Spirit of South Carolina's Face dock issues force a temporary move

 You may recall, or not. that around the first week of April, Charleston entrepreneur, Derek Astorino, had collaborated with Volunteer Coordinator, Bryan Oliver, to bring aboard a professional Private Chef on 27 April, to prepare a gourmet lunch for our Volunteers, as part of a Saturday Volunteer Day. The event would be videoed for a YouTube Channel.. (Look for the URL in a soon to be published post).  Video/cooking crew and volunteer crew looked forward to bringing everything together on board at Spirit's dock at the Maritime Center.

So, to complicate matters, two weeks later, Spirit of South Carolina's crew received notice from her host, the Maritime Center that her dock would be undergoing repairs to the barrier panels under the dock, for a period of two weeks, starting 22 April. Spirit would need to find a temporary berth elsewhere.  The complication;  Mr. Baker and a Board were scheduled to come aboard that same Monday, for a harbor cruise on moving day.

Volunteer Crew, Frank Frazier, Dave Brennan,
 Tony Marchesani, Dallas Spencer, and Nate Mack
 (on camera), returning to the Carolina Yacht Club Dock. 

As Volunteer Coordinator, Bryan, exchanged frenzied communication the Capt Heath the Project Manager, a plan was formulated that would require the talents of  four or more Volunteers to assist in moving the schooner off the dock Sunday, to the Charleston City Marina on the Ashley River. 

As this plan was about to be executed on Sunday morning, word came down that the Schooner would not move directly to the City marina, but dock instead, on the floating face dock at Carolina Yacht Club on Sunday, 

On Monday, Mr Baker and the Board would board for their harbor cruise/meeting, with volunteer/ Heath crew, then, disembark at the City Marina.  

Are you following me so far?.. yes, I was feeling the same thing. It was made a bit more complex with a Play-action switcheroo, on sailing day, requiring the schooner, after it's cruise, instead of docking at City Marina,  to instead, return to the Carolina Yacht Club, disembark it's VIP passengers, and remain at the Carolina Yacht Club thru the following weekend.

Our new Event Captain, Bobby Noles
 getting a feel for the helm.

With good flexing by the volunteer crew, under direction of Capt Heath, and our new Event Captain, Bob Noles, Mr. Baker and guests boarded at the Yacht club conducted a successful motor cruise around the harbor and returned to the Yacht Club to disembark. With that, the schooner was left to herself for the remainder of the week, until Volunteers returned this Saturday (today). 

Just as complications were finally resolving themselves a new one arose.  Arrangements had been made earlier in the week with the Carolina Yacht Club to have about 30 of their young members (Opti sailors), come aboard Saturday morning for a tour, (about the same time that our visiting chef would be boarding to prepare his lunch masterpiece.)

Saturday morning, a hardy group of Volunteers found their way thru the maze at the Carolina Yacht Club to muster at 0900 on board. Nate Mack, Ken Fonville, Bryan Oliver Walter Barton, Dave Brennan, Tony Marchesani, Alicia Cameron, Carin Bloom, Ryan Smith with son, Brody, and daughter Kaydin,   

Never underestimate the lure of a gourmet lunch in the saloon to draw a crowd.  Whatever..

The best crew turnout in months bode well for a lot of training and maintenance getting done. And it started out that way. A  1st order of business was to reposition the inflatable "Yokohoma" blivit which had apparently squirted up onto the dock... It needed to go back between the hull and dock. Next a poorly made bowline in the #3 spring line was threatening to come apart.  With spare dock lines left on the old dock, volunteers made do repurposing existing lines to take up the strain, enabling a volunteer to break loose the bowline, re-tie it and make it fast to it's cleat before resetting other lines.  Meanwhile, Bryan led a group of volunteers on a "Check the Bilges " tour of the ship, culminating in a "Pump the Bilges exercise. Walter Barton broke off to finish the two-foot open deck seam just forward of the main mast.

Bryan Oliver with young Opti Sailors from CYC,
 demonstrating line handling.

As these unforeseen issues were being resolved, but before the Bilges Tour had completed; the next complication appeared;  a force of 40 or more highly motivated young sailors crowded the face-dock waiting for permission to come aboard for a tour. While the rest of volunteers pitched in to wrestle these issues, Ryan Smith and Tony Marchesani shifted gears to head up the Bilge Pumping drill.  Bryan Oliver and Carin Smith organized the 40-odd young sailors into two watches. Starting at opposite ends of the deck, for the next 45 minutes, Bryan and Carin led their charges on a detailed hands-on tour of the ship, sprinkled with stories, halyard hauling, helm setting, compass reading, and knot-tying. 

Timing it perfectly to noon, All students were sent ashore with best wishes for a good race, and Volunteers hastily lay below into the saloon for a look at what had been wafting up thru the hatch from the galley. 

Chef Reggie and Adrian in the galley
 explaining his approach to this lunch.

What lay in front of them, expertly arranged along the saloon table was an attractive assortment of fruits, and cheeses, a dessert of Brownies, and Chef Reggie (Not the basketball player) and his team mate Adrian, plating out a most savory roast pork-belly laid over a rice with a sauced mushroom that made even mushroom haters change their minds.

Volunteer/diners compare tasting notes

 Learn more about  Chef Reggie Miller and his organization. During the lunch,  Volunteer Coordinator, Bryan Oliver expressed the appreciation of all diners around the table by awarding Chef's Reggie and Adrian each, an "Appreciation Copy" of Chef Hunter's book, "The Complete Galley Guide"

Bryan doing his part to finish
off the last strawberries.