Is this the dog days of summer? I should look it up. Maybe the "slog" days of summer. yeah, that's more like it. High temps/high humidity,, even the sea breeze feels a bit anemic. Best thing about the spotty squalls isn't so much the rain but the shade they bring.
We happy few, we band of brothers,* who mustered Saturday defied all that, and moved some things forward. Danny Johnson, and later in the morning, daughter Laura, grabbed some help from Nate Mack and tackled his Dory cradle project which, when finished, will do lots for better care of the dory on the floating dock. Mikell Evatt, fresh from his Saturday morning shift across town, dropped by to help out. Photo's of the finished product are coming forthwith.
Danny, in keeping with is usual remarkable volunteer recruiting streak, brought aboard a couple from Arizona, for a tour, and an offer to pitch in on a belaying pin oiling project, in return for picking various people's brains for mariner advice regarding their recent purchase of a Lagoon 40 catamaran. Later on, another blast from the past, Tom Dignam just retired from his sailmaking business, came aboard to look things over. He'd been aboard years before with Danny Johnson as guest crew and was interested in reconnecting with the schooner.
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| Bryan Oliver awarding Keshaun his "Foremast Volunteer Pin for 100 Volunteer hours. |
Keshaun Holmes has been surging on volunteer hours lately, closing in on his 120, needed to complete his Apprentice Deckhand fellowship, put the final touches on the foremast boot, trimming off around the collar and setting the biggest turk's head knot ever, around fellow Apprentice Jonathan Bautista's sealing work at the boot's top. In doing so, Keshaun racked up over 100 volunteer hours, rating him his "Foremast Volunteer Pin" only a few weeks after earning his "50-volunteer hours Jibsail Volunteer" award.
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| Keshaun, installing the last letters on the gangway steps. |
For his closing performance, Keshaun's last project was installing the new indigo-blue Ship's name letters onto the Gangway steps. No simple task, you'll have to ask him all the angles he had to attack to get it right.
Jonathan had just completed his 120 hours, and is now focusing on starting a new working life with one of the Shipyards up the Cooper River. But he's not done with us yet. Possibly next Saturday, the 21st, we'll shoot for that date to have a little ceremony aboard, celebrating Keshaun's and Jonathan's completing of their Apprentice Fellowship, and award of their Grant from Harbor Freight, with their families, friends, and of course shipmates (all us volunteers).
Hurricane Plan. So far this summer, Charleston Harbor has dodged it. Odds are only increasing when that named storm is going to blow up our coast. Currently, our plan for the schooner is to have a decision made to cast off from the docks, and motor 16 miles up the Cooper River to vic Brushy Creek landing to drop anchor. Making that passage will require at least five deckhands aboard, eight if we will be launching/retrieving the dory (likely).
If you think you could commit to a 1/2 day or so, on a day's notice, to muster on board to deliver our schooner up river to a safer anchorage, Please text or email me, and I'll get you on our call-roster.
Thanks in advance.
*William Shakespeare, from his play "Henry the V". attribution. I just don't want to happen to me, what happened to Bob Caslen, late President of USC.
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