Spirit of South Carolina conducts Three Harbor Cruises in one week.

I don't think that's every been done before, even with a full-time crew. let alone all Volunteers. Tuesday, last week,approximately 25 passengers, all from the Mobile Labs Company came on deck for a Sunset Sail. At 1600, eight Volunteers mustered on deck to prepare the schooner for sailing. We really didn't know until boarding time what sort of experience our passengers were looking for. i.e. were they looking for an immersion adventure in helping set sails, coiling lines, learning about the ship? or were they intending only to be left alone for a peaceful ride around the harbor? While waiting for that answer, Volunteers set about singling up all docklines, passing up and staging all our new sunbrella seat cushions, taking down and stowing the awning, filling our igloo jug with water and an ice "bowl" from the freezer. Our question was answered at 1800 when only two men from the group showed any enthusiasm in helping to set the jumbo. While Bos'un Bryan administered the welcome and safety briefing to our guests amidships, the last of the pizza boxes arrived and were stowed below in the saloon, to be handed out sometime later. Next step take off the gangway. Not unexpectedly, taking off the gangway did not go without a hitch or two, unnoticed by the passengers, but a consequence of a relatively raw crew. Half of us had never taken this schooner off the dock before. The learning curve was steep but they were climbing it quickly, and each drill, maneuver, sail evolution was working more smoothly, safely. During this operation we discovered our gangway hydraulic jack to be inoperable, requiring three hands now, to lift it off it's braces and haul it back alongside the deck benches, cast off the falls and swing them inboard for their shipmates on deck to overhaul and secure. Undocking was made simple by the right combination of river current, tide and wind, enabling us to gain a wide bow angle quickly then power off clear. As docklines were coiled we called forward our three "volunteer" guests, and advised others to get out their camera's for a unique phot op-watching their colleagues haul up the jumbo sail, complete with sweating it the last two feet. Inspite of the inspired effort and success of their colleagues' effort in raising the jumbo, no one else indicated any interest in trying out,,say, the jib, which was already dressed for setting. The rest of the cruise was smooth and uneventful, a welcome late seabreeze coming in lasted into the evening well past sunset. Our guests shared their pizza supply with the crew, much welcomed. Just at dusk, we turned toward the dock, struck the jumbo and made up our heaving lines. Nick took a volunteer on shore in the dinghy, then took station on the starboard bow to steady the schooners' angle. As the schooner seemed to drift imperceptibly towards the dock, a bit too far south, Capt Bobby decided he didn't like the angle, and increased throttle for a go-around. This time you could see our angle spot on, as Will Ventress at throttle and Nick in the pushboat kept her perfectly parallel to the dock from 75 feet away, letting the opposing current and incoming tide slowly push the hull directly towards the dock. At 30 feet Capt Bobby shouted out Throw 4, and Volunteer Harold slung the leaded bag in a perfect arc over Sam's head, where he could grab the line and immediatley start hauling the stern line up to the dock. As Harold took up slack and made fast, Capt Bobby let the current/tide combination float the boat forward, tightening the stern dock line and forcing the ship closer to the dock, where dockline #1 went over the side, a long throw, stretching out the heaving line, and the lead ball bag just barely slapping dock inside the bench. As Will throttle alternately forward, then reverse, #2 Dockline was sent over to stop her drift south, followed by #3 Spring line. The hull sideslipped closer to the dock unti her waist rested squarely under the gangway base. Nick sped the small boat around into the marina, then joined Sam on the dock to help lift and set the gangway. Only two days off until a slightly different volunteer crew mustered on Friday, at 0900