New Year starts with modest Volunteer Turn-out. But rewarded with great weather and lots to do.

 Happy New Year! 

 It started out small for Spirit of South Carolina, this first Volunteer Day of the Year. I was a little disappointed that only three of us mustered. We chalked it off to a blustery wet rain that blew thru around 0900. However by 1040, the sky had cleared, water's and wind had abated to a really pleasant sunny day on the water.  If you weren't with us, you missed out. 

Boarding Saturday morning, I was met with a new contraption bolted onto the deck end of the gangway. Capt Davis had commissioned an extension six-foot walk ramp hinged onto the end, to eliminate need of the plastic staircase. Seems to work well enough but needed a few immediate mods to minimize it's tendency to scrape the saloon butterfly hatch varnish. As the schooner shifted fore and aft on it's lines.  

 Below in the galley, Rick Washington, still aboard, made the last of the coffee. and was scooping out bacon, grits, and eggs for whoever wanted some.  He had been boat-sitting thru the Holidays, while Capt Davis took some time to visit family, and I went back to St. Louis for grandkids for two weeks.

Dallas Spencer, new volunteer joining us just before Christmas, had already mastered half the knots on his first day.  He must've been practicing over the holiday.  While I was testing my coffee below in the saloon, Dallas already had opened the Marlinspike sailor book  and was trying a short splicing of two ends of some salvage rope out of the rope locker. 

Capt Davis's Dad, Peter Alford was aboard also, his last day of a short visit before returning to Charlotte. He joined in  the bowline knot-tying fest. 

Breakfast put away, everyone laid up on deck to survey  some immediate priorities.  With the gangway-fully extended, it ended exactly midships between the Mainmast Fife Rail and the aft end of the Saloon butterfly hatch.  Capt Davis directed hand' to standby the dock lines for adjusting, while he went ashore to retrieve the "Skiff", his personally purchased center-console skiff mounting an Evinrude 90. to try out as a push-boat. While hands alternately held, eased, or checked the four dock lines, Capt Davis alternately pushed at the port bow, then at the main chains, enabling Rick, Peter, Dallas and Bryan to reset the ship's position so the gangway lay comfortably  athwart the midships line, safely away from the butterfly hatch.

While Rick lay below to troubleshoot a problem odor around the gray water system, Bryan and Dallas, pulled out the drum of 1/2"  rope from the lazarette.  Bryan assigned Dallas the task of using his newfound marlinespike skills to make up a "lizard" or 'toggle' - a 24" line with an eye spliced in one end, and a double wall-and-crown knot (button) made into the other; used for hanging the Main boom's starboard quarter-tackles onto the rail. The standard: Make it look just like the one mounted on the port quarter rail.  

During a break for fried chicken, mac and cheese and a darned good biscuit, Capt Davis laid out a priority over the next few weeks;   Sea Trials.  Four of them. Successful completion of these would release the schooner to the full command of Capt Davis with the freedom to plan, and start executing programs aimed at generating revenue and fulfilling the ship's commitment to education under her 501(c)3 mission. The complication is arising, in the attempts to coordinate schedules of critical individuals; Capt Hackett, who must observe and rule on the success of the sea trials, and  the schedules of sufficient volunteers to crew the schooner. 

Dallas Spencer in the head rig retrieving
 the Christmas light string.

After lunch, Bryan measured out a length equal to the new gaff vang that Ken Fonville had completed just before the holidays.  As Dallas finished and mounted the toggle, Bryan promptly handed over the new vang line with directions to splice an eye into one end and endsplice the other end.  Dallas was gonna be pretty good at this by end of day.  Once the second vang was completed, Bryan and Dallas rigged them onto the gaff, and gasket coiled the rest, securing the coils to the fore boom throat cleats.

Rick and Bryan then joined up to start down rigging the six-odd strings of Christmas lights along the port rail and foremast shrouds. Dallas laid out into the head rig to retrieve the last strings. Once balled up and consolidated into a bag, Rick secured them in the forecastle.  

All done. Now leaning forward in the saddle for those sea trials.