Again, Volunteers brush aside iffy weather forecasts to lay onto a wide range of ship needs.

If you'd been happening by the face dock at the Maritime Saturday morning, you'd have to be amazed at the picture in front of you.

  It would've at least piqued  your curiosity as to what was going on,, not a scene normally  present on any modern-day wharf. Tiny beings suspended precariously in a slight web of ropes and lines, obviously busy at work doing something,,, but what?  

New Volunteer Lexi Fine
walks her tightrope (the forestay)
while coating the jibstay

If you were there, you were privileged to witness a special bunch.  Spirit of South Carolina Volunteers at work, in a traditional sailing ship world, learning and practicing the 300 year-old skills of mariners before them, all in the aim of  taking care of their ship.   

You would likely not have known that the tiny form seemingly suspended in air between the foremast and bowsprit was Lexi Fine, actually a brand new volunteer, on deck for the first time, taking on the challenge to tackle a job in an unlikely spot.. way up on the jib stay on a bosun's chair with at paint brush and bucket. Others, like father/son team of Rob and Jake Harrington  and Apprentice Deckhand, Jonathan Bautista,  high up in the shrouds brushing on black paint to preserve the wire standing rigging.  

Maybe less noticeable until you walked closer, you'd have seen others on deck like Calvin Milam, carefully laying on an umpteenth coat of varnish on the cap rail.  A half hour later, you'd have observed another small group, likely Apprentice Deckhand Jason Patnaude, Danny Johnson, and Old Salt, Joe Gorman split off with the Chief mate to measure out long lengths of nylon line and start an on-the-job learning session to splice an eye in the end of the line thru the weighted canvas bag for a new heaving line. 

These happy few are a subset of a steadily growing corps of volunteers who have signed on to steward a special, totally unique component of Charleston's Maritime History.  The only operational traditional wooden sailing ship on the east coast south of the Chesapeake, right here in Charleston.  They are preserving for the city, and South Carolina, a culture of seamanship, and maritime heritage that once made Charleston famous.   

Jonathan Bautista, conquering the heights
 with his tools to protect
 the mainmast shrouds from
salt and sea moisture.

Jake Harrington steadies himself
on the foremast shrouds
to brush on a preservative coat
 of paint on the wire