 sextant on deck, and a few try their hands at bringing the sun down to the horizon for a shot, with a promise from Bryan to compute a line of position, sometime in the coming week.  One by one, crew goes below to build a sandwich or wrap for lunch with fixin's brought aboard by Capt Andy. While not setting a watch, Capt Andy made sure that each hand took a turn at the wheel.  We'd been averaging between 8 and 9 knots under power, so making better time than expected.

By one PM, the schooner turned up to a Northwest bearing, motored over the bar and into the Edisto River. In another hour and a half, followed the curve and northerly fork that became the Wadmalaw River.  Now we could make out the yellow crane on the horizon that marked our destination. .At 1445 hrs, fully an hour earlier than predicted, we slowed back, put out fenders starboard side, and ran out dock lines.  Stephens Towing Project Manager Dagin Clark met us at a huge barge where we would tie up. On questioning, his plan was to lift the schooner out in slings either Monday or Tuesday.. After that..?

Lance Halderman receives his recognition
 for surpassing 100 Volunteer Hours.

One last event before disembarking:  Bryan had been sitting on it for four months, but now the time was right to award Lance Halderman his pin, marking 100 Volunteer hours in supporting the schooner. 

By 1530 we'd off-loaded our personal gear, secured hatches and disembarked. Rachel Berquist appeared next in the LCMS truck to take off Sam Gervais and Maxwell.  Old Salt Volunteer Chris Sosnowski  had been alerted to come for us, but not for another hour  so we idled in the very comfortable lobby of the Shipyard.  Right on time, Chris appeared and the remaining five of us piled into Chris's classic 1998 Lincoln for the hour-drive back to the Maritime Center. 

So, Why the short notice? It would've been great to throw a Volunteer Bon Voyage party on board just before her departure.  But, in reality the chance of that happening turned out remote.  Heath Hackett had predicted this sort of situation awhile earlier, described all the moving parts that had to be synchronized for this event. a Delivery Captain had to be found for the short time window. The Shipyard had to identify a time window to accept us. Initial funding had to be secured for the shipyard and costs of professional delivery crew: (Captain Hudak and Dave Gugliotti). All those dates and situations had to come together like the tumblers in a padlock. It ended up taking months for that to happen, 

But here we are. the next phase we'd hoped for is here.  There will be calls for volunteer time to support Spirits shipyard projects, likely to last weeks to months.  There's stuff that needs to be taken care of at our dock so we'll organize some volunteer day(s) to gang up on those. and... There Will be a Party. 

Watch this channel for news, and instructions for signing up.  

Stay tuned.

Yokohama Fenders Corraled, but not tamed.

 I've you've been following this thread over the past few posts, you know how Volunteers have been puzzling over, experimenting at, and making several attempts at restoring the three huge rubber Yokohama fenders to their purpose, protecting the wooden  schooner from slamming against the vertical pilings of the fixed face dock where she's been docked since  before 2014.  

The Yokohama's became a problem a little over a year ago, when high winds, and pressure, snapped in two places the telephone pole on which the three fenders were "strung', and arranged across the pilings.  Subsequent attempts to restring with combinations of rope and chain have partially failed, leaving the large fender-barrels stuck uselessly under the docks or trying to float free of the docks with each outgoing tide.  

The problem is complex because these floating barrels, no longer restricted by a linear "pole" axis, must be controlled individually.  Their restraining lines must be slack enough to allow the fenders to stay in position at low tide.  At high tide, those taunt lines slacken by 3-4 feet, sufficient for the barrel to float with the tide or wind, more than five feet off position, exposing the piling or worse. Any breeze on the 180 degree spectrum north-east-south will push the hull against the dock, preventing any manual pushing, dragging, pulling the fenders back into proper position. Lastly, the situation is exacerbated by the lack of full-time crew to resolve the whole thing. Instead, volunteers,  available only on a Saturday morning, rarely with more than 4 mustering at a time, are stymied by the other conditions not cooperating. 

This last two weeks were most critical, because one Yokahoma had come totally loose from any tether, being held under the dock only by the schooner's hull and and easterly breeze. Subsequently, the washers rusted out. They were installed to fasten a chain's link to the telephone pole section, in turn stuffed into one end of a Yokohama fender.  Subsequently, poles as well as fenders were loosely bouncing around under the dock, awaiting only for a westerly breeze to blow the hull off the dock, freeing the mess to drift merrily out into the harbor. 

So, two Saturday mornings of a few volunteers, armed with handy-billy tackles, boat poles, and loose ropes salvaged from the rope locker, were able to restrict that Yokohama fender and pole mess from getting out into the harbor.  Tuesday, Bryan brought out a reel of electrician Fish tape, pulled a messenger line thru the free-floating Yokohama, then bridled it to the dock. Another rope, looped over the end of  the of the telephone pole/snag, and cleated to the dock further locked any thing from floating free. 

With  favorable tide, weather, winds, and  five volunteer hands, to launch the small boat to ease the hull off the dock, others can push the Yokohama's back onto their poles, pull the chain thru the Yokohama's with the messenger line, and restring the whole bunch into a working arrangement.  Today, Saturday, none of those conditions came together, so we'll stay tuned to the next chance.

Stay tuned. 

All Glory is Fleeting

  I was so proud.  The six of us volunteers who, last Saturday the 16th, using some creativity, three handy-billy's. various lengths of rope, took advantage of a westerly breeze and slack tide to align the three yokohama's up against their pilings on the dock face, rather than hiding behind them. We all understood however, that the arrangement was iffy. We had no way for restraining parts of the collection; one yokohoma and an unconstrained telephone pole segment, from floating free at the next high tide and westerly breeze.   

Sometime between then and last Friday, those conditions came to pass, probably several times-enough to allow our carefully positioned arrangement to float free and resume their useless positions under the dock.

Such was the situation I found when I came aboard this last Saturday morning in a pretty good driving rain.  In a further complication. The unusually high king tide, raised the schooner's caprail a good 10 inches higher than the dock benches, stretching the capability of our gangway falls to hold the gangway off the cap rail.  With the later arrival on board of Volunteer Hugh Sheldon, the two of us hauled another four feet of boat falls out of the already stretched configuration, to lift the gangway free of the deteriorating sword matte, that had long ago lost its protective capability.  We three additional lines over the free floating telephone pole to arrest its floating away tendency. 

So, until our schooner can leave the dock and motor off to her 10-year Shipyard appointment, we are consigned to hoping for another favorable combination of wind, tide, and volunteer availability to try again.  

And so, we watch the weather. and check our emails, or texts, for an alert to come down for help down at the Maritime Center to wrangle these d)*&^~! yokohama's back into position, for good. And I think I"ve found the answer.. electrician's Fish Tape.

Yeah Baby! Volunteers Tackle the Yokohoma Mess and Bring Order and Harmony to Dockside

I guess, that to understand why this is a big deal you have to have been on deck over  the past year, since that incident in heavy weather where the telephone pole snapped.  The Pole  normally strings three Yokohama fenders- huge hard rubber cylinders-, separated by several car tires. The whole arrangement wasintended to float in front of our face dock's vertical pilings, protecting the schooner's hull from pounding against the vertical pilings. Well,  in an unexpectedly powerful squall, which saw 75 knot winds pass thru, , the yokohama's all slipped out of place. The telephone pole bent around a piling and snapped, separating the whole system into two independent, useless floating hazards.   Since that time several attempts, some temporarily successful, have been made to reposition  Yokohama's against the pilings. always thwarted by the slack and tensions called by rising and falling tides.  

While Tony and David unlay strands
 to begin their long splice, Bryan, Lance and Maxwell
 discuss the difference between sailor and roping palms.

Our latest attempt, this previous Saturday, was no more successful. We needed a morning with Westerly breezes and low current/slack tide. And those conditions weren't present.  So today, Volunteers mustered at the usual time, a total of six of us, Walter Barton, Tony Marchesani, David Ried, Lance Halderson, and Maxwell Dale, along with his friend, Ashley, and me, Bryan. We started by reinflating the small boat in anticipation of Nick Swarts showing up to do some coxwain work.

 Next, Tony, and David gathered tools and began laying out the starboard boat falls, to turn in a long splice where a fathom of line had unlaid and frayed. Maxwell, and Ashley teamed up with Bryan to empty out then hose down and wipe the yeti cooler. Ashley produced a bowl of ice from the freezer to cool the just filled orange water jug. Between the two of them they should be each due for a 50 Volunteer Hour pin.

Walter, Tony, and Lance work
the aft Yokohama up to the gap
between the hull in the piling, as Bryan,
 out of picture, takes turns
 off the port side Quarter bit,
 to ease the stern further off the dock. 

It was less than an hour into our projects when Bryan looked out over the dock lines and noticed that the schooner was riding at least seven feet away from the dock. All the Yokohama fenders were floating out, away from the dock wall. Bryan immediately mustered all idle hands with boat hooks, fathoms of rope, and handy billy tackles, to the starboard rail, and over the next three hours,  orchestrated a series of attempts to pull, poke, twist, pry, and push the errant Yokohama's and their floating telephone poles partly connecting them into a more stable configuration of resting against their three pilings, as originally designed.  The final phase including easing the stern quarter line, allowing the stern to float outward four feet, enabling the aft-most Yokohama to float into it's desired position.  With Handy-billy's and boat hooks, the stern was pulled back into it's position next to the dock.                                                                                                                              

          

  Just in time to get below for quick final sign-off's of their reenlistment paperwork  and disembarking as a looming dark squall line crossed the harbor from the east. 

All Yokohamas' nicely centered on their pilings, for now. 

 

US Navy Sailor Volunteers Link their future to a Maritime Heritage

 Here's the picture: Four United States Navy Sailors,, more specifically, Petty Officers ETN 2d Class Lance Halderman, Maxwell Dale, Alexander Molaison, and Nolan Clunan, all (Nuclear)Electronics Technicians, have day jobs, as Instructors at the Naval Weapons School up the Cooper River.  But on their own free time, they are deckhands aboard a wooden traditionally rigged 19th Century replica Pilot Schooner.

I get it,, I"m a retired US Army soldier, and I still like to mess around in History, Military and otherwise, and period fire arms, black powder muzzleloaders. These guys like to mess around in ships their great-grandfathers would've crewed. Actually me too, but never mind. 

Boatswain Bryan Oliver (LTC USA, Ret)
administers the reenlistment oath to 
US Navy Petty Officers Alexander Molaison,
 Maxwell Dale, Lance Halderman,
 and Nolan Clunan

These four took it to a new level when they requested permission to conduct their first Reenlistment Ceremony on the deck of SSV Spirit of South Carolina, and offered me the honor of administering their Reenlistment Oath. 

Any servicemember of the Armed Forces can choose, within reason and professional protocol, the location /scenario of their ceremony wherein they are promising anew, four or six years of Service to the Nation. They may also request who will administer their oath, as long as it is a Commissioned Officer of the United States Armed Forces, Active duty or Retired.

All Professions, and the military professions in particular, are defined by values, principles, knowledge, experience, standards accumulated over centuries. The maritime professions are founded on values and principles that can be lumped under the label of Seamanship, as relevant today as they were centuries ago in the age of Sailing Ships and Galleys. 

It's official. 

These four sailors chose to recognize that link to their professional history by marking this  significant occasion in their careers, and I was especially honored to be part of it.

Saturday Morning's Long Splicing Demo frustrated by Priority to work the Dock -fender situation.

Saturday, the 9th was to be a straight-forward maintenance projects day. Tony Marchesani had been practicing his long-splice technique in preparation to demonstrate a master class in long-splicing a worn our section of our starboard bow falls line. 

All that was set aside when, the day before, Dock Master, Jeff Davis called Bos'un Bryan to point out the deteriorating situation of the wayward Yokohoma fenders on the face dock. The three oversized hard rubber cylinders were intended to be positioned between the schooners hull and the vertical pilings supporting the face dock. Over a year ago, they had long since shifted off the pilings after the telephone pole that strung the three together, had snapped. 

An attempt by past Captain Bobby Nobles to rest the line of fenders ultimately failed, and now the string of loose yokohoma's were floating uselessly under the dock, protecting nothing. As Jeff pointed out, the resiulting wear of a telephone pole remnant,rubbing against the piling, was weakening the structure. 

And so, Four of us, this Saturday shifted our focus from long splices and cooler cleanups to seeking a solution to the fender problem.  For the rest of the morning, Bryan Oliver, Tony Marchesani, Ken Fonville and David Ried, made several different attempts,, using different methods, from different angles, using boat hooks and handy-billy's, to align fenders with poles, adjust existing chains, all to no avail. 

Tony and Lance team up to force a ball fender
 into position on the face dock.

The prime obstacle was inadequate space to maneuver the 4 ft x 5 ft yokohama fenders out of their positions under the dock. Easterly breezes and ebbing tide was forcing the ship's hull up against the dock, robbing us of needed maneuver space.  Until the wind shifted, and tide eased, or a powerful motorized push boat could get the schooner off the dock, or the schooner departed the dock for shipyard, we'd be unable to solve the problem.  The crew rearranged as possible, available ball fenders to force between the schooner's hull and pilings.

Breaking the sense of Stagnation while waiting for Spirit's Shipyard and beyond.

 I think it was Thomas Paine that wrote, "These are the times that try men's souls".. whadya know! I was right, actually,, just googled it. more significantly, they were the first words of his series of pamphlets "The American Crisis" in 1776, written to inspire and encourage the Continental Army. 

I can't help but feel a similarity to what we volunteers for Spirit of South Carolina are facing.  Of course, we are not trying to birth a new nation - only save a wooden traditionally rigged schooner. Still, the situation feels stark.  Since the departure of our last Captain, there are: No programs, no shipyard, no perceivable operating budget, no crew, and most unsettling,, no communication from, well, anyone up the chain. The last message in February alluded to plans being made.  Nothing else since. It appears to be, just us.  So, appearances are just that, appearances.  This week, I'll be taking extra efforts to identify what's ground truth.

Volunteer Bos'un Bryan Oliver building a picture
 for his student tour group of this schooner
 hiding enslaved African Americans
  in their escape to New Bedford

  In the meantime I'm exploring organizing a volunteer cadre of tour guides, with a specific mission; engaging  in conversation, the people who routinely walk down the dock;

•  offer them teasers of  information they likely had never known before, 
• offering a deck tour, 
• while telling a story or two, based on Spirit's historical role as a 19th century pilot schooner, 
• or more broadly,  ships of her class and the part they played in the sea-borne Underground Railroad from the early thru mid 19th century. 

Volunteer, Carin Bloom; Educator,
Historian, Reenactor,
 and former deckhand on Delaware's Tall Ship, 
Kalmar Nykel is helping organize
 our knowledge material into easy-to-digest
 Tour-guide sound bites.

Our Donations Box sits ready, beneath the saloon table, to be hoisted up onto the dock and made easily visible to visitors, when pointed out by our deckhand/tour guide at end of the tour.

  That's part of the purpose of Spirit of South Carolina, and its something we volunteers are capable of continuing, while we weather these other uncertainties.  Look for SignUP opportunities on our SignUP Genius web site. 

Link to Volunteers SignUP Genius

There will be some sessions of orientation and familiarization with our source material, Some walk thru's, and then going out and doing it! 

This can't be a one-person show.  If you love this schooner and want to honor all the things she stands for, then this should be an easy step. 

Bryan describing for an impromptu group invited aboard,
 the competitive world of 19th century Bar Pilots

Captain Heath Hackett using charts as visuals
 to lead his student tour thru the difficulties
 of ships getting into and out of this harbor
 before the Jetties were constructed.

Bryan with group of young racing sailors,
 getting a hand's-on lesson
 in 19th century seamanship.

Two Volunteers-Two Significant Accomplishments.

 Today, the 19th was another steamer on the water, according to Walter Barton and Tony Marchesani; temperature in the mid 90's with humidity seeming to share the same number, and no breeze to ease the slow poaching.  The two volunteers  mustered this morning to tackle two projects what had proved troublesome to complete, or resolve. Both projects involved ship's hardware that, while not highly visible or glamourous are critical to the safe and proper operation of our schooner. 

Portable Trash Pump:  This is a critical back up to the ship's bilge pumping system. Its a small lawnmower engine configured with impellers and souped up hardiness  to survive a marine environment. It sucks water out of the bilge with one fat flex hose, and throws it overside thru another flex hose. For years, crewmembers, including myself pulled this contraption out of it's locker behind the main mast, assembled it, and tested it. In the process they rebuilt the carburetor, replaced plugs, took apart and put back together everything. The engine would fire up, just fine, the suction appeared just to meet sufficient vacuum power, but nothing was coming out the exhaust hose pipe.  Tony Marchesani, with some help, and an exploded diagram he downloaded, tracked the issue to beyond the impeller.  Suspecting something else, he returned to the pile of gear piled into the lazarette and discerned another length of hose, somewhat similar to the one currently installed as the exhaust conduit.. He replaced it with the one found in the lazarette, and the bilge water gushed thru it.. I'm still waiting for him to share the secret, it being in the hose apparently, but he's gone no further.  

The Inflatable Rescue Boat/Tender/Pushboat:   This multi purpose water craft is also critical to the schooner's operation. It's our Man-overboard retriever, our tugboat and side thruster for docking and undocking, and while at anchor, a water taxi for getting groceries on board from shore, or more important, getting sailors ashore for well- earned liberty. Walter meanwhile staring down at the four rubber patches terraced upon each other for eight inche around the bulb-shaped aft end of the inflatable rescue boat, was heard to mutter at the patch job  "Nows it's personal!", or something like that. After carefully applying each subsequent patch to block a residual leak still seaping from under the edge of the previously sealed patch. a leak -smaller than before, persisted.  This time, in addition to the fifth patch applied terraced over the fourth, he examined the intake valve for inflating the pontoon. It appeared to be slightly clogged.. A quick blowing out, brushing off, reinflation of the pontoon, and ,, waited, waited,,, no further bubbling thru the soap film. We may have peace at last, thanks to lots of perserverence. 

While the Bos'n is away... Well, things keep going just fine

 
Last Saturday's Volunteer Day on the 12th was typical July Summer,, Hot, humid and breezeless, the kind of day in which to get things over with early. Nevertheless Volunteers mustered on board to do what needed to be done. Meanwhile your scribe wasn't much better off, just in a different spot, He,(that would be me) was, and still is-as of this writing somewhere on the Chesapeake delivering a sailboat. And back in Charleston, judging from the accomplishments on deck  made in that morning, I wasn't even missed. 

Four stalwart Volunteers mustered on deck; Walter Barton, Ken Fonville, Tony Marchesani, and David Reid. They went right to work, As always, the Forecastle needed pumping, as usual. Tony climbed into the engine room to  charge up the pump. David and Ken remained on deck to check the stream of water being emitted. They saw seawater then bilge water go out discharge. The bilge pumped out well, volunteers getting some  learning experience looking down into the darkness of the bilge. The Deck was surprisingly clean from an early morning downpour, so they set aside the plan to do a deck wash.  

David and Walter worked on the push boat's persistent slow leak, adding another patch- the fourth patch overlapping earlier ones. Maybe this one will be the charm. According to Walter after working the first three Patches, "its personal."
Ken and Walter lifted out the trash pump from its locker on the deck onto the  fixed dock and connected intake and exhaust hoses. The pump started and ran well but created no suction-  priming water made it to discharge hose but nothing else. The crew moved the whole rig across to the floating dock to see if lower suction lift (it was low tide so much suction needed from the higher fixed dock to water) would help, NO such luck. Tony was last seen online bringing up the pump's exploded view. His Engineer-mind now hardwired to isolate the cause.

Volunteers July 4 Annual Muster and Society Social Draws a Crowd.

 

Every year since the Volunteer program was resurrected in 2019,  Volunteers gathered on deck, the evening of July 4, along with family members, bringing their own appetizers and beverages, to celebrate our Volunteer Contributions and enjoy the City of Charleston's Fireworks display over the Aircraft Carrier Yorktown. 

As the day approached this year,  the atmosphere was understandably tentative. After all, for the past six months, Volunteers had maintained the Schooner in a "Standby" status, waiting for a signal that she would finally be dispatched to a shipyard for her 10-Year haulout. This year, Bryan remembered he had a source of funding with which to sweeten the pot.  In a second email, Bryan added that Home Team Barbeque would be supplying a BBQ buffet, and beverages were included.  The responses measurably perked up, such that, by Wednesday, the deadline to RSVP, 12 Volunteers with another 31 of their guests, had signed up. 

Volunteers and Guests  aboard for a July 4 Celebration

Lance Halderman, Maxwell Dale, and their friends, Ashley, and Kyra, came two hours early to help set up retrieving serving containers, utensils, and glasses. The schooner also welcomed a small crew from Baker Motors,, led by Simona Kerpidyova, Assistant to Tommy Baker. 

But before that could really start, the volunteers needed to complete two sailor jobs, down-rigging and storm-furling the large awning, which was no longer providing shade in the afternoon. With the awning furled and out of the way, Volunteers could now tend the boat falls to raise up, then swing over the side and "hip" the small boat on the port rail. That action freed up a large area of deck for visitors on board to set up chairs.  Compliments to Ashley and Kyra who supported their guys in hauling on the forward and aft boat falls, tailing lines, forcing the heavy small boat out over the rail and easing her into position. 

With traditional Maritime music floating over the ship, Walter  Barton and wife Amanda brought out two serving tables. Bryan picked up all the food and drink from Home Team, and Harris Teeter, where Amanda then took charge in setting up the serving line.  Walter filled the huge Yeti with ice and a large assortment of beverages.   By 1900 hrs, the deck was full of people, seated in the chairs they brought, or along the lockers and cabin tops, filling glasses and gazing at the layout. Amanda opened the buffet line, and a line immediately formed.  Time to shift from traditional maritime tunes to American Patriotic.

As plates emptied, refilled, and re-emptied, Bryan passed the word along that he would like to address the crowd, and offer a few toasts, before the fireworks started.  Meanwhile a large crowd of the public had gradually gathered on the dock for advantageous views, looking out over our deck and the expected show across the harbor.

At 2045, fifteeen minutes before the scheduled performance, Bryan Called out for a "Muster Midships" the traditional call for all hands to gather in the center of the ship.  Bryan offered a message that recalled the significance of Spirit of South Carolina's existence, some tidbits of history, and restatement of her hoped for operations going forward post Shipyard. Finally, he offered three toasts.. to the United States,, the Armed Forces and Veterans here.. Lance Halderman, representing the US Navy, offered his own toast to the Navy's sailors.   At that, the fireworks commenced a truly extraordinary show that had to last 45 minutes before culminating in one large illumination. 

Check out the video reel that Walter Barton created.. now on Facebook.

July 4 Celebration aboard Spirit of South Carolina

A special thanks to all the same volunteers, and others, Carin Bloom and husband who helped secure the deck afterwards, start the dish and cutlery washing, wrap leftovers, and cart the full garbage containers all the way back to the dumpster. It was almost midnight when the final items were cleaned and put away or disposed.                                                                                                                        

Saturday morning brought the same stalwarts aboard who had helped clean and secure the evening before. Hugh Sheldon, a welcome addition to the Volunteer Crew was welcomed aboard and immediately stepped into some hands-on deckhand work. By end of morning, he had already checked off five deckhand skills.  They tied up some loose ends, including hauling the smallboat up and swinging her over onto the deck setting her firmly in her chocks and lashing down the gripes.. 

Their reward was a break from maintenance and clean up, in order to get an introduction into the Schooner's Bloom six-knot challenge, with the help of chief instigator, Carin. Bryan and Carin teamed up to lead a hands on session, first introducing the six knots composing the challenge, then for starters, zeroing in on the practical, historical, and wondrous aspects of the traditional bowline.  By noon, and mustering off time, the group was well into the knots intricacies. Their next introduction would be up to them. Next week, on their own. Are you ready to join in?