Volunteer T-Shirts Available Now.

The initial order of Volunteer T-Shirts are now available onboard Spirit of South Carolina. The back image,  portrays Spirit of South Carolina as she was planned, resembling her namesake, the Pilot Schooner, Francis Elizabeth, flying a lug rigged Fisherman, and her Pilot numeral on her Mainsail, (Charleston 3). From an original painting by Tri-Coastal Marine. The illustration links current Volunteers to the  original 300 Volunteers and professional shipwrights, who built  and launched Spirit of South Carolina.  

The T-shirts may be purchased by active Volunteers currently listed on the Master Contact list. The price is $20 - the cost of production.    If you are interested in purchasing one, email Bryan Oliver, the Volunteer Coordinator , with your size preference (S, M, L, XL, XXL). Only a small inventory will be carried, because there is not yet a budget for purchasing an inventory.  Once your shirt is in inventory, Bryan will email or text message you that it's available for pick-up..

Here's the catch.  The hand-off transaction has to happen on board Spirit of South Carolina. So, yeah,, it's an enticement to come on down to the Wharf. 

"Where Can I Help?"    

If you could list the top sounds to be described by the Chief Mate, as "music to my ears," I'll bet my marlinspike that among the top five would be a Volunteer voicing that phrase.  Aboard a traditionally-rigged Sailing Vessel, particularly a wooden one, there never seems to be sufficient hands to get ahead of all the projects that need action.   So when that welcome question sounds in the Mate's ears, he/she wastes no time in putting those new hands to a purpose.  
But the process isn't that simple.  Volunteers, realistically work and live a schedule often at odds with the crew's schedule, and the face-to-face coordination of projects among crew, and volunteers is hardly clean.  The Chief Mate has a simple solution.

                The " Punch List" has the Answer.

It's a "To-Do" list; a standing line-item description of projects, large and small, in no particular order of importance,.  Any Volunteer may pull it off the shelf  over the Salon table, review the list, in the absence of the Mate or a paid crew member, select a task, and start contributing.  

Kevel Cleat ; gauged and worn, but doing its job

A "Punch List" Sampler
➤ Scrape/Sand to Wood and Linseed Oil the Starboard Kevels
➤Restore Hand tools in the Tool Locker
➤ Scrape/Sand and re-varnish the Topmast
➤ Waterproof-treat the Jib, Main and Foresail canvas covers
➤Inventory the Foul weather jackets
➤ Troubleshoot the Trash pump
➤Replace/ eye-splice the  port side-aft life ring's polypropelene beacon tether.

The Chief Mate, or Volunteer Coordinator periodically reviews and updates the Punch list to keep it current.  A second column for comments, enables hands to communicate status, or issues,to other crew/volunteers who will take the hand-off and continue the work.  The Punch List should be secured inside the binder cover of the Volunteer Log.  Be sure to pull it out and give it the once-over while you are entering your own Volunteer hours in the Log.

Spirit Volunteers team up and take on a "tall" project.

Ken and  Chuck  on the Orbitals, use a light touch on the Main Topmast,
 to carefully take off layers of  old varnish and scarred, weathered wood.

The 25 foot-long  tapered Douglas Fir spar had been derigged  from it's perch atop the main mast, the previous month and laid out on the dock to await  it's turn on the Mate's Maintenance Punch List. Now it was time. This past Saturday morning, three Volunteers answered the call,. Brushing aside the threatened weather forecast of another hot day, Ken Fonville, Chuck Waring, and Bryan Oliver took up orbital sanders and scrapers, and  teamed up to take on the task of the ship's Topmast.  12 years of weathering had left it scarred and stained, even given intermittant  respites of spot-painting and varnishing, it needed total strip-down to the wood and refinishing. The weather proved cooperative, sunny, but with a consistent seabreeze blowing across the dock to carry away the sawdust.  By 2 pm, the topmast  now exposed its laminated douglas fir grain, and was  ready for the next stage - a sequence of  sanding with four ever-finer grains  of sandpapers until the achieved silky surface will be void of weathering and scarring. 

Other Volunteers will certainly want  into this, and there's certainly opportunities for it.  Weather permitting, this coming week, at any time, if you have a couple of hours to spare, the crew will set  you up with a  power sander, and some guidance.   Just accept the invitation coming  out via email from Bryan, replying with a date and time you can come down to participate. We hope to start oiling and applying the first of 12 coats of varnish later this week.

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