I would like to make those words bigger. This is a BIG DEAL for our schooner. After almost three years in stasis with no professional crew aboard, unable to move, cared for only by a crew of committed Volunteers, she is officially brought back to life. The actual documentation for COI will be another couple weeks coming, as about a dozen small "t's" need to be crossed. After that, she'll be ready to take on passengers.
It's been long enough passage. After a failure to secure a Semester program with College of Charleston, in 2019, exacerbated by the onset of the Pandemic, killed off the revenue stream, the last Captain was dismissed, and only her cook, Hunter, was left aboard as caretaker.
Coincidentally, her Volunteer program was just being resurrected. Maintaining a traditional wooden sailing vessel, usually requires a minimum 6-8 full time crew aboard. So volunteers filled the gap, on weekends and occasional weekdays for the next three years. In 2021 Capt Heath Hackett was hired to oversee the project of restoring the schooner to USCG COI standards. That process would take another two and a half years. Volunteers contributed over 3,000 hours of unskilled and skilled labor to her restoration.
So, how did it go, you ask?
The previous two days, Monday and Tuesdays were a frenzy of last minute checks and inventories of PFD's, locating documentation, launching and recovering the small boat, and touch-and go maneuvering, reviewing the Station Bill, and some urgent repairs of rot in a deckbox reorganizing the paint locker, clearing up piles of project hardware..
Wednesday morning at 0700 the crew started muster on deck. Bryan Oliver spent the night on board, helping Capt Davis prepare the Ship and Crew's Critical Data binders for the four CG Inspectors.
Walter Barton brought aboard his usual contribution of blueberry muffins and a large stew pot of white chili for crew lunch. Doug Hartley drove in the night before from Columbia and spent the previous nite aboard his own sailboat on the Cooper. Scott Depung, a professional Sailboat Charter Captain came aboard to flesh out our sailhandling crew, as did Jack Frazier, a Varnisher and coatings expert from Captain's Choice. Jack has been steadily falling. into the cult of tall ship sailing, and it was hoped this cruise would be his tipping point. Stalwarts David Brennan, Calvin Milam, and Laura Johnson arrived promptly. Dan Martin had to take some detours around heavy traffic from Summerville, arriving just in time to start going over the Station Bill. Also aboard were two additional members, not officially crew, primarily observers; Capt Heath Hackett, the ship's Project Manager, representing the Board of Directors, and deputy, Richard,
At 0800 Spirit's Dockside and Gangway crew arrived. Alex Alya, Danny Johnson, Ken Fonville, and Charleston Maritime Center Dockmaster Christian Lawyer, mustered dockside to stand by on the gangway and get the Dock line cast-off sequence from Bryan.
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| USCG Examiners confer with Capt Davis while crew huddles around Bryan on starboard rail going over the Station Bill. |
Also , precisely at 0800 John Doughton, USCG and his three-man Inspection Team boarded. They huddled with Capt's Davis and Hackett, wasting no time, quickly in laying out the sequence of the inspection. Bryan directs crew to boat falls to launch the small boat. Push-boat Captain, Scott, stands by the starboard rail while crew mans the boat falls, lowering the rescue boat into the water. Boat falls released, Scott powers up the small boat and take station off the port bow, prepared to push the bow out off the dock on order.
At 0820, Capt Davis directed, Bos'n, Bryan Oliver to swing off the Gangway and stand by the dock lines. Bryan relays directions to The dockside crew gathered round the gangway, Deck crew manned the fore and aft falls suspending the gangway over the deck.
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| Schooner's Away! Spirit's Dockside Team, Alex Lya, Christian Lawyer and Ken Fonville on the Gangway and dock lines. Danny Johnson on the Camera |
Bryan shout's out "Ready fore and aft!", Deck line handlers take off all but one turn on the kevels, standing by to ease out, then take up as the dock side team throws off the dock line bowlines from their cleats, in the pre-planned sequence. #4, then 2, 1 and 3, as Capt Davis warps the schooner slowly away from the dock.
Dock lines all in, the dock side crew gives a cheer and wave. Deck hands haul in fenders and prepare to receive the small boat.
After sweating up the small boat to the sheer plank, the crew had little time for deep breaths, as Capt Davis ordered stand by to raise the foresail. Bryan directs crew " Hands to Dress the Foresail", and crew immediately disperse to take off the halyards and run them out for hauling, cast off downhaul and vangs into working coils for running, lay out and flat coil the foresheet, and secure the foreboom preventer tackle.
"Hands to set the Foresail" comes next from Bryan. Every idle crew, 8 of em, line up equally on the fore and peak halyards. Bryan shouts "Fore and Peak together, Haul Away!". As the gaff is slowly raised three quarters of the way, Bryan shout's "Avast", Peak Halyard, Make Fast!" then peak halyard hands to the Throat!". With 7 hands now on the throat, there's sufficient pull to raise the throat the rest of the way to the fore-top copper band. Bryan eye's the foresail throat position and shout's "That's well on the throat, make fast!... Hand's to the Fore peak!" Now the crew crosses to the starboard rail, lines up on the peak halyard and takes up the slack while Laura releases the stopper knot, and all haul the gaff peak up until the foresail leach starts to stretch.
Once foresail is set and drawing. Crew gets chance for one deep breath before Bryan shouts out "Hands to set the Jumbo." Three crew team up to throw off the halyard coil from the pin, take off all turns and stand by to haul. Laura climbs out over the knight heads into the headrig to release the jumbo down haul that had been daisy chained aft around the harbor-furled jumbo sail. Another casts loose the jumbo boom preventers. With the down haul ready to run and a crewmember tending the sheet, Bryan shouts out. "Jumbo Halyard, haul away!" With five sweats of the halyard, the luff pulls taunt, Bryan shout's "that's well, make fast." Dave Brennan eases out the Jumbo Sheet to match angle of the foresail.
"Coil and Hang?", from Bryan and crew sets to ballantine coiling the halyards and securing the myriad other lines scattered and tangled over the deck from the two sail settings. Ten minutes later we're a mile off Ft. Sumter and tack around towards Fort Johnson.
Thankfully, there's no plans to set the jib and main. We've proved to the Coast Guard examiners we know how to set and trim sail. Now we're standing by warily awaiting the que for our first test- a Man-overboard scenario." it didn't take long.
One of the Coast Guard inspectors had brought along a child-sized floating mannequin. We all watched as he casually carried forward to the port rail, look aft to his boss, nodded his head, and casually tossed it overside.
"Man overboard-Man-overboard" came six simultaneous shouts which quickly relay to five more shouts across the deck. One deckhand pointed and raised his hand in the direction of the rapidly receding mannequin. The rest was clock work.
Three life rings and the buoy pendant were thrown overside. Even before Bryan's shout, Hands to Launch Rescue Boat!" crew were gathering at the boat falls, one threw an extra PFD into the boat for the victim. Rescue Boat Coxwain, Laura was returned from the aft cabin securing a VHF handheld. On Bryans' command, "Bow and Stern Falls all together, lower away", the rescue boat reached the water. "Fish your falls", and handlers maintained tension on the falls as Laura climbed into the boat, along with Calvin, who would act as spotter and bow line handler for the recovery. In less than on minute, from a standing start, the small boat was away, guided by Walter on deck, the spotter's out stretched hand and upraised arm, signaling we still had sight of the victim in the water. Another deckhand was bringing on deck the backboard and First Aid Kit. In another three minutes, the rescue boat had recovered the mannequin, and was back alongside. Hauled aboard, laid out on the backboard, Scott and crew looked expectantly at the Coast Guard Inspector waiting for him to add something to the scenario, like victim unconscious, or not breathing. After apparently demonstrating we were prepared to administer resuscitation, he ended the scenario. The rescue boat crew was again lowered away to go recover all our lifesaving gear tossed overboard. All back on deck, again securing all our gear, crew had time for another deep breath and in lowered tones hastily reviewed each other's stations in what would be the next emergency drill,, "fire". It didn't take long at all.
As Walter lay down below to the Galley to stir his White Chili on the stove, A Coast Guard inspector casually followed him down and quietly told him.. "Oh,, you've just started a fire on the stove with some grease in that skillet over there. What are your actions?"
Meanwhile all of us on deck were anticipating something, just not sure how it would manifest itself. Walter's yelling down below,, "Fire,, Fire in the Galley!" triggered a well rehearsed action. !Bryan shouted out, "Fire extinguishers", followed by Hands to the fire mains!", then shouting down to Walter " what's going on?" His first two commands were actually redundant, since our volunteer crew, already baptized in constant repetition of this drill a week before, were already pulling portable fire extinguishers out of the fo'cstle and aft cabin to stage them at the mainmast. others were pulling out the two fire houses stretching them fore and aft down the deck. Jack was already in the engine room setting the sea cock and shifting the PTO lever over ( transfer port engine power to the hydraulics powering the port side fire pumps).
Bryan shouted for "status" down the saloon hatch, prepared to hand down a second fire extinguisher. Walter, cued by his Coast Guard observer, apparently satisfied with Walter's deployment of the fire blanket, and going for the saloon portable extinguisher, prompted the response,, fire's out, under control." On deck, Coast Guard still wanted to observe the deployed Fire Mains (hoses) for appropriate pressure,, so Laura and Scott charged up both mains and pointed a strong stream of water overboard. That prompted a stand down of the drill. "All clear, and secure from fire." Aced another one. One more drill to go: "Prep to Abandon Ship".
As the schooner fell off onto a broad reach headed back towards Shute's Folly, shouted out to Bryan, There's three feet in the bilge and rising,, "prepare to abandon ship". Now this was the one drill we had only talked about, walked thru in a huddle, but never acted out, primarily due to the myriad of scenarios driving the drill, each dictating various immediate reactions. Therefore this drill became improvised based on common sense, and a earlier crew conversations. Bryan directed everyone to PFD's, from the passenger stash located in deck boxes. Two crew disappeared to the aft cabin and returned with Ditch Kits, while the rest of us, with PFD's strapped on, stood by the life rafts, prepared to drag them over to the rails.
At this point, Capt Davis, apparently seized with a mean streak, tossed an unforced curve ball into the drill. He shouted down the deck to Bos'n Bryan, " water rising,, must strike the foresail and Jumbo." This was problematic, We're almost running(downwind), light winds but both sails well out to port. Instinctively Bryan calls hands to haul in the Jumbo sheet as much as possible, Next, "douse the jumbo," three crew on the down haul, and one to take halyard off the pin and let 'er run on command. On Bryan's command, "Strike the jumbo" halyard was thrown off the pin, and with tugging on the down haul the sail came down fairly quickly, except for the last four feet. Laura climbed forward to assist the jib hank/rings down the stay the last four feet, while two crew shoved the jumbo boom forward on the horse another four inches, sufficient to slacken the sail's miter and allow the sail to go all the way down.
As the jumbo is coming down, Bryan calls all idle hands to the Foresail sheet to haul in as close to midships as possible, then to the halyards and two on the downhaul. With the ship still running before the wind. Bryan shout's to the halyards to ease the way, careful to keep the gaff roughly horizontal coming down. Then the inevitable snag in the process happens. As the sail comes down, the leach, now really slack catches around the aft- lazy jack and billows out around it, preventing the sail and gaff from lowering further. A quick suggestion from Scott to Bryan results in his shouting aft to Capt Davis to Jibe the ship, bringing the stern thru the wind, forcing wind over to the opposite side of the billowing foresail, hopefully pushing billowing leach over sufficiently to relieve pressure allowing crew to hurriedly haul down the gaff throat and the sail with it. It works. The foresail piles up neatly between the lazy jacks, all secure.
We've done it. Now it's time to point back to the dock. Dock lines, previously coiled up on the aft cabin roof are now sent back to their kevels, bowline knots made up, and heaving line's hitched on. As we approach, fenders are sent over the side, and positioned hopefully to contact the three yokohama fenders. Heaving lines go over from 20 feet out, The dockside team takes lines. Somehow # 1 line's heaving line makes it to the dock, but the dock line itself goes into the water. Quick teamwork between dock and deck has the heaving line tossed back on deck, the dock line quickly hauled back on board, heaving line re-hitched and tossed again. This time the dock line goes across and made onto the cleat "without a hitch".
Dock lines secured, the dock crew takes the gangway falls and swings the gangway out over the deck and lowered into position.
The USCG Team huddles with Capt Davis for a short recap listing the few things that need to be tied up before a signature will make the COI official, small stuff not unusual at all to be handled afterward.
The crew with the dock side contingent musters for a quick nod from the Coast Guard, Capt Davis thanked them for their work, advice during the sail, and all gathered for a group photo.
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| Bos'n Bryan proposes a celebration toast |
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| Danny Johnson, leading the dock-side crew tries out some of Chef Walter's white chili. |
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| Now it's time for lunch and swapping stories. |
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