Multi-talented Volunteers, lend talents to Benefit Spirit of South Carolina

The past week was just plain busy;  saw a continuous flow of several behind the scenes phone conversations, meetings, errands, and situations, not including planning/prepping for this Saturday's volunteer Day.

It began with a reluctant phone call to Caleb in New York.  Caleb, representing a faction of the New York Yacht Club was interested in  chartering  Spirit of South Carolina for a week's sail on Long Island in early August.  Unfortunately, the logistics, insurance issues, and cost of getting her there and back, without a revenue stream to cover those legs, made it a bridge too far, and I had to convey regrets.

It followed with a series of messages, then a call, followed by a meeting with Derek Astorino, of the Food Boat, here in Charleston, wishing to video a guest chef on board Spirit of South Carolina, demonstrating and cooking a lunch on board for Volunteers.. cool!  That string of communication continues with a plan to make it happen around 27 April.

In between those two was a couple of email, and phone conversations with Elliott, past deckhand, and now educator at Beaver Country Day School outside Boston, wanting a cost quote to send down 18 high school students with their 3 educators next February for up to two weeks of sailing adventure. That one looks promising. 

Another conversation with Rebecca from CORA who had some ideas for marketing the schooner, possibly even a charter sail. 

And a hurried drive to North Charleston to retrieve the schooner's sewing machine, left for repairs; the shop was being forced to vacate and reestablish somewhere else; meaning I 'm on my own for time being to order the parts and wait for dust to settle before bringing the machine, with new repair parts, back to the repair ship, hopefully newly ensconced in a new shop. 

With only a week to go before the schooner's first real public appearance, sort of , Volunteers mustered Saturday morning to jump into projects making her deck ready for inspection.  Easter Sunday, the 3-masted schooner, Denis Sullivan will raft up to us, disembarking a number of Ashley Hall students across out decks to the waiting parents and throng dockside.  very public. 

Deck Wash Crew with tools of the trade.
Bryan had already busted his brush handle.

1st order of business was a deck wash,, normally performed weekly onboard this ship, we were horribly long overdue.  The deck was first cleared of anything loose; rope coils, mats, ladders, docklines, etc. Walter Barton hauled out the fire hose to the foredeck and stood by while Tony Marchesani lay down below in the engine room to set the valve to Fire Main and start the pump. The rest of us,, Alex Lya, Ben Walker, Dave Brennan, and Ken Fonville took stations with hard bristle brushes for the teak deck and softer brushes for the painted and varnished surfaces. 

Deck Wash crew at work

Bryan opened up the Fire Main, and we all followed Walter down the the deck scrubbing or brushing everything from the waist down.  After Walter followed with a rinse and flushing of the grime scrubbed loose, the hose was drained, secured, brushes stowed and we organized for the next set of projects. 

Tricky business; heating and bending bronze

Nate Mack had just arrived, towing his acetylene welding torch cart, and set up to restore three  different bronze stanchions which had been over time, badly bent. The trick was to heat up the  damaged portion to soften it, while keeping cool the base, and the wood rail, then skillfully hammering the affected portion back into proper shape.  Tony wrapped the base in a water soaked towel and continuously ran water over it with the garden hose. Dave focused the torch onto the damaged portion of the stanchion, and Nate began the careful tapping, occasionally banging different spots to  eventually draw the hot portions back into it's original shape. Repeat three times. 

The rest of us explored the deck for anything improperly secured; re-coiling and hanging lines that were too large and dragging the deck or just plain sloppy, resecuring other lines into proper locations, or stowing unnecessary cordage in the lazarette. 

Rick serving up his choice chili.

Meanwhile, below in the galley, Rick Washington had been working a pot of chili and rice with with several fixings. The bell rang -well timed as welding projects completed, and deck organization found a pause.

Crew enjoys the break

Following lunch, Nate and team lay aft to complete his project of grinding out and setting a dutchman for a new stanchion base in the starboard quarter taff rail. Bryan, Alex, and Ben organized material and tools to fashion a UV-protective  bag from plastic tarpaulin fabric, for the rescue boat's assigned Type 1 PFD's.

Dave fitting lifelines to the newly-
 installed stanchion

Stanchion Welding repair crew
 on their third project.

By 1400 most of the work was completed, and volunteers began exfiltrating for home and their own weekend projects.  Ben hung back with Bryan for another couple hours to  work on dock line bowlines and handling and heaving lines.  Alex was keeping a berth over the weekend to make the most of a Volunteer day before heading back to Columbia Sunday.

Bryan, the gangway and the repaired stanchion

 As the say was ending, Bryan was still on deck with the speedy stitch awl, sewing together the PFD bag they had measured and cut out, and waiting for the king high tide to lift  the schooner and test the gangway height over the just repaired stanchion.  It turned out fine.