Winter Maintenance Almost Done.  Deckhand Skills Training Coming to the Forefront.

For the 13 of us that mustered this morning on deck, it didn’t start out that way.. With two possible harbor cruises in the mix the next weekend, there was still maintenance projects to complete first, but for those volunteers who were able to stay past noon, and Hunter’s lunch, Mate Charlie transitioned the work to raising and lowering both the Mainsail and Foresail.  
First on the agenda was to advance the coatings project on the forward cap rails begin last week. On that last Saturday, Volunteers swarmed the cap rail with 80 grit sanders and scrapers to take off old deteriorating varnish.  They got as far as the first scarf past the foremast shrouds before calling it a day. 
Today  Darron Casale, Bryan Oliver, Tim Geoghegan, Tony Marchesani, and later Pearson Chesney, cleared lines off the foremast pinrails, and took increasingly finer grits of sandpaper to ready the cap rail for her first sealing coats of D.1. penetrating and sealing treatment. 
Meanwhile  other volunteer team members, Carter Edwards, and another climbed aloft to safety inspect the foremast rigging from top to bottom.   Hunter provided a uniquely "Hunter" mid afternoon entree, that fortified those who stayed behind for the next event.  After Lunch, the Mate, Charlie mustered all hands midships to demonstrate the teamwork and specific tasks involved in prepping and raising both the mainsail, and Foresail. Nine Volunteers and two crew members stood-to on the both halyards, and hauled up the main throat and peak halyard. pausing only long enough to allow  Charlie to bend on the jack line thru the lower mast hoops, securing it to the iron horn. After inspecting  the main sail set, for fair runnings and potential fouled tackles,  Volunteers centered the boom, bent on quarter tackles then  lowered the sail down, flaking it down, finally securing all with several gaskets.  The newly confident team  then turned on the foremast and repeated the entire process with the foresail,, this time welcoming the smaller sail set due to losing the muscle to volunteers to their real life obligations ashore.  Major portions of  the Deckhand Skills Checklist were eligible for signing off that day.    With the few remaining volunteers all engaged in the sail drills, there was no one left to take pictures.. Still if you have something, please notify me and we'll work to post a few.