A new Volunteer Welcomed aboard, and Final touches applies before Spirit of South Carolina hosts the Schooner Denis Sullivan

New Volunteer Ryan Smith
 and Dave Brennen
 waiting for his promised shirt
 for 400 Volunteer hours,

 I would say that Saturday's Volunteer Day was leaderless, being that the Bos'n(yers truly) was away in St. Louis with grandsons.. but that really wasn't the case.  Leadership surfaced across the deck, as Ken Fonville, Nate Mack, Tony Marchesani, Dave Brennan, and Ben Walker mustered together, with a general set of objectives left to them- the Maintenance Punchlist, and a quick text message from the Bos'n, and a deadline. Also an new shipmate/Volunteer mustered aboard, Ryan Smith, USN, who fell-in behind Dave Brennan for the necessary introductions and hasty orientations followed by being thrown into the frenzy already underway on deck. Apparently unfazed, we looking forward to seeing him again soon, with some more volunteers, and even his two teenagers. 

Stalwart, Alex Ryashivich, (just Rya, to his friends) had arrived from Columbia the night before, Friday evening, but ran into difficulties in the dark on the gangway, which had been rigged unusually high on the shipboard end, to clear the stanchions at high tide. While we wait for his story, he's back in Columbia nursing a broken wrist.

The deadline itself was a moving target, based on the arrival,, sometime soon,( I keep saying), of a new Captain, and the expected arrival and rafting up to us of a visiting schooner, Denis Sullivan, the next day on Easter Sunday  at noon, to discharge a crew of Ashley Hall School students to their waiting parents, all across our decks and up our gangway. Very public, 

And so, they set to work, chose their projects, organized to teams, and set to work.  Ken went below to make organized the Aft cabin berths, and make up the Captain's berth specifically.  Tony, and Ben set up a paint station out in the head rig, a touchy scenario as you could imagine.

Tony Marchesani and Ben Walker
 in midst of time-honored job
of slushing the headrig. 

They began slushing the bowsprit shrouds and martingale backstays with Fluidfilm, a modern equivalent of tar, thinned with turpentine. Apparently made its mark as an undercoating for auto bodies... gotta be good, right? 

Coxwain, Nate in the headrig,
admiring behind him
 the successful relocation of
 the small boat(its gone)

Nate and the remainder set to lowering the small boat from it's hipped position on the starboard bow, and motoring her to a temporary dockage inside, then returning to pitch in to headrig. 

The projects went well, based on observations the following Easter Morning.  Volunteers mustered off in time to go home to lunch.