Three Schooners in the Harbor riding out a gale together.

King tides combined with a low pressure system sweeping the coast has made for a rollicking wet weekend.  The standard Volunteer day for yesterday was cancelled  in anticipation of a cold raining, rocking day aboard Spirit of South Carolina, pretty much kaboshing any on deck projects, leaving only things to be accomplished below decks,, and in the dark.  

Did I mention that?  The Maritime Center docks were without power since Wednesday morning, in order to get the Museum into the grid. The power only returned yesterday (Saturday) evening.   Worse, the genset, aboard refused to start-starting a whole other urgent troubleshooting process, extending thru this weekend.(We think its narrowed down to the starter, or electronic brain that's governing it.)  So our man Hunter was forced to go primitive; no lights no space heater, stove, nothin.  Well not wholly.  He was lent a tabletop gas stove for heating up anything, and the Dock master gave him access to their microwave, and kitchenette.

Mystic Whaler, of out of Mystic CT
 pulling away from the fuel dock
 to raft up with Spirit.

To make things interesting. Mystic Whaler, a steel-hulled passenger schooner on delivery from Mystic to California, was hunkering down in Charleston to wait out this predicted weather mess, asked permission to raft up with us, while the Maine schooner, Harvey Gamage, full of Procter Academy students, took her reservation at the fuel dock.  After short consult and review of the wind and wave forecasts, we readily agreed. They would raft up with us bow-to stern. 

So, Friday morning, Mystic Whaler was standing off Spirit's portside. 'll tell ya, as a volunteer, and after not having professional crew on our deck for over a year, it was an education to anyone  to watch a professional bunch of schooner sailors do their work. It would have been a great opportunity for us volunteers to have been aboard working with this crew. Directed by their mate, Capt Nick Alley, they volunteered crew to board and take lines,  roll up and spiral lash our large awning, as well as lower and safely pilot our small boat inside the marina to a protected slip.  As they ghosted up parallel 50 yards off  Mystic let go her starboard anchor, set it deep, and eased back on it till she was parallel to our port side only 15 yards off. Her line handlers tossed coiled big manila dock lines directly over to us, and slowly warped up to our side, cushioned by several large fenders, a few big balls, they purchased ashore specifically for this docking.  The set anchor deep off Mystic Whaler's port bow was taut, doing it's job keeping pressure off Spirit's hull.   Mystic's boarding crew didn't stop there,  with Capt Alley's advice, they storm-secured Everything on deck, lower our canvas hatch awnings, extra tie-downs on the binnacle and wheel covers, stowing what could be carried, below deck. 

Mystic Whaler, off our port quarter,
preparing to let go her anchor
before backing down to tie up
 on our port side.

Once  both ship's secured for the oncoming weather, and anchor watch set on board Mystic, the crew asked one favor.  They had been admiring our schooner from a distance for a few days now, and getting to see her up close  heightened their admiration, and the Capt Alley asked on their behalf if they could get a tour. Well, the least we could do. So we led 14 Mystic Whaler's  thru the ship, not dismayed by the darkness, or the "shipyard" mode, they were all quite impressed, at standing on the deck of an authentic replica of a 19th century wooden schooner, with a great story. 

At the same time,  Harvey Gamage was tying up at the fuel dock.  It didn't take long for their cook, Tyler Calderwood, and their 2d mate Anna Spring to walk over for a reunion with Hunter, and to arrange for their crew and students to get a tour of Spirit. 

Rafted up and all secure for the coming gales.

On a personal note, but to convey a sense of the close knit community of Tall Ship sailors:  Capt Nick Alley, acting as chief Mate aboard Mystic Whaler, was my Captain during my first ever schooner passage as guest crew on Virginia in 2007, 14 years ago, and we reunited as if old friends.  Anna Spring, aboard Harvey Gamage, and I were shipmates  on Spirit for a month in 2017 on the Tall Ship Festival-race to Bermuda and Boston to Canada. Harvey Gamage's educator-on-board, now the significant other to another shipmate back in New England, sought me out personally to just say hi and convey regards from my shipmate and his father.  We all recounted stories, storms, caught up on whereabouts of others, all of these 'kids" younger than me by at least a generation.     Just sayin'   If you can take the opportunity to dip an oar into this world, it's the people in it as well as the ships that will give you joy.