Sea Trials Still on for Tuesday AM, Hoping to Stay ahead of Elsa

 Assuming a successful sea trial for the engines, Spirit of South Carolina will regain the preferred option of motoring up the Cooper River to a hurricane hole.  It'll come just in time, should Elsa regain strength.  

Meanwhile Volunteers mustered Saturday and, themselves stormed over several projects.  This day the focus was on growing canvas repair and other marlinespike
skills. 

After a quick flat stitch/whip stitch tutorial from Bryan Oliver, Keshaun Holmes, Lexi Fine, Laura Johnson, and Mia, grabbed the bosun's bag and swarmed over the dory sail rig, to stitch patches,, well almost everywhere on the deteriorating mainsail.  

 By midmorning, the sun had risen to take away their shade, so the team transferred their operation onto the schooners deck under the huge foresail awning. 

Lane Neuhausen, part time Captain at Schooner Pride joined up with Dan Maurin, and Mikell Evatt, to patch and replace grommets around the gate banner, spanning the entrance to the face dock.  

Weeks of blustery weather was tearing loose grommets and shredding the corners.  Lane discovered the finicky Juki sewing machine below and promptly set it up on the trash pump-locker. After a few false starts he succeeded in sewing on four corner reinforcements and a number of reinforced grommets.

Danny Johnson and John Whitsitt retrieved the quarter dock line that had been taken off the schooner's stern last weekend, rinsed and brushed accumulated marine growth before coiling and stowing it in the forepeak.

Nate Mack and John Hart laid out on the bowsprit to finish lashing on the remaining luff cringles of the jumbo to the forestay.  

Nate and John set the frappes
 on the first flat seizing around
 the anchor cable

On completion, the two transitioned to the port anchor, opened a knot-tying app, and proceeded to bend the anchor cable onto the anchor with an anchor hitch, an two flat seizings to secure the tail.

  

And then there was lunch.  Afterward, Bryan awarded Keshaun his schooner pin recognizing Keshaun's accomplishing over 50 hours of volunteer support. 

Keshaun guiding his patch repair
 of the dory mainsail under
the needle.

As other projects, secured materials and hardware, the dory mainsail team assessed their work, and consensus was, they had gained sufficient learning in sailors palm and hand-stitching techniques, and were ready to advance to the modern technology of the sewing machine. And so they did.  By 3 pm, all the remaining patching had been completed. 

On Tuesday morning, select volunteers will muster aboard to cast off for mechanical sea trials under Capt Hackett and Acting Capt Charlie Porzelt.  Assuming a successful trial, hopes run high for a return to productive educational program and especially,, sea time!