Volunteers join Spirit of South Carolina's crew  at her Hurricane Anchorage on the Cooper River to weigh her anchors and motor back to Charleston

Things seem to happen fast these day, and the throwing in of a Hurricane only interjects plenty of variables that never seem to  be resolved until the last moment.  

Volunteers and crew motor out of Bushy Park Boat Landing,
bound for Spirit of South Carolina anchored
over a mile distant in the Cooper River

Ken Fonville, with Chief Mate, Charley Porzelt strain
at the windless to break  the anchor free of the mud,
 and lift it to the cathead.

So it was as Spirit of South Carolina's planned delivery to  Savannah, on Labor Day. Over the past two weeks, you Volunteers  continually responded to calls for help, then reacted to delays. Next it was the hurried decisions to move her up the Cooper River,  for more protected waters, itself delayed then reestablished with little notice. With each shift in plans, you all responded to calls and did your best to juggle real life work, families/  Just this past Friday, with less than a day's notice, the call went out...again, for Volunteers to man her decks, pull up her anchors and move her back to Charleston.  And again, many of you responded, in doing so, whether you could come out, or whether conveyed regrets  you demonstrated a motivation to help, to be part of the ship's life and success..   To all of you who have responded. I salute you for your support, and look forward to the day you'll be aboard.

At noon on Friday, while the coast and families were just recovering from Dorian, three Volunteers were able to cut loose and join the crew aboard to do the work of breaking her two anchors loose from the Cooper River mud,, then move her the 16 miles back down the river and dock her. Bryan Oliver, Jonathan Shew, and Ken Fonville crowded into the Ship's inflatable small boat along with the crew to climb aboard and start the work.

Volunteers manned the windlass  to crank in 2 shots (180 feet) of  anchor chain, and haul in the same length of anchor cable.  The return motoring was uneventful, but on approach to the dock, tide, wind, and current conditions proved contrary to forecast, upsetting our docking preparations.  Capt Dan called a "Crazy Ivan", which required the crew and volunteers to quickly shift all docklines, heaving lines and fenders to the opposite side of the ship.   Warping  the vessel up to the dock and finally securing all, undoubtedly raised up a feeling of relief after a physical day.  Volunteers and crew stood down for  some well-deserved refreshments.and a day off, with plans to ready her on Sunday for possible sail to Savannah.

Spirit of South Carolina approaches the Ij-526 bridge over
the Cooper River