Thanksgiving Saturday brings a better than expected Volunteer Turnout, and a Special Tall Ship Visitor

 

If you had come by near enough to glimpse the waterfront at the Maritime Center, your eye would've caught the unusual sight of a 16th Century Spanish Carrack, tied up at the fuel dock.  More specifically, the replica of the Nao(Spanish for Barque) Trinidad, Commodore Magellan's flagship for the first ever Circumnavigation of the globe.  A Carrack, according to Wikipedia, is a Spanish or Portuguese ship of 3 masts, between 200 to 1,000 tons, designed primarily for exploration
. 

Rick Washington anchoring Bryan
 in the Bosun's chair on forward side
of the mast. Nao Trinidad in
 the background.

According to the news, she has docked her for the week, until the 2d or third, and is open for tours.  Her crew has invited our crew to come over for a tour, no charge, just say you're from Spirit of South Carolina. If she is anything like the larger El Galeon, that has visited here twice before, it's a worthwhile tour. 

Bryan aloft on the foremast with his sander
 and Blackbeard's "Jolly Roger"

With Thanksgiving put away, and a Volunteer Saturday immediately following, it was not unexpected that only one or two of us would sign up to come down for projects aboard.  That would've been just Dave Brennan, and myself.  

Rick Washington and Mikell Evatt
on the Main throat halyard,
 hauling Dave Brennan up the mast.

We were surprised and pleased to see another four Volunteers come aboard,  Nate Mack, Mark Held,  Mikell Evatt, and Doug Hartley.  With Rick Washington now available for foreseeable future, we had enough crew to send a hand aloft on both masts simultaneously.  

While Volunteer Coordinator Bryan pestered Capt Davis for more stiff-bristle deck brooms for deck scrubbing,  the rest set up both masts for sending a crewmember aloft with a sander.

Bryan tour-guiding with Pedro
 and Maria of the Nao Trinidad

As the workday was winding down and volunteers began stowing gear, tools, and securing the deck, Dockmaster Christian Lawyer  at the Gangway introduced to crew members from Trinidad. Maria and Pedro expressed an interest in on offered tour, to which Bryan promptly acquiesced, and started them on a comprehensive tour and history of the Spirit of South Carolina.

Doug Hartley securing coils
 prior to disembarking.

 As the tour wound down, and conversation diverged to free time, the Spaniards expressed interest in locating a few dive bars nearby... As is the sailor's wont, they're on a budget, so looking for some rest and relaxation at a bargain.  Between Bryan, Mark, and others, they went away with a choice list of welcoming dives, withing walking distance.  

A few Volunteers answer the call during Thanksgiving Week.

With 2 shakedown sails coming up and a full weekend of Dockside Tours and Sunset Sails celebrating the Charleston Tea Party, Capt Davis opened up all weekdays up to Thanksgiving, as well as this Saturday for volunteers to come aboard if they wished to lay in on the masts or any other work to prep the ship for those events.

Laura working herself down
 the foremast with her sander.

So, last Tuesday, Laura Johnson came aboard, followed shortly by Adam Reed to take on a couple of projects.  Laura strapped on a harness, stepped into a bosun's chair while  Adam and Rick Washington hauled her up the foremast with a Fast-tool orbital sander in her lap to take off another belt of weathered wood on the foremast. The breeze was clipping along at an enthusiastic 10-to 15 knots, and the occasional swell underneath from wake of a passing behemoth headed up/down channel.   After one and one-half hours aloft in the bosuns chair, rigor mortis sets in around one's thighs, roughly pinned inside the bosun's seat risers, requiring a lowering to the deck and stretch.. The oncoming weather made  for a shortened work session.

Volunteer Coordinator, Bryan
 hands over Lauren's 100
Volunteer Hour Certificate and Pin

Prior to her disembarking, Bryan asked her over to the cap rail for the moment to present her with her 100  Volunteer Hours Certificate and lapel pin.  Laura actually hit that hour mark a couple of months earlier, but the tallying was slow to catch up. Meanwhile, she's more than halfway already to 200 Volunteer hours!                                                                                                                                                         By the time we had secured bosun's chairs and other deck hardware, weather was closing in and minds were focused elsewhere on preparations for Thanksgiving, in whatever form it was going to take. Bryan remained aboard a bit longer to try out a TV monitor he's purchased, for purposes of showing video footage of the ship during tours, or for training,, or, yes, even a crew movie night.  Its not intended to live aboard-the salty conditions would eventually ruin it, but to be brought back for planned events.

Volunteer T-Shirts Now In Stock. for purchase

 A new stock of Volunteer Crew T-Shirts, same pattern and color as before, has arrived.   If you alerted me earlier to save a shirt for you please confirm with Bryan Oliver.  Otherwise see Bryan on Volunteer Days to select your size. Purchase price remains at: $20.00.

First Programs Aboard since 2019, are Taking Shape, and Masts remain top of the Punch List

Rick Washington taking the
grime off the foremast before brushing
 on a 1st coat of linseed oil. 

If you've been following this blog  for past few months, I'm sure you're growing weary of photos of Volunteers in Bosun's Chairs. I'm also sure those stalwarts  being swayed aloft to sand, oil, and slush those mighty masts are just as weary of it, so..  Yet the progress continues, hampered only by weather and volunteer availability.  This Saturday, veteran bosun's chair rider, Dave Brennen, and returning volunteer Rick Washington simultaneously covered  an additional 5 linear feet each on the foremast and mainmast, supported by their deck team of Ken Fonville, Tony Marchesani, Gary Lasko, and Bryan Oliver.

Rick Washington on his way up
the foremast, while Dave Brennan
 has a head-start half-way up the
 mainmast.

But before  that activity took place, Volunteers had mustered below to hear Capt Davis lay out the upcoming events in which Spirit of South Carolina would be participating.

Beginning the week following Thanksgiving, Spirit of South Carolina will cast off the dock for two to three afternoon/evenings of sunset shakedown cruises. The intent is to train volunteers in ship handling, dock line handling in increasingly limited visibility of evening harbor sailing.  She needs as many volunteers as possible to participate, in order to  build the necessary bench strength of volunteer deckhands.  Volunteers can sign up for these using the SignUp Genius application.

The first week in December, Spirit of South Carolina will participate in the 250th anniversary of the Charleston Tea Party with an open house on deck for tours, Saturday, afternoon, and sunset cruise that evening. and a 2-Hour Brunch harbor cruises, Sunday. Look for Volunteer opportunities to support those events by 11/20.

Tony, Bryan, and Walter easing the
 guy line steadying Rick Washington's
 bosun's chair on forward side of
 the mainmast.

In the previous Blog entry I announced the particular achievement of four of our shipmate Volunteers, by their accumulating over 200 volunteer hours of support to Spirit of South Carolina. Today, two of those were at muster to receive a Certificate of Appreciation and a personal gift to mark the singular milestone.

Mainmast Volunteers, Ken Fonville and Tony Marchesani
show off their Certificates of Appreciation
and their personalized teak fid, a tall ship sailor's tool usually handled only by more experienced mariners.
Volunteer Coordinator Bryan over their shoulder.

First Post-COI Volunteer Day, Crew Wastes no Time in laying into critical ship's Projects.

Volunteer Nate Mack in the bosun's seat,
 on his way up the Main mast while CAPT Davis
 observes from higher up  on the port shrouds. 

This past Saturday, Spirit of South Carolina hosted our first regular Volunteer Day since the COI Inspection, and hands wasted no time in laying into some critical projects, primarily the scraping, oiling, and slushing of the schooner's two Douglas Fir laminated masts, which had been sadly ignored over the past three years.  

Eight volunteers mustered at 0900. Walter Barton brought along a serious morale boosting Chicken Ensalada casserole for sharing at lunch. All gathered around CAPT Davis who set priorities and divided responsibilities. 

Sending a deckhand aloft in a bosun's chair, 19th century style, is not a simple process.  Safely executed, if requires harnessing someone into a flat-board "bosun's chair" suspended from either the throat or peak halyard tackles. Their tools or tub of linseed oil or whatever is going aloft, are tethered to the chair. Pockets are emptied so nothing inadvertently comes crashing down onto the deck, or heads, from 82 feet up in the air. Two shipmates stand by on the pinrail where the halyard tackle is made fast. 

Nate Mack starts his ride up the Main Mast
for some sanding work.

Last minute checks on chest harness, tether strap looped several times thru the halyard shackle, a belaying line wrapped around the mast to keep the rider from swinging away from the mast. On the rider's command,  "ready on the halyard, hoist away!"  two shipmates start a slow steady pull, hand over hand. 

From aloft, the "look like ants" hoisters,
secure Nate in place and work
on a fouled flag halyard.

Depending on the hoisting tackles used, the "hoisters" might make up for the lack of purchase by "sweating" the halyard, shocking the line (gently of course) to yank the rider up just several inches at a pull. Once the deckhand in the chair is in position they'll shout 'that's well! and the hoisters will make the line fast to the belaying pin, finishing with a locking hitch, the only instance where such a hitch is used on board, that is, when a human being is held aloft by it. 

While the work aloft of moving a power sander around the mast, or slopping on linseed oil, or smearing gobs of Vaseline over the twice linseed-oiled mast isn't physically demanding so much as growing discomfort from limited movement. Therefore the deckhand aloft will typically be lowered down after approximately 30 minutes, to stretch, and another deckhand gets their chance.

In this way, large sections of both masts have gradually undergone portions of their three-phased restoration;  sanding to remove grime and weathered wood, 2 coats of linseed oil to preserve and protect the wood surface, and finally a coating of Vaseline, the modern-day alternative to animal fat/grease, to lubricate the mast easing the mast hoops as they drag the sail upward or down.

Masked to control the sawdust his sander is creating,
 Nate is scrutinized by CAPT Davis
 watching from his perch in the shrouds.

From aloft, observing shipmates lined up
 on the jumbo boom to flake the Jumbo
 as it's lowered.

As work progressed on the masts, idle hands mustered on the foredeck to practice sail-setting teamwork by raising, lowering and furling the large Jumbo Staysail.

Walter mastering the Galley appliances.

Meanwhile, below-decks, in the Galley, Walter Barton is heating up a big mess of Chicken Enchilada's for lunch.

Surge in Volunteer Hours underlies the Schooner's Success in achieving her COI.

The COI has been the undisputed achievement for Spirit of South Carolina's Volunteers as a whole. But underlying that accomplishment has been the surge of effort by volunteers, spread over recent months to prepare the schooner, but also prepare themselves to take the deck.  That achievement is actually measurable in the surge of Volunteer hours devoted to the ship over that period.   And so we'll raise a glass (when it becomes practical, and an extra ration for our shipmates below, )  

Thanks for setting the pace!

This group are the first to hit the 200 hour number[Marlinspike Volunteer] since re-inception of the Program 4 years ago.

Nate Mack surpassed 238 Volunteer hours in September

Doug Hartley          227 Volunteer Hours in October

Ken Fonville             215 Volunteer Hours as of last August

Tony (the Wiper) Marchesani   203 Volunteer Hours August

 

This Group of new Foremast Volunteers have hit the 100 hour number

Laura Johnson surpassed her  100  hour mark last month.

Todd Cole, out of Atlanta  hit 64 hours in March, and 112 Hours in August

Walter Barton, close behind, hit 57 hours and accelerated to 109 in August

Danny Johnson actually hit 100 hours back in January, and would show more if he'd log it (:-)

Likewise, Mikell Evatt, with his 66 hours this year to October puts him over 100 .

These two New Volunteers haven't been exactly loafing either in achieving their Jibsheet Volunteer Rating..

Alex Lya, coming down from Columbia has hit 66 Volunteer hours last month.

Dave Lazar, new this year had accumulated 58 Volunteer hours by July

With COI Achievement behind us, the pressure's off,, and yet it's not.

With the COI no longer hanging over us, the pace on deck this past Saturday seemed noticeably less frenetic. The weather was gorgeous! as it had been most of the week.  Five of us mustered aboard, and Bryan organized them into some simple housekeeping projects. Although winds were at that cusp to discourage bosuns chair projects aloft,  Volunteers leaned into a number of tasks.  Mark Held and Ken Fonville joined Bryan Oliver out in the head rig to harbor furl the jib, which had spent the last two weekends in an ugly pile up by the jibstay.  Walter Barton dragged up on deck all the fo'cstle settee cushions to smear mink oil generously into the leather. Tony Marchesani and new volunteer Gary Lasko teamed up to retrieve from the fore peak, a barely viable plastic bucket of vaseline, and  transfer it's contents to a new bucket with lid.    As volunteers concentrated in the saloon and focs'tle to consolidate hardware stowage and free up berths for possible occupancy, Bryan and Gary separated to a New Volunteer Orientation, getting him signed-in, and immediately started on his basic deckhand skills checklist, and a pet rope to adopt.            

There is still a sense of pressure

 The pressure is just more subtle and less focused but still there. The ship now has to demonstrate that she can generate revenue.   In my conversations this weekend with Captains and educators, and crewmen who actually crewed Spirit of South Carolina in the  years 2007-2014 - they've shared cautionary tales.  From their perspective it's never been that easy, especially here in South Carolina.  Still, there are tall ship programs out there, up this coast, and further west that appear to be surviving well enough. 

Situations vary.  Some are owned by an institution with deep pockets borne of long standing relationships with the their local community and well beyond. Other's have long standing programs with the same clients, which have become "cash cows" in a sort way. Others have state sponsorship. All have a semi to fully professional, though bare-bones staff. a shore party, dedicated to building sponsorships, and organizing revenue-generating events. That in itself requires it's own budget. 

 Finally, there exists a national umbrella organization, Tall Ships America, Inc. which plays an advocacy role, a network, and a collector of knowledge, best practices. 

I've spent my last several years, observing from the deck. It's not exactly a crows nest spot for observing what's going on. My impression, over past years, is that Spirit of South Carolina has not much tapped into those knowledge resources.  Given our track record since 2015, I hope that will change. 

Meanwhile, short term, there is a business plan of sorts taking shape, which will focus more on generating revenue as an attraction vessel and catered event space.  If you've been on board recently, you've noticed presence of a suite of smart-looking khaki sunbrella seat cushions, being arranged atop deck boxes and cabin tops.  

How much of that involves casting off and sailing remains to be seen.  How much of that will include an educational theme, essential to maintaining our 501(c)3 non-profit status, remains to be formulated. 

Regardless, Volunteer support will remain a bedrock to sustaining our schooner well beyond the near-term future.  Volunteers roles will likely extend beyond that of deckhand.  We'll be living in interesting times.  Stay tuned.