Transitions come and go, but the direction of our Schooner, and her needs remain the same.

 The past week, or two, has brought to the schooner and her Volunteers some motivational highs and lows: 

 Low; It brought news that our Captain would be transitioning out of his command. Capt Davis was popular with crew. but, to quote the Bull Durham movie:  "management wants to make a change." 

High; It also saw new contacts made with educators from Middleton Plantation, the South Carolina Maritime Museum, and a Middle School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, all interested in Spirit of South Carolina's potential as an educational platform. 

Low: Volunteers came aboard Saturday to face the consequences of heavy winds and shifting Yokohama's (those huge hard rubber cylinders)last Sunday. "oof."   

High:  Hopefully they were heartened by Bryan's recap of the 51st Tall Ship's America Conference, at which 15 tall ships, and their crews and several other boards of directors were represented-every one welcoming Spirit of South Carolina back; that support was spoken none more forcefully, than by the Delivery Captain and his "A Team" who delivered her to shipyard.   

We are the crew of a ship that is respected in the industry; Her crew of volunteers, especially so, for their achievement in helping to bring her back, and successfully regain her Certificate of Inspection. 

This Saturday, TEN of us, Tony Marchesani, Nate Mack, David Brennan, Walter Barton, Ken Fonville, Alex Lya, Bre McCormick, Rick Washington, and Darryl Darby, all mustered with Bos'un/Volunteer Coordinator, Bryan. After collecting lunch money and handing it off to Danny Johnson, they divided up to three tasks.  Darryl took on the project of sanding down and prepping the stern light platform, for oiling.  Nate, Bre and  Alex set to rigging up two bosun's chairs on the foremast, using the jumbo, and foresail throat halyards. The remainder gathered to mull over the sticky problem of a renegade Yokohama-the gi-normous rubber blivits that floated between the schooner's hull and the pilings of the face dock. The north-most yokohama had drifted under the dock overhang, rendering it useless and allowing the bow, and the port side anchor to drift up to the dock. And so, after several minutes of brainstorming, the team set out with boat hooks, marlinspikes,  crowbars, and not a little rope pioneering creativity, maneuver the rogue yokohama out from under the dock, center it on it's piling, and fashion a bridle with guy line to hold it in place, mostly.  

As the last hitches were made into the Yokoyama's sling, Darryl finished the last hand-sanded touches to the stern light platform, and both bosun's seats hung snugly against the foremast table.  Walter declared lunch to be ready.  

Dave Brennan sauces up his selection,
 while Tony Marchesani starts some big bites.

Thanks to Danny's good tastes, the crew helped themselves to a true hoagy smorgasbord.  A few of us, torn by real-life family and house maintenance commitments, went ashore.  The remainder of us cleared the table, secured from lunch and mustered one more time on deck for a last task.  

All hands to freeing up and rerouting 
spring lines 2 and 3

During that urgent situation the previous Sunday with high winds forcing the schooner's hull forward and aft, then against the dock, as the tide rose, it's lines slackened by the high tide, the yokohama nearest the bow(as previously described), slipped under the dock, making it useless as a protection. To counteract the bow's tendency to drift into the dock, the engines were started and  reversed to warp the bowsprit away from the dock. Dock lines were hastily rerouted . While the maneuver worked, it also stretched the #2 spring lines such that the hull shifted six feet south.  That shift placed the dock-fixed gangway over lifeline stanchions,  promptly bending one. 

Bryan making a tugboat hitch
of the stern quarter line over its bitt.

Dave Brennan and Tony Marchesani
overhaul the #2 lines to their
 proper deck cleat

 

Spring lines askew
and a-tangle.
Hands restored order.

So now the remaining hands faced the task of maneuvering the hull north about six feet, to restore it's centered position below the dock-mounted gangway, eliminating the threat of another gangway/stanchion collision. The hasty actions the previous Sunday, created a spider web of cross-routed spring lines, and others made fast to different, not optimal, dock cleats. And so the remainder of us, spend the remainder of the afternoon, loosening, rerouting, doubling up, and at least once, bending on an additional dock line to restore order to the four systems, all aimed at stabilizing the hull against those three critical Yokohama blivits, to keep the head rig from scraping the dock, and the gangway centered over the deck. 

Mustering off, we all went ashore looking back on the several projects still needing attention, oiling the masts, slushing the masts, caulking the mast deck ring and reinstalling the main mast boot.  And then there's our skills to polish up.  line-handling, sail-setting, knots, watch-standing..
  It never really ends,, but there-in lies the fascination,,, if you're drawn to Tall Ships.

And finally, a Fairwinds wish to shipmate-volunteer,  Petty Officer 3d Class Logan Day, USN, who in next couple of weeks will ship off from his Naval Nuclear Engineering school just up the river to a couple of additional short courses up north before taking station aboard a Nuclear Attack Sub in Groton, CT.   Keep us informed, Logan, You've always got a berth aboard.