Citadel Alumni Cruise to St. Augustine overcomes mechanical and weather challenges to create a memorable experience.

Crew, Catie, and Dannie
haul up the jumbo.

Casting off from the dock on Wednesday, May 1, but challenged by a generator malfunction, and subsequent heavy weather forming and moving up the coast, Spirit of South Carolina modified her planned cruise to St.Augustine. After returning to the dock, and discussion, and consensus from among our Citadel Alumni participants on board, Captain Dan Cleveland redirected our plan to an off-shore cruise. Taking advantage of the moderate southeasterly breezes Spirit ranged as far north as Wild Dunes,, then south, approximately 23 miles off shore rising and rolling over 4 foot swells in 10 knot breezes. Passengers helped set our reefed Fore and main sails, then shake out reefs and haul away to full sail. After some bracing exercise at the halyards and headsail sheets, they enjoyed a tranquil, engine-less schooner sailing experience under full sail, a happy hour at sundown, and a sumptuous Stir-Fry dinner.

Participants learned fast; admiring
their new Ballantine coiling skills.

Meanwhile, our crew of 6 professionals and one volunteer, organized into two watches for a 5-hour on-5-off watch schedule. Capt Cleveland led the first watch beginning at 1800, turning over the watch over to our Mate, Karin, and crew at 11 pm. We experienced a moonless, cloudless,, very starry night, with plenty of choices in the sky for steering to. and noticed a dry-lightning episode way down on the southern horizon. That was a foreboding.

By watch change at 0400, Captain and Mate, consulting weather reports forecasting not only a fast moving tropical depression moving up the coast from Florida, but a series of squall-lines marching eastward over the low-country, headed off shore. The conditions would make exciting sailing, but uncomfortable times for our participants who would likely be forced below for extended periods. It was a sufficient scenario for Spirit to reverse course to a NNW heading, back to Charleston.

By 1500 on Friday, after cruising up the Wando under sail, Spirit was again safely snugged up to her berth, even as gray overcast engulfed everything, and occasional rain-squalls formed and dissipated around us. 

Remaining Alumni participants and crew enjoying evening
 refreshments against a colorful Ravenel Bridge

Approximately half our passengers, leisurely packed and disembarked, but others were reluctant to leave and stayed aboard for dinner and cocktails passing late into the evening. The next morning, after extended good-by's, remaining passengers disembarked, and crew was released for a well-deserved weekend break. Passengers uniformly had high praise for the ship, her crew, and the overall experience, some even promising to organize a second alumni cruise.


The success of this cruise, in spite of the technical and weather obstacles, bodes well for the production of similar cruises. That in turn will be driving a need for volunteers as deck-handing, or maintaining. Stay tuned.