Marlinspike #1

Winter 2014

The Real Adventure The 38th Voyage Atlantic Circle Westward Ho! Capt. Moreland’s Log

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MICHAEL RUTSTEIN

Launch Day Welcome to Marlinspike, the new magazine devoted to traditional sailing vessels, sailors, and programs. Our goal is to be the Leatherman of magazines, an information multi-tool strapped to the belt of every tall-ship sailor in America!

We aim to ask good questions and give practical advice. We plan to be a resource for sailors, skippers, program directors, interpreters and curators. And we hope to become a space where all stakeholders can meet and discuss what works and what doesn’t.

We do realize that not everyone who picks up our magazine is going to reek of pine tar. To that end, we hope to partner with boats and museums nationwide to get people involved. You’re an armchair sailor? We want to take in an exhibit, or a launch. We want to get you sailing. You’re sailing? We want you to go pro.

You’re a pro? We want you to get a license. Got your license? We’ll be your guide to all the boats and programs out there, and tell you what your peers are up to!

Marlinspike will be published quarterly: winter, spring, summer and fall.

Between issues we’ll be constantly updating MarlinspikeMagazine.com and our facebook page with news, photos, rum-drink recipes, tattoos and job openings.

Now that we’ve met, don’t be a stranger. We can’t do it without you.

Subscribe. Advertise. Visit us online. Post an update. Add some photos. Tell your friends about us. Tell us how we can get better.

This winter we’ll be working to introduce Marlinspike to as many folks as possible. Our official launch is at the Tall Ships America conference in San Diego in February. Come March we’ll be in the other corner of the country, at the Maine Boatbuilder’s Show. Stop by and say hello! We’ll have Marlinspike tshirts and caps for everyone who plunks down for a subscription. And we hope to see lots of those shirts and caps out on the water this summer!

MARLINSPIKE MAGAZINE WINTER 2014 • Vol. 1, No. 1 Michael Rutstein, Editor & Publisher Cover Photo: Bob Harbison Advertising: (978) 561-3020 Marlinspike (ISSN, USPS pending) is published quarterly for $25 by Pennant Publications, Inc., 73 Middleton Road, Boxford, MA 01921.

Periodical postage paid at Boxford, MA, and additional entries.

Postmaster: Send address changes to: 73 Middleton Road, Boxford, MA 01921.

Copyright 2014 by Pennant Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Fair Winds,

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Michael Rutstein, Publisher

4 ❂ The Real Adventure

26 ❂ Katherine Aloft

After 15 years of restoration, Adventure sails again

A California sailor looks to build her resume

8 ❂ The 38th Voyage

The Charles W. Morgan preps for an historic cruise

10 ❂ Atlantic Circle

Tall Ship sailor Jen Buttery goes solo in her 31’ ketch

16 ❂ Westward Ho!

A veteran skipper recounts 40 years of sail training

20 ❂ Captain’s Log

The log of the Picton Castle, bound for Pitcairn

28 ❂ Boatyards 30 ❂ Calendar 33 ❂ Sailing Opportunities 34 ❂ Boats Bars & Beaches 40 ❂ Tools of the Trade 45 ❂ Job Listings 46 ❂ Parting Signals

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Adventur THE REAL

HAS JUST BEGUN 25 years after she was donated to the City of Gloucester, the highliner of New England’s fishing fleet is ready to go sailing once again. But where, when and how?

Shortly before the holidays, Marlinspike sat down with John Fuller, Executive Director of The Gloucester Adventure, Inc., and Geoff Deckebach, the Ship’s Keeper, to talk about the organization’s plans for the schooner.

Marlinspike: You’re at an exciting time with Adventure right now, finally getting to sail this historic schooner after 25 years of on-and-off restoration efforts. But as we all know, rebuilding and sailing are two different things entirely, requiring two different skill sets. Let’s start with the boat — where is she now and what sort of condition is she in?

John Fuller, Executive Director: She’s right here in Gloucester at the Gloucester Marine Railways. Adventure still needs some basic elements for her Certificate of Inspection…

Geoff Deckebach, Ship’s Keeper: We need to have the bilge plumbing in place, none of her electrics are in — we just have a bunch of extension cords running around the boat right now. The interior of the boat is bare. At a minimum, we need to get the plumbing in, the electrics, nav lights, doors on the heads, some kind of galley, and a nav station to be ready for the season.

MS: What sort of COI are you aiming at?

John: Subchapter T with a 20-mile limit. Our plans are to sail Adventure in the same waters she covered as a fishing boat. We hope to take her up to Portland and since she spent a lot of time on Georges Bank, down to Vineyard Haven on Martha’s Vineyard. Her daily life was in and out of Boston. She’d go fishing for cod, halibut, haddock, whatever the catch was, and then unload in Boston, provision back here, and head out

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PHOTO: LENNY BURGESS

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again. Her Captain, Leo Hynes, was called “in-and-out” 149 people… because he kept her moving. So we’re going to Boston, Provincetown… we’re looking a number of ports where there MS: Wow. are various non-profits and cultural organizations that we can partner with.

John: …right, which is unrealistic on the boat. This past But in the near term, our plan is to fuel up, pump out, fall we sailed four times, and I think the maximum we had and cover the boat so we can set up our shop and get started was maybe 65 passengers. And the deck was pretty full. on some of the interior work that needs doing. We have People had to move out of the way if we were going to come electricians who have about, or if we were raisoffered to do pro bono ing or lowering sails. That wiring on the boat. We’re was without having either buying the supplies, the focsle or the captain’s they’re donating their cabin available for people labor, and that will be to be in. We can’t have starting soon. We do have people in the learning some money, a credit line center when we’re underwe can work against, and way — that has to be we’re out with a solicitalocked down and watertion right now — the tight. But our target group money’s starting to come is 50-plus people, probain from that. This is the bly a max of 75. best time of year to be out fundraising [December].

MS: What do you We’re looking to a couple need for crew to run that of major donors to get the boat? Adventure is a big ADVENTURE, newly built, with a springy sheer captain’s quarters and the girl. focsle done, and we plan to convert the hold into a learning center. That will be a Geoff: We need a 200-ton captain and probably three multi-purpose space, the idea being we can run educational others for licensed crew, I’m not sure of those details. programs for all ages, fifth-graders right through continuing- Functionally, to sail Adventure we need a skipper and six or ed programs. seven professional crew.

For instance, I’ve met with Tim Queeney, who’s a renowned expert on celestial navigation — he’s the editor of MS: Can seven people get the booms off the tables?

Ocean Navigator magazine — and he’s agreed to come on board once a month, say May through September, to teach a Geoff: The main boom, no! We’ll be relying on a little class on celestial navigation. We hope to use the boat as help from our passengers. much as we can — day and night — for ed programs and social events.

John: We’re going to see this spring if there’s some way to lead the halyards to the windlass and use that as a winch MS: For the last 25 years you’ve relied solely on donato raise the main… we have a lot of things to shake down tions; now you have the capability to generate some revenue and figure out. We’re starting from ground zero. And she’s from programming for the first time. What do you see as an antique, so we’ve got to go slow, treat her with kid gloves. your best opportunity for Adventure to contribute toward its own upkeep?

MS: How much of Adventure is antique at this point?

Over $4 million has been spent on the boat; how much of John: In an effort to avoid becoming a day boat, we the 1926 structure remains? hope to do events we can get sponsors for. If we were to take a boatload of veterans out, for example, we could get that Geoff: I’d say 65% of the original frames and maybe half sponsored, we could get five or ten grand to take 75 veterans of her original planking. The deck itself and the structures out for the day. That to us is a better source of revenue than on the deck are all new. The bulwarks, the stanchions, the charging say $75 a head and filling the boat up with 50 peo- windlass are new. The spars are new. The rigging has been ple and going out… restored, but it’s [former owner] Jim Sharp-era rigging: galvanized wire, served and parceled. If you took the whole MS: Are you sure you can get a COI for 75 people? thing into account? Maybe 40% original schooner Adventure and 60% newer.

John: Yes. Actually, our license will accommodate up to 6

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John: Oh, yeah. We’re not looking to sail the boat in 30-knot winds. I think we’d start to open up some joints if we did that. But we were out in an 18- to 20-knot breeze this fall and she sailed beautifully, fast and able, and this was outside the harbor, out by Thatcher’s Island on a beautiful September day.

First time out was a real shakedown, and some of the hardware moved around. We took care of that and went out a second time and everything held up pretty well. The third time we sailed was for the Mayor’s Cup, in which we finished second [in light air]. If not for a tactical error we might even have won, and that felt pretty good.

The fourth time and final time we sailed her was just a Friends of Adventure sail, donors and what-not, on that gorgeous September day. That was the first time we had a nice heel on her, and it felt good.

MS: Getting back to funding sources: the schooner is a line item in the City of Gloucester’s budget, but your support from the City is quite limited. Perhaps it’s good not to be reliant on public funding, because when times get tough, that well can dry up.

In recent years we’ve seen government-supported schooners both old and new laid up for lack of funding.

John: We’ve got a business model that says if we can charge $75 a head and put 50 people on board each day and sail five out of seven days a week, we can make money. But we become a for-profit initiative at that point, and we don’t have much appeal to donors because we’re making some money and the donors ask, what do you need money for? We need to balance those things.

I spoke two weeks ago with Bob Douglas, who runs the Shenandoah and Alabama. He owns The Black Dog on Martha’s Vineyard, which I am assuming is a bit of a cash cow for him, and he sails Shenandoah as a educational platform with mostly students on board all summer, a 501c3. I was asking him how he does that — how do you separate different parts of your business under the same umbrella?

Apparently it takes a lot of accountants and Continued on page 42

PHOTO: M. RUTSTEIN

MS: Structurally, you feel confident that this boat can go to Portland? This boat can be 20 miles offshore?

Harold Burnham working on ADVENTURE in 2005 under Hermann Hinrichsen Essex boatbuilder Harold Burnham, who sails his own schooner Ardelle out of Gloucester, has a unique perspective on Adventure.

Burnham, named a National Heritage Fellow in 2012, was involved in much of the restoration work on the schooner. He recently circulated an open letter among stakeholders that encouraged the Adventure board to create a detailed plan for the future based on practical, conservative choices.

Poor planning during the long years of restoration “wasted time, money and effort,” according to Burnham, “and it took its toll on the historic character of the vessel” as the project dragged on.

“Because of the lack of planning, the shape of the hull has become contorted into a rather grotesque resemblance of her former self. Worse yet, from an operational prospective, many parts of the vessel that could affect her seaworthiness were not renewed and cannot be renewed without serious work.”

Burnham urged the board to “stop worrying about the 2014 sailing season” and instead focus on developing written plans for preservation, maintenance, and operations, and finding a permanent home for the schooner.

“While building the Ardelle, I spent a lot of time writing a business plan, which I shared with [the Maritime Heritage Center, where Ardelle is based] during its draft stages. Through the process of writing the plan, we ironed out a lot of details that helped cement a firm understanding of one another’s needs and concerns, and that helped form the basis of our current good relationship.

“I encourage the Gloucester Adventure to work with other vessels and museums to develop realistic expectations of what things will cost and what income the vessel will generate.

“The elephant in the room that is that Adventure is simply too big to pay for herself. Although occasionally there will be reasons to sail Adventure that outweigh the expense, any attempt to put a paid crew on the vessel and run a profitable sailing schedule would be financial suicide. Moreover, it will put the vessel, her passengers, and her crew in danger. There are too many examples of what can happen when trying to operate an underfunded large old wooden vessel.

“The reason Adventure is in Gloucester is that she was no longer commercially viable. She is seven times larger and seven times more expensive to operate than the other two schooners in the harbor.

“The Gloucester Adventure Inc. deserves credit for the fact that for 20 years now, Adventure has gotten a little better every year. I encourage them to be patient, to continue to concentrate their efforts on the preservation of the schooner, and to plan to keep the community active and their expenses down by keeping paid staff to a minimum and using as many volunteers as possible.” ❂

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THE

THIRTY-EIGHTH

VOYAGE his winter Mystic Seaport tapped Captain Kip Files to lead the 38th Voyage of the Charles W. Morgan, the 170-year-old whaling vessel which is the centerpiece of the Museum’s collection. The Morgan, relaunched last summer amid much fanfare, has been restored to sailing condition and is scheduled to visit five different ports in New England this summer.

little bit about the process of putting the crew together.

Where will they come from? What qualities are you looking for? Given that the job is for one season only, can you attract the people you want?

KF: We have received job applications from all over the country. It is no secret that Mystic Seaport has been planning to sail the Morgan in 2014, and we are pleased with the pool of people who are eager to join what is a very special Marlinspike: Tell us about the rig you’ll be putting opportunity. In terms of hiring, I am looking first and foretogether for this voyage. There’s a big difference between rigging a dockside attraction and a ship that’s going sailing. most for exceptional mariners, and second, for individuals who are excited and committed to Kip Files: Mystic Seaport is CHARLES W. MORGAN the public program of the voyage. very skilled at putting a traditionMS: You have plenty of expeal rig together, whether for a rience with older vessels like dockside exhibit or for actual sailVictory Chimes, a three-masted ing. The Morgan will be rigged as schooner, and Elissa, a ship. In a bark. That is the rig she carried recent years Elissa does not seem for most of her whaling career to have sailed very often. What and the rig for which the other ships are on your square-rig Museum has the most documenresume? tation. Of course, once it is all put together we may find certain KF: My experience with leads need to be changed and the PHOTO: MYSTIC SEAPORT square-rigged ships goes back over rig tightened. This will all be 30 years, and I have been an officer on Elissa for 25 years, taken care when we start our sail training and sea trials. which works out to more than a year underway on her. I have served on the Regina Maris, Picton Castle, Shenandoah, MS: In terms of crew, who do you need to get in here USCG Eagle, Black Pearl, Pride of Baltimore I and II, among first, and what will their first task be? others.

Elissa has been undergoing an extensive restoration over KF: I am working very closely with the marine operathe past few years that has kept her from sea. She will tions manager who has been on board the project for some time to plan the voyage and arrange all of the logistics. The resume operations in March. She sails about 10 days a year — sometimes more. She sails more than any square-rigged first mate will arrive in April and the other mates in May. museum ship in the United States. That is a unique program and deserves tremendous credit for what they have MS: Eventually you will have a crew of over 20. Talk a 8

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Captain Kip Files

ing vessel restored at the Seaport. What role will these vessels play? How much use of the tug are you planning to make?

KF: The tug is there for assistance as necessary. At minimum, it will get us in and out of port and stand by as we sail. We will sail as much as possible, but at the end of the day the Morgan needs to be in the next port-of-call.

The Roann will be a support vessel to carry extra gear as needed, especially docking gear, to assist with maneuvering if necessary, and to provide bunks for extra staff. She will also be a platform for photography.

MS: Mystic Seaport is describing this historic cruise as a one-time event. At summer’s end the Morgan will return to her dockside role as the centerpiece of the Seaport’s collection. That being the case, what was it about this project that prompted you to leave your own business during the high season and take on this challenge?

PHOTO: MYSTIC SEAPORT

KF: I believe that this is one of the most significant historic sailing events in my lifetime. The Morgan has not sailed since the early 1920s and there is no one alive who can tell us what it is like to sail a whaleship from 1841.

This is an opportunity for all of us to connect with our seafaring past in a way that will not come again in a generation — if ever. ❂

achieved.

MS: What aspect of this project do you expect to be the greatest challenge for you personally?

Riggers set up the MORGAN’s topmasts

KF: We need fair winds and good weather.

KF: As you note, the safety of the ship is the primary concern and we will do nothing to put her in jeopardy. Each sailing leg has a three-day window in the schedule. We go when the weather is favorable. If it is not — even beyond the window — we stay in port.

MS: The Morgan will be accompanied by two other boats during her cruise — a tugboat and the Roann, a fish-

PHOTO: MYSTIC SEAPORT

MS: The Morgan is scheduled to visit New London, Newport, Vineyard Haven, New Bedford, Provincetown and the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary before returning to New London and Mystic Seaport. I am sure there will be scheduled events in each port and great interest from the media and the public. On the other hand, you’ve been told in no uncertain terms that the Morgan is [I am quoting from the Seaport’s release] “one of the nation's most important historic objects. Her safety and well-being will be paramount in all decisions.”

What's going to happen if the weather doesn't cooperate? Do you have some flexibility built into the schedule?

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tlantic A ircle C Jen Buttery’s ketch PAIKEA runs wing-on-wing in the Canaries.

A experienced tall-ship sailor whose resume includes HMS Bounty, among others, Buttery left Connecticut this past spring for a solo crossing to the Azores, Madeira, Morocco, and beyond.

en Buttery went looking for a summer job on a cruise ship and ended up on the HMS Bounty, where she sailed for a year before moving to the Highlander Sea and, after a few years working abroad, came to sail aboard the Spirit of Massachusetts, Westward, Harvey Gamage, and Amistad for the Ocean Classroom Foundation. This past spring, after a week aboard the USCGC Eagle, she sailed her 31-foot ketch Paikea solo across the Atlantic to the Azores, Madeira, Morocco and the Canaries. She holds a 100-ton Inland Master/150 ton Near Coastal Mate’s license and hopes to upgrade when she returns home.

She will be back in North America looking for work this fall.

Marlinspike: Jen, how did you get started in sailing?

Jen Buttery: I only started sailing when I was 19, after my first year at college. I’d lost this internship that I had been dreaming of doing, out in White Sands National Park, and I didn’t know what to do with myself for the summer. I’d travelled to northern China the year before and knew I wanted to do something good with my time off from school, so my dad suggested working on a boat for the season.

He meant a cruise ship. But the first thing that came up when I searched the internet was a tall ship, and that was that. I e-mailed the captain, found out they needed deckhands to finish up their engine room refit down in Norfolk, and I got my first tall ship job. We were in Norfolk two weeks before sailing north for a summer on the Great Lakes. And that is definitely its own story.

Actually, that first ship was Bounty and the Captain was Robin [Walbridge] — my first major sailing influence — someone who encouraged us to get out and sail other ships, other places. I’d only sailed a canoe before that, but after that summer, I knew I loved it and that I’d keep going back.

As far as experience sailing, the bulk of that came in the years I spent sailing with Ocean Classroom. The chance to sail long passages on a variety of boats, offshore at different times of year, with different crew and captains and objectives — that’s what first made me feel like someone who could sail. I will always be grateful to the captains and officers who woke up off-watch to shoot stars with me, or stood by as I missed three tacks just to let me learn from making the mistakes that we can’t always afford to let happen aboard ships.

From tall ship to little ketch wasn’t a huge leap. I bought my boat in August [of 2012], took it out on a shakedown sail with friends, and spent the next fall, winter, and spring experimenting, living aboard, and getting her ready as best I could.

MS: At what point did you start thinking that you wanted to sail singlehanded across the Atlantic?

JB: Only a year before my actual departure. I have always loved travelling and the allure of solo trips has tempted me off on jaunts a few times. So when I started toying with the idea of spending my savings on a little sailboat to live on and explore with, I realized that I wanted one that could cross an ocean. Not quite knowing why, perhaps.

I think the idea to do it solo seemed too far-fetched to me, then. It was something my heroes did, in books. In fact, even after I had committed to giving it a try, I didn’t like talking about it very much. Deep down I knew I could do it, but my self-confidence had never been tested like that before, and I felt ridiculous even saying it, sometimes.

MS: Once you had decided to do it, what steps did you need to take to make this voyage happen?

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JB: First, boat shopping while working. I had to be pretty decisive since I didn’t have a ton of free time to check out boats. I lucked out with Paikea, a boat pretty much ready for a big trip, just sitting there waiting for an adventure, in my price range.

I’d already saved up a good amount of money, but I spent the winter before the trip working, planning, reading, visiting friends and family. And the spring I spent in a mad rush to upgrade the rig a little, prepare the boat, install things like AIS, and provision. Charts, reference books, a flag or two, lots of little things like that. Every spare I could think of. Filters, tools, new sextant mirrors and extra pipe tobacco. Strings for the fiddle and burned CDs. I had gotten my 100-ton Master’s and 150-ton Mate Near Coastal licenses in early spring to help with getting jobs for when I got back and the money ran out.

It’s funny, it doesn’t sound like much preparation, but it took months, and it took a lot mentally.

MS: Now that you have six months of successful solo cruising behind you, you’re getting a lot of great feedback.

But before you set out, were there people who tried to dissuade you from making this voyage?

JB: Almost everybody was against me going solo, to some degree, and I definitely understand why.

The suggestion was often just to take one more person — after all, why not? But for whatever reason, I knew what my answer was. Singlehanding is a risk and is frowned upon by many mariners for the obvious reason that a constant watch cannot be kept. The last thing I wanted to do was put other boats in danger, either because I was out there at night sailing blind, or in order to rescue me if I became injured.

In the end, I decided to use my AIS, be vigilant, and to choose a less risky route — an Atlantic Circle instead of heading north to iceberg territory or busy shipping lanes in Europe and the Med. Definitely a sacrifice, but the critics were right when they suggested to me that it would be more responsible to build up my experience.

I did have a few supporters among my sailing friends.

Their help in the months before my departure not only saved the trip, but made me feel like it could be something positive and meaningful. They helped make it into a project, one they were happy to be a part of. Free dockage, couches to sleep on, quality soldering, glorious occasional hot showers, many Port Supply account numbers, provisioning guidance without which I would be eating mac and cheese from a box still, and countless smiles over after-work beers!

No one who tried to dissuade me had anything other than my safety in mind, but I still can’t help feeling indebted and in love with the people who went out of their way to be supportive, to help me, to say they were proud and mean it, or just to say good luck.

MS: Tell us more about your boat. What would you say Paikea’s strengths and weaknesses are when it comes to 12

ocean voyaging?

JB: Paikea is an Allied Seawind II ketch, also available in cutter rig. She was built right in Catskill, NY in 1979.

She has a full keel with a cutaway forefoot, a barndoor-style rudder and a 12-year-old Yanmar 3GM30F diesel, 27 hp.

The hull is solid fiberglass. She is a heavy, old-fashioned cruising boat, just a bit smaller than most, at 31.5 feet overall with a 10-foot beam.

Her strengths are pretty intuitive: she’s strong! And stable in rough weather without being overly slow in lighter airs. She rides comfortably in big seaways, which allows me to sleep when necessary.

Weaknesses… well, she’s not that big compared to other ocean-going boats and averages fewer miles per day because of it. She also would struggle to hold supplies for more than two people, for a long transit. Older electrical systems are not always fun.

Her rig is only five or six years old and the forestay less than a year. I think the ketch rig is a strength. Ketches are not as efficient to windward, but the divided sail area allows me to handle the smaller sails more easily and gives a lot of options for reefing and heaving-to, something I have done many, many times. I’d argue that the old-style jiffy reefing I have on board is not a weakness, because of its simplicity, but everything on Paikea is manual and I do have to go forward in order to reef. It just means I reef earlier, I suppose.

MS: How detailed was your route planning? Did you use any weather services? What kind of information did you receive en route? And be honest — how accurate was your celestial navigation?

JB: My route planning was not that detailed, beyond the first leg. I had charts for the North Atlantic and the Azores and not much else. I wanted to leave the decision about where to go and how long to make the trip until after the crossing, since I was so nervous about it.

I did research lots of options. I wanted, and still want, to sort of go everywhere. The Atlantic Circle route I have ended up with is a logical one for following fair winds and currents around the Atlantic in time with the seasons. I went off the recommended course a bit to check out Morocco.

As for weather, I was glued to the NOAA websites for weeks before leaving and used Jimmy Cornell’s old World Cruising Guide to help plan the route. I’ve added passageweather.com and Ugrib weather services to my thingsto-check-on-the-internet list, but underway, I only use my tiny receive-only SSB for weather. I do have a satellite phone for emergencies and I send a daily message with my position to my dad. He often sends me a current NOAA weather recap for my area, which is really sweet.

There’s not much I can do to outrun weather systems out there, though. On the crossing to the Azores in late May and early June, Tropical Storm Andrea was threatening for the whole final week. I cut south earlier than I would have

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PAIKEA under full sail in fair weather (top); pouting over a cracked masthead light at Madeira (right); a reef and a rainbow (bottom right); getting ready to set the spinnaker (bottom left); scrubbing the bottom at Graciosa in the Canary Islands

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF JEN BUTTERY

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liked, but I just had to deal with the bigger seas and gloomier weather.

I do love celestial navigation. It makes me feel like I’m friends with the stars and the sun. Or at least acquainted with them! I like to think that, compared to the ocean’s size, my celestial plots are pretty accurate… most of the time. I struggle with accurate sun lines more than anything else, and in bad weather, if one is within ten nautical miles, I feel OK about it. I just have to keep practicing.

On the way over, it was tough to get noon sights because it was mostly overcast. And I had a lot of big seas, which can be a challenge. I didn’t rely on the cel nav for more than a comforting pastime and a backup to the GPS navigation and DRs. I hope to have a sunnier, more relaxed crossing westward. I’ve been considering turning off the GPS so that can be the backup and cel nav the primary activity.

MS: Your landfall in the Azores must have been an emotional moment. What was going through your mind?

MS: Were there moments during your crossing when you were truly scared?

JB: Pico pup was given to me by a woman on Flores, the first island I came to. She was six weeks old and literally pocket-sized, so it was easy for me to slip her in my shoulder bag and take her everywhere. I was hesitant at first about the added responsibility and expense, but I’d wanted a dog for so long that I just went for it.

She’s become someone to remind me to play around and be silly, someone to take care of when I am sick of thinking about my own stuff, and a warm little snuggler for my sleeping bag. The biggest drawback is that places formerly (or currently) part of the British Commonwealth are very strict about pets, so it limits our destinations. Also, I suspect she will not love long passages.

As a dog lover since childhood, the companionship is worth it and Pico is much more well-known amongst the sailing crowd here than I am! She is pretty popular, and always good at helping me meet new people.

JB: I hate to spoil the romantic picture of offshore long passages in a small boat, but I spent the first week eating very little and feeling, often, pretty scared. And thinking “WHAT THE F— AM I DOING OUT HERE?!”

But I was always able to calm down, make a cup of tea, reef down some more, or do something to keep everything as under control as possible. The knowledge that things are not really under your control is what is most scary, at first.

The night squalls were scary, and the big seas with waves breaking into the cockpit.

I freaked out when I couldn’t get my engine to start on Day 4. I was trying to just check on it — but nothing happened when I pushed the button. It turned out to be a connection problem, but in the beginning, that kind of thing really scared me, because I wasn’t so confident that I would be able to deal with it.

I also, honestly, wasn’t confident enough in the rig not to be scared when I looked up there and thought about things like dismasting. I had replaced the forestay myself just weeks before departure, and even though I’d sailed the boat in some nasty Long Island Sound weather, I hadn’t sailed enough miles on the boat to shut down my fears that things might break with the continual stress of sailing offshore. I don’t think there is any way to know how a boat is going to do offshore, though, without just going.

The second week was the toughest. The momentum of the first week had waned and I still had two weeks, minimum, to go. The weather was crap. And little things were still going wrong almost every day. A piece of hardware breaking on the mainsheet traveller. The Aries windvane threatening to fall off the stern when one of the backing plates split. Continual battery problems. But a routine had been established by then and I was better, already, at dealing with the fear of being alone at sea.

Got lots of reading done, that’s for sure.

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JB: I don’t even know what to say about it. I was so excited that I actually took some short videos of me talking as I first saw Flores on the horizon. Suddenly a mountain was there, disrupting the reality I had come to accept.

I remember feeling so, so nervous about the landfall.

About anchoring, everything. I hadn’t really used the engine at all for the crossing and had built up all these paranoid fears about the transmission and things like that. But more than the anxiety was this amazing feeling that I would do anything I had to do to successfully get there. I did a lot of smiling and shouting that morning!

MS: When you arrived in the Azores, you took on a cruising companion.

MS: Do you think it’s easier for a solo sailor to meet people and make friends as you cruise?

JB: Probably. I certainly have more motivation to meet people, but I like meeting people, anyways. Couples can be tough, because the dynamic is one of an exclusive relationship, and sometimes that precludes wanting or needing to accept new people into the sphere. And most boats contain couples out here — very few are sailed solo or by friends.

For whatever reason, I have made the deepest connection with other solo sailors. Meeting the other people voyaging and cruising and wandering by boat has been the unexpectedly meaningful part of the trip that I value as much as the long passages alone.

MS: You’re about to make another long passage back across the Atlantic. What are your hopes and plans for this crossing?

JB: My hopes are simply that we accomplish the long

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trip safely. Anything else is a bonus. Well, honestly, I hope that I enjoy it, too. On the crossing over, I remember valuing the sunny days of easier sailing so much and feeling like they were truly precious. I am hoping that I have my anxiety more under control now. I think that I do. I feel much more experienced with the boat and the rig than I did in May. Also, there is the potential for it to be a sunnier, more pleasant crossing, although it’s a longer distance, so I am hoping to do a lot more celestial navigation.

the thing that will be keeping you alive when you are out there. The more you trust it and know it, the more comfortable you’ll be and the better able to deal with the inevitable problems that arise.

Also, reading from the huge wealth of distance-sailing literature can provide a healthy reality check for what it can be like, mentally. On the other hand, the best thing I ever did was just deciding to go, and then doing it.

Nothing can substitute for experience.

MS: Have your experiences over the last six months changed the way you look at sailing?

At life? Do you think you’ll return to longdistance cruising?

MS: In terms of gear, finish this sentence: “I’d be lost without...”

JB: My Aries windvane. Good self-steering gear is a hundred times JB: I think with more reliable than electime the changes will tronic autopilots and a become easier to recoggreat deal simpler to fix nize and articulate — underway. I wouldn’t and of course, actions have gotten far without will tell more than Mr. Hercules — my words!

Hiking on Sao Miguel in the Azores valiant and aged Aries.

I always looked at There are lots of sailing as an adventure obvious ones, like sails and excellent rigging and my trusty, and a worthwhile activity, alone or with company. As a way 50-year-old Dyer Dhow dinghy, but let me mention my egg to break down barriers and get to know myself and others. I timer. Not for cooking, since the pressure cooker takes care see it as something which can take me much farther, now, I of that, but to wake me up every 20 or 30 minutes while suppose, since I have met so many amazing people who sail sailing. AIS is great, but nothing can take the place of keep- and work and don’t work and do whatever they want. I guess ing a lookout and there are many times when I’ve come up I see it as even more of a lifestyle than before, as well as a on deck and had to fix the self-steering gear, change course hodgepodge community of the best caliber. I see it as even due to a wind shift, reef down, or call a fishing boat on the more a part of everyday life, of course, since that’s what it horizon. My two spare alarm clocks quickly succumbed to has become to me. the marine environment, but the egg timer, like Mr. One change I have been aware of for a while now is a Hercules, seems invincible. stronger feeling that any decision that can mean a commitment is better than none. To dream big and try for someMS: What are you hauling around that has turned out thing just beyond the limits you’ve set yourself — that’s what to be completely useless? brings the realest of life and experience. Not always the most pleasant or comfortable, but the most challenging, the most JB: Don’t laugh. A caulking mallet and full set of irons! genuine. It may not bring you where you expect, but it keeps At least I didn’t take my Mongolian riding saddle or someyou honest and moving and amazed. thing.

Commitment and decision come in many forms. I think I had some notion of taking tools with me in case I there will have to be many more long-distance voyages in could find work, but it’s hard to find anything if you are my future. I may not always sail solo, since relationships, moving around as much as I have been, so non-essential family, and friends are their own world of growth and happitools like that (on a fiberglass boat, anyway) are dead weight. ness and challenge. One thing I can say: it may be with a sigh or a smile, but yes, I will always go. ❂ MS: What advice would you give to other cruisers getting ready to make a long passage for the first time?

Jen successfully completed her westward crossing from the Canaries and is currently sailing in the Windward Islands.

JB: Get to know the boat before leaving, because that is MarlinspikeMagazine.com

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WEST A veteran sailor recalls the growth of sail training from a shoestring operation to the envy of traditional schools and educators WESTWARD dips her rail during her years with SEA John Wigglesworth goes back four decades with SEA. When sail training was in its infancy, he sailed in one of the first classes aboard Westward, and returned a dozen years later as her skipper. Capt. Jeremy Bumagin of the 300-ton square-rigger Friendship, who sailed under Wigglesworth as mate, calls him “a rock star.” We spoke with Wigglesworth at The Waring School in Massachusetts, where he is Chair of the Math & Science Department.

of my sophomore year — this was 1972 — and the day the semester ended, I was back on the Westward. I left school for thee years and I sailed six months a year with SEA as a third mate, did several trans-Atlantics, and it became my goal to be the best mariner I could be.

My goal, to be honest, was to someday be captain of the Westward.

MS: What did SEA’s program consist of in 1972?

Marlinspike: Tell us how you got started in sail training.

John Wigglesworth: I grew up on the North Shore and was very involved in small-boat sailing around Marblehead and Manchester. I did a lot of one-design racing, and I got a good sense of how to move a boat through the water. I got to participate in some ocean races. And then in high school I went to Norway on a sailing exchange where I lived with a family and did some ocean racing there.

I went off to Bowdoin College and I was one of the first students to do the SEA program out of Woods Hole. I was in their fifth class. I got on board the Westward at age 19 and sailed from Bermuda to Portugal. I spent six weeks on the ship in a Portuguese shipyard, and then I was able to stay on for the return trip to the Canaries, the Cape Verdes, Barbados and on to San Juan as a deckhand.

Somewhere on that trip I got inspired by the crew and the captain — his name was Charlie Rose — to pursue that way of life. I went back to Bowdoin for the second semester 16

JW: It was a mixed-age group, an eclectic mix of high school and college kids. They were still sorting out what worked and what didn’t. There was no shore component: a group would sign on for four to six weeks and they would become part of the crew and stand watch and do maintenance and work the ship, do navigation and so forth. Every now then we would tow a plankton net, to justify our Coast Guard designation as a research vessel. We had a small lab, which basically consisted of one microscope…

MS: Did the Sailing School Vessel designation exist back then?

JW: No, that came later. I believe the students actually signed on as a crew on a research vessel — I forget the details — but the Coast Guard was catching on to that.

Eventually Cory Cramer and several others initiated the Sailing School Vessels Act that gave ships their own category

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WARD HO! to operate under.

I worked for SEA, six months on and six months off.

When I was off, I was working in a boatyard in Maine so I could get some boatbuilding experience. But I’d grown up in a family where going to college and finishing college was the proper thing to do. I was looking for a way to do that in such a way that it helped me develop my skills as a mariner.

Going to the Merchant Marine Academy didn’t quite fit for me; it had too much of a military feel to it at that time.

But the URI Department of Fisheries and Marine Technology was offering a two-year Associate Degree program. There was a big push on in those days to build up the US fishing fleet, and this program was just incredible.

The classes were in seamanship, diesel mechanics, hydraulics, navigation, all taught by experienced mariners and fishermen who were another set of inspirational people to me. Captain Geoff Motte, British master mariner — on one side he put down his Unlimited Master’s license and on the other his PhD. I was really taken by these guys who combined experience at sea with academic credentials. I was the kid up front in class, sucking up everything I could. That program really put some academic training and understanding behind what I had experienced at sea.

Then I got involved with ORES and Regina Maris and spent two years on her as second mate and then chief mate.

The Regina Maris was a 144-foot barkentine and her mission was to study the migration and behavior of humpback whales.

In 1977, after I graduated from URI, I boarded Regina and we spent the summer sailing along the coasts of Labrador and Newfoundland, following the whales, and then to Bermuda and down to the Silver Bank, north of the Dominican Republic. Humpback whales from the North Atlantic migrate there for mating and calving during the winter. We spent six months on and off the Silver Bank, which was a navigational challenge. Coral heads all around, one loran line… but that gave me some big-time square-rig experience.

As chief mate I had the watch that was responsible for the foremast, which is where the square sails were, and so there I was able to take my SEA time, package that with my URI time, and apply all of it on Regina. I was splicing wire

on the rig, stitching sails, making sails, doing all this stuff. I loved it!

MS: What kind of program was the Regina running?

JW: There were students on board, but they hadn’t done a shore component or anything like that. They arrived from wherever, and they were on board for varying lengths of time from four to eight weeks.

Eventually Regina went into the Pacific, but around then I got off. I had been on board for two and half years and I was fried.

MS: What was the condition of the Regina back then?

JW: Even back then the joke was that she floated only because the worms were holding hands. She was an old boat — 1908 — and we worked hard to keep her in good shape.

The captain, George Nichols, was a masterful sailor and seaman and he put his heart and soul into the operation.

One time we were going south in the fall and we were in this big Gulf Stream frontal-passage nightmare. We had every pump going and we were up on deck with the hand pump, just keeping the water from coming up over the sole down below. It was George and a little bit of luck that brought us to safer waters.

I got off Regina in 1978 and went back to the Fisheries School to teach a class in net-mending. I was interested in exploring the fishing industry. I met this guy named Tom Dykstra who had an 87-foot dragger working out of Point Judith, Rhode Island, so in November of ‘78 I went commercial fishing for six or seven months.

The dragger was a day boat with two crews. We would get on the boat around 3 AM and we’d go fishing south of Block Island, and then around 5 PM Tom would steam back into Point Judith, offload the fish, clean up the boat, and we’d get back to the dock around midnight, having worked 21 hours, and the second crew would come on at three in the morning.

That was a powerful experience. I couldn’t believe how hard the work was. Being out there in the winter, standing in a hold full of fish up to your knees, sorting them out, it was

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tough. But it was also good for me because I realized that while I liked being at sea, I liked being under sail, I liked working with students, I liked teaching.

From there I went back to work at SEA as a mate and did that for several trips. I had been about ten years at sea, from apprentice to mate, and I felt I was ready for command.

MS: What had changed at SEA in those ten years?

JW: The organization had pulled all their various ideas together and formalized the Sea Semester program, with shore and sea components. The systems on the ship were well maintained, well organized, the standard operating procedures were clearly defined, the manuals for the system were organized… how to run the boat and how to run the program, all that was now clearly structured.

There was now a formal rotation of crew, with three captains and series of chief scientists. SEA was becoming more accepted by undergraduate institutions as a viable academic program. The science had become way more sophisticated; the purpose of the voyage had become to serve the science and to bring the vessel to the locations where data needed to be collected for the various projects. I liked the mission of operating the vessel under sail with a group of students who had a clear sense of our mission.

MS: What sort of students were you getting in the SEA programs at that point?

JW: The students were mostly sophomores and juniors from small liberal arts colleges in the northeast who were interested in taking a semester away from college and expanding their view of the world by learning about oceanography via a sailing vessel. There were a lot of kids who liked sailing, thought they might like marine biology, and said, ‘I’m going to try this.’

So I acted as chief mate for a while and then was offered command of the Harvey Gamage running the Seamester program out of Long Island. The goal of that program was to give students an understanding of the natural and maritime history of places along the track that started in St. Thomas, through the Bahamas, across the straits of Florida and along the East Coast to Mystic. Students would help sail the boat to different ports, where we would dock for two or three days. In our port stops students would have classes and take field trips to museums or unique 18

ecosystems.

The program lasted about eight weeks. The first trip I did from St. Thomas to Mystic was on board a small schooner called Charlotte Ann. Eben Whitcomb, who owned the Gamage, chartered Charlotte Ann because we had more students than the Gamage could berth. Charlotte Ann went inside Cape Hatteras on the trip north, while the Gamage went outside. Both ships met up again in Norfolk.

Gamage had a unique 100-ton Subchapter T certificate that allowed her to sail with her students up to 100 miles offshore from Eastport, Maine to Brownsville, Texas. Those of us who sailed on Gamage long enough would be issued a 100-ton license with the same restriction.

I loved the Gamage. It was really my first command. I was passionate about sailing the boat as well as I could with the crew that I had. We had two cooks, a mate and couple of deckhands, and we had the students to help us set sail. The difference between REGINA the SEA and Gamage trips MARIS was that with SEA you had sailing-school students and on the Gamage they were more like passengers.

Southhampton College on Long Island was running the program.

They sent a professor on board to oversee the educational component, and the crew’s job was to sail the vessel, with the students helping.

MS: How did it come about that you took command of the Gamage? Had they approached you?

JW: Eben approached me. Eben, Cory Cramer, and George Nichols were all involved in the beginning of modern sail training in the late 1960s and 1970s. Cory founded SEA with help from George Nichols, but they had a disagreement, so George split off and started the Ocean Research and Education Society (ORES).

Eben Whitcomb had grown up in Maine, was interested in the business of running schooners, and he built the Gamage in 1973 at the Gamage Yard in South Bristol. It was built as a passenger-carrying vessel — a windjammer — and he operated her out of Maine during the summer. Then he’d use the Seamester program to get from Rockland down to the Virgin Islands, where he did vacation cruises in the winter, and back again.

MS: Were you on the Gamage during the summer, when the vessel was in the windjammer trade?

JW: I did work one summer in Maine and one season in the Virgin Islands. I loved it. We had the same crew clicking

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“What we were doing at SEA is what all traditional schools should be striving toward: a group of students working toward a common goal, with a clearly-defined structure, accepting responsibility and accountability for themselves and for what they’re learning.”

— Capt. John Wigglesworth together all season and we would just sail everywhere. The goal was to give the passengers the best sail possible every day, then anchor and serve them rum and a good meal at night. In Maine, it was the same thing, except that we were out there with all of the other schooners, horse-racing and hanging out.

But the Gamage was really just a step on the way for me to become master of the Westward, which was where my heart was. I had sailed as mate a lot and I felt I was ready, but the message I got from SEA was that ‘we’d love to have you, but you need to have some command experience first.’ I was able to get that on board the Gamage.

In the middle of all this, one of the captains at SEA left and I got the call from Cory Cramer: ‘Would you be interested..?” I jumped at it. That was 1981.

Then we’d get on the vessel, and I would work with the chief scientist to coordinate the program that was again divided into three phases. The first was just basic watchstanding, doing boat checks, filling out the logbook, learning to steer and keep a good lookout. As time went on, we’d delegate more and more responsibility to the students for running the vessel.

MS: What was your crew?

JW: Each watch had a mate and scientist. We had eight students on a watch — three on deck, three in the lab, one in the galley and one in the engine room, and they’d rotate through those jobs.

MS: Skipper, three mates, three scientists, and 24 kids.

MS: So you achieved your life’s goal at the age of 30.

JW: Not quite 30. That’s my problem [laughs]. Goals are good as long as you’re always striving for one.

I’d sail for six weeks, teach a class for six weeks, sail for six weeks, and then the other captain would come on. I was coming from a place where I was sailing all the time, and I’m thinking, six weeks? That’s not enough! So I would sail with SEA for six weeks, get off the boat in St. Thomas, run the Gamage or something for a while, splice together odd jobs around the other work.

I sailed with SEA as captain until ’85, but I kept thinking back to Captain Mott and his PhD. I had become really interested in the education that was happening on the vessel.

I was thinking, OK, I reached this goal, what’s next? And so I enrolled at the Harvard School of Education.

MS: Before we get to that, tell us what were you doing on the Westward during that period. What were those programs like?

JW: There was the shore component followed by the sea component, and the captains were involved in both. I would teach a six-week class divided into three units. We would start with coastwise navigation, then move on to basic seamanship, stability, shipboard safety, rules of the road and so on, and then finally I would teach a two-week celestial navigation class. All of this was intended to provide the students with the background they’d need when they got on board.

JW: Right. By the middle two weeks we were able to give the students a little more responsibility, and then finally we arrived at what we called the junior watch officer phase, where each student would be responsible for coordinating the watch and running the watch, with the mate there as an advisor and a teacher. Towards the end of the program I’d organize a two- or three-day mission which included getting the boat from Point A to Point B, doing a celestial fix, figuring out where we were, carrying out the scientific work, working it up and then presenting a report. By the end of some trips the students were really running the experience. It was really cool, really satisfying work.

MS: But after five years you felt it was time to move on.

JW: My goal through all this has been to blend the sailing school vessel world with traditional education. Up until 1998 I was on the ships, looking at the schools. From that point on I was in the schools, looking at the ships.

MS: What did you learn at Harvard that you couldn’t wait to share with SEA? JW: [Laughs] Mostly I learned that what we were doing at SEA is what all traditional schools should be striving toward! A group of students working toward a common goal,

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Continued on page 43 19

From the logbook of the

The Great Southern Ocean

By Captain Dan Moreland After much preparation and anticipation the Picton Castle sailed from lovely Bay of Islands, New Zealand two days ago, bound for Pitcairn Island.

The ship and crew are ready for sea in all respects. We waited out the passage of a low with strong winds and heavy rain, but after that, the morning broke fair and clear. The weather forecasts, both short- and long-term, look very favorable.

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The crew is strong. We have four new crew just off the Danish full-rigged school ship Danmark. The ship has been thoroughly gone over, prepped and stowed for sea, fuel tanks topped up, provisions for a long time. All the gear we need aboard. No defects in any gear aloft or alow.

The watch officers and I have been studying GRIB weather files and various weather forecasting websites for some time and we have had discussions with a number of skippers locally who have taken larger traditional sailing ships along this Southern Ocean route. The passage plan includes steering southeasterly, making for the vicinity of the Chatham Islands about 650 miles away, leaving them well to starboard and then looking to making easting in reliably fair winds between 40 and 44 South with hopes of making a northeasterly turn around about 150 or 140 West to steer direct for Pitcairn Island.

The distance of this planned route is about 3,200 miles. It may be less or more, depending upon actual winds and weather.

Right now, two days out, the ship is under all sail to the royals and making a nice 120 miles a day. Days are bright and winds are fair. New Year’s is at hand.

— December 31st, 2013

Captain Moreland leads a ditty bag workshop underway

MAINE MARITIME MUSEUM Home of America’s Great Schooners Only at Maine Maritime Museum can you:

Dockside

䡵

See the full-size sculpture of Wyoming, largest wooden U.S. sailing ship

䡵

Tour the intact historic shipyard site where the great schooners were built

䡵

Go aboard and below deck on a Grand Banks fishing schooner

䡵

Inspect the remains of Snow Squall the last American clipper ship

䡵

New Blacksmith Shop exhibit opens this summer

Open year-round, 9:30 to 5 daily

MAINE COAST ART PRINTS fine color prints of watercolors by Consuelo Eames Hanks

www.mainecoastartprints.com

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 Washington Street • Bath, Maine • -- www.MaineMaritimeMuseum.org

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“We are now 1,200 miles from our point of departure, Cape Brett, bearing about 282 degrees from the ship. This puts us about one-third of the way to Pitcairn Island, where we have ten tons of supplies to deliver.”

“Running down your easting” is an old mariners’ phrase used to describe the path of a ship, usually in the Great Southern Ocean, when making the long passage from either the Cape of Good Hope east to Australia, or from Australia, New Zealand or really anywhere in the Pacific to Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America.

When a ship gets down into this region, it all becomes one ocean — the Great Southern Ocean. This means simply that once a ship gets to a certain higher latitude where fair westerly winds are to be found, usually in the 40s South latitude, she will simply run with the winds and seas for days on end, just making miles and miles to the east. No longer steering for a point, but just making “easting”.

This is the sailing we are doing in Picton Castle right now and for the next week or so here at 41.35 South latitude, almost due south of Rarotonga — 1,250 miles due south. For the last few days we have had a large southwesterly swell, four and five meters and sometimes a bit more, from a low-pressure system, the centre of which was passing some 700 miles to the south of the ship. These large swells have been laying down since yesterday. It was riding the north side of these lows that gave the wind-ships their passage to the Horn, and that’s what is giving us our fine passage just now.

We are now also some 1,200 miles from our point of departure, Cape Brett, bearing about 282 degrees from the ship. This puts us about one-third of the way to Pitcairn Island, where we have ten tons of supplies to deliver.

We are having an excellent passage thus far. Very little motoring, fair winds, fresh at times but we’re all for fresh fair winds to get across this broad ocean. Around the ship

PROUD HOST OF THE 2014

GLOUCESTER SCHOONER FESTIVAL August 29–31, 2014 MARITIMEGLOUCESTER.ORG

PICTON CASTLE swoop charcoal-winged sea birds with wingspans of about a yard. Have not seen any albatross yet. It’s warm enough, but a good distance from tropical. We will have tropical temps soon enough once we get on the road to the Marquesas after Pitcairn — what we have is quite comfortable.

This is a big ocean indeed. New Zealand looks so small on the chart. But I think that this only due to being so near Australia. If you could plop the islands of New Zealand in the North Atlantic they would stretch from Nova Scotia all the way to Florida.

And far to our northwest near Fiji, a cyclone has formed. It should bat about for a few days, give some trouble to Tonga and Samoa, give the harbour in Avatiu, Rarotonga some nasty surge and then die out about 1500 miles from us. It gives us little concern. We are more interested in the lows to our south. That’s where our wind comes from down here at almost 42 degrees South.

— January 8th, 2014 ❂ Picton Castle is a three-masted barque based in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, but best known for her sail training voyages around the world. Currently the barque is visiting Pitcairn Island, French Polynesia, Samoa and Fiji through May 2014. Beginning in July, Picton Castle will return to Lunenburg by way of Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Bali, Reunion, Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa, St. Helena, Senegal, Cape Verde, and the islands of the Eastern Caribbean.

No previous sailing experience is necessary — just a strong back and willing heart. For more info, visit www.picton-castle.com

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Pride of Baltimore II was commissioned in 1988 as a sailing memorial to her immediate predecessor, the original Pride of Baltimore, which was sunk by a white squall off Puerto Rico in 1986, taking her captain and three crew members down with her.

Both ships were built in the Inner Harbor as reproductions of 1812-era topsail schooners, the type of vessels called Baltimore Clippers. Since her commissioning, Pride II has sailed nearly 200,000 miles, and visited over 200 ports in 40 countries in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Flag: USA Rig: Square-Topsail Schooner Homeport: Baltimore, MD Sparred Length: 157' LOA: 105' LOD: 100' LWL: 91' Draft: 12' 6” Beam: 26' 4” Rig Height: 107' Freeboard: 4' 4” Sail Area: 9,018 square feet Tons: 97 GRT Power: 2-165 hp Caterpillar diesel engines Designer: Thomas C. Gillmer Built: 1988 Certification: Passenger Vessel (Subchapter T), Ocean Crew: 12 Trainees & Passengers: 35 day passages, 6 overnight

atherine K 2013 college graduate, Katherine Pogue is looking to work her way up the tall-ships ladder. She has recently taken Basic Safety Training and AB courses and is currently on board the S/V Tole Mour, recaulking the teak decks. We asked her to write a short piece about getting started in the tall-ships industry.

I felt pretty chuffed when Mike asked me to write something for Marlinspike. While I enjoy writing, I really haven’t been practicing as much as I should since finishing school, though I do try to keep up a blog (katherinealoft.com/blog, shameless selfpromotion).

I met Mike in March of 2013, when I had the chance to sail aboard the Coast Guard’s training ship, Eagle, along with a handful of other Tall Ships America representatives. Though it doesn’t feel like too long ago, when I look back at what I’ve accomplished since then, it may as well have been years.

When I left for the Eagle, it was my first time traveling alone, my first time on the East Coast, and my first sail in the Atlantic. I was in my last semester of college, and I was unsure where I wanted my life to go after college. I loved sailing — having worked at the San Diego Maritime Museum since 2006, tall ships were my passion. College had me thinking about “real” careers in writing and publishing, something I still haven’t ruled out completely.

But that voyage on Eagle cemented in my mind the desire to work aboard tall ships. Of course, I was already doing that at the Maritime Museum, but predominantly as a volunteer, and I was hoping to have an income at some point in my life. I determined to make tall ships my career path of choice. It seemed to do that, though, I needed licenses.

I returned from the Eagle and finished up college, graduating in May. I worked at the Museum for what was probably the busiest year we had ever seen: Star of India played a role during Comic-Con in July representing the video game Assassin’s Creed IV, we hosted a Festival of Sail over Labor Day weekend, Star was moored in the middle of the bay for a big gala celebrating her 150th anniversary at the end of September, and in a flash it was November and time for the 26

loft A

Star to sail.

In the midst of all this, I was taking my first steps toward licensing. I took a Basic Safety Training course at the Maritime Institute in Point Loma in August. This STCW95 approved course taught me basic first aid and CPR, basic firefighting, personal survival techniques, and personal safety and social responsibility. It was my first maritime course, and I enjoyed it hugely — especially the practical days when we fought fires at the Navy’s firefighting and damage control school, and flipped a life raft over in a pool.

In October, I was browsing Tall Ships America’s billet bank and found what looked to be the perfect position: Tole Mour was looking for winter maintenance crew beginning in December. It was a liveaboard position in not-too-faraway Long Beach, didn’t require any of the licenses I had yet to acquire, and would take place after the Star sail. So I sent in a cover letter, resume, and references from my captains, and hoped for the best. I received an encouraging email from Tole’s first mate, Rob, and we scheduled a phone interview.

It was my first real job interview in the field, but (with current knowledge), it went well. On the day I was to receive the news of whether I’d gotten the job or not, I happened to be on board Californian, on our way back home from a trip to Catalina and Santa Barbara Island, and we passed by Tole Mour. We fired salutes and cheered one another. I considered asking my skipper to radio Tole and inquire as to whether I’d gotten the job, but decided that would be tactless, so I contented myself with searching for cell service off the coast and frequently checking my e-mail.

The following day I did find out that I had been accepted for the job. I was excited and a little nervous, but there was still a lot to do. The week after taking Californian to Catalina, I took an AB course at the Maritime Institute. It wasn’t as exciting as the BST course had been. It was made up predominantly of bookwork, and there was a lot of review from BST, but I was glad to finally learn the rules of the road and knew it would prove helpful for the captain’s course I hope to take in the future.

The Star sail quickly snuck up on us, and was an aweinspiring experience. Despite having worked at the Museum

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Clockwise from top left: Alyssa and Barb bond over cleaning the blackwater tank; Natalie and Christian in the mess; Natalie caulking the final deck seam; the holiday light plan for seven years, I’d never sailed the Star before that day. I had a fantastic time working with my shipmates to set sail, maneuver, and douse and furl sail. The thought that the ship we were aboard was 150 years old is still mind-boggling to me, and I was grateful to be a part of it.

After the Star sail it was just a few short weeks before I was aboard my new home, Tole Mour. While shipboard maintenance was nothing new to me, doing it full-time was, and it took some getting used to. But after the first week aboard I quickly fell into the routine — and in love with the ship.

Our first task was the reefing out and re-caulking of the starboard side of the deck. At the time of writing, I’ve been working on Tole Mour for three weeks and we just finished getting the seams reefed out, routed deeper and wider, sanded, taped, caulked, and sanded down flush.

While the deck made up the brunt of our work, we’ve also cleaned out and re-sealed the blackwater tank (during which an inseparable bond was formed between shipmates

Alyssa and Barb, who were stuck in that hell-hole for eight days), led a new fore peak halyard, replaced a handful of shackles and thimbles, and even put up lights for Los Angeles Harbor’s parade of lights.

It’s been a busy few weeks, but I’m enjoying myself immensely. My first taste of live-aboard life is spoiling me — Tole Mour has showers, heads around every corner (though we were deprived of them during the cleaning of the blackwater tank), private two-person cabins, and even free wifi in the mess!

Working aboard Tole Mour is truly a treat. I’ll be assisting with maintenance through February, during which time we’ll be hauling out in Chula Vista for yard work, re-caulking the port side of the deck, and, I’m sure, a host of other projects.

I haven’t quite decided what I want to do afterward, but I’m studying captain’s license material and starting the application process for several boat jobs across the country. I’m looking forward to what the future holds. ❂

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San Diego Maritime’s replica of the 16th-century galleon SAN SALVADOR is behind schedule but still within its budget, say SDMM officials

PHOTO: JERRY SOTO

The San Diego Maritime Museum’s full-scale replica of Spanish conquistador Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo’s galleon San Salvador is scheduled to be launched this summer.

Construction of the 200-ton galleon began at Spanish Landing Park near the San Diego airport in February 2011.

The $6.2 million vessel — built almost entirely by hundreds of volunteers — is eight to ten months behind schedule but within its budget, according to museum officials.

In 1542, Cabrillo sailed the original San Salvador into what is now San Diego Bay, and claimed it for Spain.

California remained Spanish for nearly three centuries, until it became part of an independent Mexico in 1821. It was annexed by the United States after the American victory in the lopsided Mexican War of 1846-48.

San Salvador will serve as a floating classroom. Groups of students will sail daily, conducting science experiments along the way.

During construction, the shipyard at Spanish Landing Park is open daily from 11-4. ★ Christmas came early this year for Rhode Island’s Official Sailing Education Vessel, the SSV Oliver Hazard Perry, when its two Caterpillar C-12 main engines from 28

Milton Cat were delivered in November.

In early December, at Senesco Marine in North Kingstown, RI, both of the 12-liter, in-line six-cylinder engines were lowered onto the Perry’s freshly-painted engine beds. Each has a rating of 385 hp and will run on a 20% biofuel-to-diesel blend that will be provided by another of the ship’s Marine Trades Partners, the locally headquartered Newport BioDiesel.

“Ships have been green before there was a green,” said Captain Richard Bailey, “because they use wind in their sails to move from place to place. However, a ship still has to have engines and a bow thruster to make tugs unnecessary and provide ability to enter smaller ports. During times when the wind doesn’t blow, this is the hidden power to meet tight schedules, and since we have to have this power aboard, we are making it as green as possible.”

The Perry’s engine installation is part of the final construction phase that also includes her move this winter from Senesco to Newport Shipyard, where the ship’s lower masts, Douglas fir upper mast sections and 16 yards will be installed.

Currently half completed, her inventory of 20 sails is being made by Hood Sails, and the rigging team is in place

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to take delivery of the masts and spars in February. The ship’s entire inventory of interior paneling, fixtures and equipment has been ordered and is currently being installed. ★ Maine’s First Ship, the pinnace Virginia, continues to take shape up in Bath, Maine. As New Year’s Eve approached, the crew was hoping to ring in 2014 by raising the last of the vessel’s frames.

Virginia, the first ship built in North America by English colonists, was built in 1607-1608 at the mouth of the Kennebec River. During her lifetime, Virginia crossed the Atlantic at least twice.

The 51-foot replica of the Virginia will be constructed to USCG Subchapter T standards. When the pinnace is complete, middle school and high school students will participate in programs that teach operating and maintaining a traditionally-rigged sailing vessel. Students will learn to handle the Virginia and will participate as crew members and interpreters for the ship during educational and sightseeing sails, working with younger students and the public.

For more info, visit www.mfship.org. ★ Brian D’Isernia, owner of Eastern Shipbuilding in Panama City, Florida, is building two steel schooners based on the 140-foot Columbia, a Gloucester fisherman built in 1923. Designed by Starling Burgess, Columbia competed in the International Fishermen’s Races against Canada’s famous schooner Bluenose.

National Fisherman reported recently that D’Isernia

VIRGINIA

COLUMBIA

plans to use the schooners for commercial fishing and to take passengers on cruises, and stated that the schooners, named Columbia and Columbia II, will have a refrigerated fish hold as well as accommodations for passengers.

Mike Berthold of Eastern Shipbuilding says the two schooners are just the beginning.

“We are aggressively marketing past replicas of wood schooners,” Berthold told Workboat.com’s David Krapf.

Covey Island Boatworks of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, has been chosen to provide all 10 of the spars, the standing and running rigging, mast hoops and rig metalwork.

The original Columbia was lost with all hands off Cape Sable in 1927. ★ This October, the Sausalito-based nonprofit Educational Tall Ship laid the keel for their sail-training brigantine, Matthew Turner.

At the time, Educational Tall Ship indicated that it had raised about half the $5 million it needs to complete the ship, which will be built by both professionals and volunteers from the community.

At the keel laying, supplies of Douglas fir boards and planks were already on-site, cut sustainably from a coastal forest in Mendocino County and donated by the nonprofit Conservation Fund.

MATTHEW TURNER In addition to sailpower, the 175-ton Matthew Turner will be fitted with an electric motor similar to those in hybrid cars, making it the largest sailing vessel in the U.S. to operate under regenerative power, according to its designers.

For more, visit www.educationaltallship.org. ❂ Got a story or update for On the Ways? E-mail us at marlinspike1812@gmail.com

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To be included in future editions of our calendar, e-mail your event information to marlinspike1812@gmail.com.

WEST & SOUTH GulfQuest National Maritime Museum, Mobile, AL GulfQuest.org Seven years in the making, the museum is finally expected to open this spring with exhibits that include a full-size replica of a container ship.

Maritime Museum of San Diego, San Diego, CA (619) 234-9153 * SDMaritime.org The Museum is building a full-sized, historically accurate replica of Cabrillo’s flagship, San Salvador. The boatyard at Spanish Landing is open to the public from 11-4 daily.

Seattle Maritime Festival, Seattle, WA May 2014. Events kick off with a maritime career fair, and progress through the week with a maritime poetry slam and chowder cook-off. The festival culminates with Family Fun Day, with kids’ activities, a boat building competition, and tugboat races.

Texas Maritime Museum, Rockport, TX (361) 729-1271 * TexasMaritimeMuseum.org Mondays, January-March. The Brown Bag Lunch Lecture Series. Free lectures are held every Monday, 12-1 PM in the Museum Education Center, on a variety of topics relating to maritime history, museum programming, museum exhibits or the Coastal Bend community and environments.

GREAT LAKES Chicago Maritime Festival, Chicago, IL (773) 576-7245 * ChicagoMaritimeFestival.org February 22. Organized by the Common Times with the Chicago History Museum and Chicago Maritime Museum.

Council of American Maritime Museums April 27-30. Annual meeting at the National Museum of the Great Lakes, Toledo, OH. Michigan Maritime Museum, South Haven, MI (269) 637-8078 * MichiganMaritimeMuseum.org “Are YOU Brave Enough To Be A Sailor In 1812?” New exhibit helps children imagine life onboard a ship — chores, food, hobbies, illness, sail training, lookout duties, sleeping and storage areas, and weather patterns.

May 16-18. 38th Annual Midwestern Model Ships and Boats Contest & Display. Modelers from throughout the United States. A modelers’ symposium, roundtable, and outdoor r/c model pond, and banquet are all part of the festivities.

EAST COAST 10th Maritime Heritage Conference, Norfolk, VA SeaHistory.org September 17-21. Hosted by Nauticus; sessions held at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott. A wide variety of speakers and sessions related to global maritime heritage.

Annapolis Maritime Museum, Annapolis, MD (410) 295-0104 * Amaritime.org Winter Lecture Series, Thursday evenings at 7 pm from January 16 through March 20. The first lecture, by Grant H. Walker of the Naval Academy Museum, is “Historic Models of Historic Ships: A window on the world of the 17th and 18th century British Navy through dockside ship models.”

Commercial Marine Expo, New Bedford, MA CoMarExpo.com June 11-12. CME is a trade show serving the commercial marine and fishing industry on the Atlantic seaboard.

Herreshoff Marine Museum, Bristol, RI (401) 253-5000 * Herreshoff.org The 2014 Classic Yacht Symposium will be held May 2-4.

Independence Seaport Museum, Philadelphia, PA (215) 413-8630 * PhillySeaport.org Feb. 22-23 and March 1-2. Boatbuilding 101. This unique, hands-on class takes the new builder through all phases of boat building. Tools and materials are provided. Participants must be at least age 16. $270 members / $315 non-members.

Feb. 22 and March 1, 8, & 15. 9:30-4:30. Celestial Navigation Course. The course takes place over four Saturdays beginning in February, inside the Museum. The session is designed as a practical, how-to course using GPS for offshore navigation with sun-sight taking and using a sextant as a backup technique. Subject matter includes basic concepts of celestial navigation; how to take sights of the sun; techniques for accurate time determination; use of the Nautical Almanac; how to reduce sights to establish lines of position; and the use of GPS, special charts, plotting sheets and other navigational data for offshore positioning and passage planning.

Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Manitowoc, WI (866) 724-2356 * WisconsinMaritime.org 30

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Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Vergennes, VT (802) 475-2022 * LCMM.org Champlain Longboats is building a whaleboat that will accompany Mystic Seaport’s newly-relaunched whaleship Charles W. Morgan on her cruise this summer (see page 8).

Lowell’s Boat Shop, Amesbury, MA (978) 834-0050 * LowellsBoatShop.com The Boat Shop is building a whaleboat that will accompany Mystic Seaport’s newly-relaunched whaleship Charles W. Morgan on her cruise this summer (see page 8).

Maine Boatbuilders Show, Portland, ME (207) 774-1067 * PortlandCompany.com Portland Company Complex, March 15-17, 2014 A gathering of the finest custom boat builders on the East Coast.

Also exhibiting numerous manufacturers of boating equipment.

Sailboats, powerboats, canoes, kayaks, and rowing boats with the builders there to discuss and sell their work.

Maine Maritime Museum, Bath, ME (207) 443-1316 * MaineMaritimeMuseum.org New exhibit entitled “Going Coastal: Humor, Parody, and Amusement of a Maritime Nature.” Through June 1.

April 12. “These Contrary Winds: Weather and its Effects on Ships, Mariners, and Maritime History.” 42nd annual Walker

Maritime History Symposium.

The Mariner’s Museum, Newport News, VA (757) 596-2222 * MarinersMuseum.org The Enemy’s in Sight: this new exhibition presents a narrative of the War of 1812 through a “tongue-in-cheek” timeline highlighting four significant naval themes of the War of 1812.

Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT (860) 572-0711 * MysticSeaport.org Work continues on the newly-relaunched whaleship Charles W. Morgan as she prepares for her historic 38th voyage this summer (see page 8).

New Bedford Whaling Museum, New Bedford, MA (508) 997-0046 * WhalingMuseum.org The Art of the Ship Model, featuring models from both the Old Dartmouth Historical Society and the Kendall Whaling Museum, through February 23.

Penobscot Marine Museum, Searsport, ME (207) 548-0334 * PenobscotMarineMuseum.org Regional Watercraft exhibit, featuring more than 50 boats. The collection contains lobster boats, peapods, dories, Whitehalls, racing sloops, and more.

Strawbery Banke, Portsmouth, NH (603) 433-1100 * StrawberyBanke.org February 21st at 12 PM. Learn how the new gundalow “Piscataqua” has helped expand The Gundalow Company’s mission to bring adults and children closer to their riverine environment and heritage.

US Naval Academy Museum, Annapolis, MD (410) 293-5275 * USNA.edu The Shiffley Lecture Series continues this winter with talks on January 16 & 22, February 12 & 26, and March 7. All lectures are held at 12:30 in Preble Hall.

USS Constitution Museum, Charlestown, MA (617) 426-1812 * USSConstitutionMuseum.org February 8-14: Learn about Pardon Mawney Whipple, a midshipman who sailed on Constitution during the War of 1812.

After you follow Whipple’s journey in our All Hands on Deck exhibit and learn about his sweetheart, Eliza, create a sailors’ valentine, a seashell-decorated box, for your own sweetheart.

Sailors’ Valentines cost $5.00 and are in limited supply.

February 1-March 22. 35th annual Model Shipwright Guild’s show. The Museum is open seven days a week from 10-5.

Admission is by donation. ❂ Got an event for our next Calendar? E-mail us at marlinspike1812@gmail.com

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Traditional Products for Shipwrights and Riggers Refitting & Outfitting Classic Yachts and Working Sail Blocks, hardware aloft and alow, cordage and rigger’s supplies Email: gord@nwmaritime.org of all descriptions

Fax: 1.360.385.1552 www.woodenboatchandlery.com

Toll Free: 1.855.556.1535

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A select list of sailing programs, summer camps, and passage opportunities open to the public.

WEST COAST Grays Harbor Historic Seaport, Aberdeen, WA (800) 200-5239 * HistoricalSeaport.org July 21-25. 2014 Expedition Voyages Family and Youth Camps in the San Juan Islands.

Los Angeles Maritime Institute, Los Angeles, CA (310) 883-6055 * LAMITopSail.org Sail-training for school and youth groups.

Schooner Adventuress, Port Townsend, WA (360) 379-0438 * SoundExp.com Overnight programs for teens, adults, seniors, and families.

Schooner Zodiac, Bellingham, WA (206) 719-7622 * SchoonerZodiac.com Windjammer cruises in the San Juan Islands, April-October.

GREAT LAKES Schooners Appledore IV and Appledore V, Bay City, MI (989) 895-5193 * BaySailBayCity.org Overnight programs for teens and adults.

Brigantine St. Lawrence II, Kingston, ON (613) 544-5175 * Brigantine.ca Sail-training programs on the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario.

EAST COAST

Camp programs for children 10-17; annual trip to the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race.

Schooner Alliance, Yorktown, VA (757) 639-1233 * SailYorktown.com Windjammer-style Caribbean cruises during winter months.

Schooner Fame, Salem, MA (978) 729-7600 * SchoonerFame.com July 14-18 and August 4-8. Week-long summer day camp sessions for children ages 8-14.

Schooner Pride of Baltimore II, Baltimore, MD (410) 539-1151 * Pride2.org Passages ranging from two to 46 nights.

Barque Picton Castle, Lunenburg, NS (902) 634-9984 * Picton-Castle.com Ongoing world voyage, divided into passages, open to all.

Schooner Sultana (410) 778-5954 * SultanaProjects.org Weeklong “Chesapeake Adventures” programs for ages 11-14.

Liberty Fleet of Tall Ships, Boston, MA (617) 742-0333 * LibertyFleet.com Windjammer-style Caribbean cruises during winter months.

Schooner Virginia (757) 627-7400 * SchoonerVirginia.org Variety of sail-training programs for teens and adults.

Maine Windjammer Association, Midcoast Maine (800) 807-WIND * SailMaineCoast.com Nine vessels offering windjammer cruises on the Maine coast from mid-May through early October.

Schooner Wendameen, Portland, ME (207) 766-2500 * PortlandSchooner.com Overnight trips for up to 14 passengers on Casco Bay.

Ocean Classroom, Damariscotta, ME (207) 563-3266 * OceanClassroom.org Accredited semester-at-sea programs for high school students.

SEA Semester, Woods Hole, MA (508) 540-3954 * Sea.edu Accredited semester-at-sea programs for college students aboard SSV Robert C. Seamans and SSV Corwith Cramer. ❂

Schooner A. J. Meerwald, Bivalve, NJ (856) 785-2060 * BayShoreCenter.org

Got a sailing opportunity you’d like us to include in our next issue? E-mail us at marlinspike1812@gmail.com MarlinspikeMagazine.com

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ADVENTURESS is nearing the finish line on a five-year rebuilding project 34

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PHOTO: ELIZABETH T. BECKER

The tall ships Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain have announced their ports of call for the summer season. The ships are scheduled to visit nine communities on Washington’s Pacific Coast and the Puget Sound region.

Festivals welcoming the ships include Rusty Scupper Pirate Daze in Westport, Aberdeen SPLASH, Drayton Harbor Days in Blaine, Coupeville Arts & Crafts Festival, Everett Fresh Paint Festival, and Westport Salmon Days. Lady Washington is also celebrating the 25th anniversary of her launch in Aberdeen.

At each stop, the ships will schedule several sailing excursions.

Battle Sails feature a recreation of an 18th-century naval gun battle between two tall ships, including real cannon fire (but no cannon balls). Adventure Sails are family-oriented experiences with a chance to help raise a sail, learn a sea shanty, or take the helm of a real tall ship, conditions permitting. Evening Sails are romantic excursions that take advantage of Pacific Northwest sunsets. Tickets go on sale for specific sailings in early spring. ★ Sound Experience has been awarded the final funds necessary to complete its multi-year restoration of the schooner Adventuress. The M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust has provided a capital grant of $175,000 for this winter’s final phase of the five-year project.

This winter’s work includes lower frames and planking on the historic ship’s starboard side, and is utilizing the skills of shipwrights at Haven Boatworks in Port Townsend. The total cost of this final phase is estimated at $350,000. To match the $175,000 awarded by the Murdock Trust, a condition of the grant, Sound Experience has raised an additional $175,000 from individuals and family foundations.

The multi-year Centennial Restoration Project was launched in 2009 with a goal to completely restore the hull to a 50-year standard by her 100th birthday so that the National Historic Landmark ship will “sail for generations to come,” according to Executive Director Catherine Collins.

More than 3,000 youth and adults climb aboard each year on day and overnight programs to experience Puget Sound’s marine environment and to learn how their daily actions make a difference in its future.

“We are tremendously grateful to the M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust for getting us to the finish line,” said Collins. ★ The schooner Ernestina, launched in Essex in 1894 as the Effie M. Morrissey, was a sail-training staple of the New England coast for many years but ran into maintenance and funding issues and has not sailed in some time. The Schooner Ernestina-Morrissey Association (SEMA) has never given up hope, however, and continues to raise funds with the goal of returning Ernestina to active duty as a sailing, educational vessel.

In an optimistic December letter to members, SEMA reported that the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation was currently working on “an exciting opportunity that will ensure a successful sailing, educational future for a fully rebuilt ErnestinaMorrissey.”

SEMA, closing in on its goal of raising $5 million, landed a $125,000 challenge gift from the Hildreth Stewart Charitable Foundation for the 2013 tax year. Every dollar up to $125,000 that MarlinspikeMagazine.com

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was donated was to be matched. beams and foremast need repairs. The owners have turned Later that month, the DCR received a sobering report down two low-ball offers and a proposal to donate the veswhich suggested that even $5 million might not be enough sel, and recently changed brokers. to address Ernestina’s structural issues and return her to ★ active service. The schooner is scheduled to go to Boothbay, The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Maine to be evaluated in March.

Michaels has announced the winter/spring schedule for its ★ Apprentice for a Day (AFAD) Zodiac is celebrating her 90th public boatbuilding program. birthday this year. The “The museum’s Apprentice Bellingham-based schooner has for a Day program is one of a received some new archival photos kind,” said curator Pete Lesher. from a museum in Nova Scotia, “What sets it apart is that it allows and her original owners, the participants to sample any part of Johnson family, are reportedly the boatbuilding process, although sending some of their family phowe welcome participation from tos of the schooner. keel to finish coat. We also do our Zodiac and Roseway, now best to tailor each class to the abiloperated on the East Coast by ities our participants arrive with.”

HIGHLANDER SEA (left) World Ocean School, were the last During museum hours on two bar pilot schooners to retire from service. Last year was Saturdays and Sundays from January 4 through June 8, prothe centennial of the San Francisco Bar Pilots, who owned gram participants will be constructing a lapstrake sailing Zodiac as California from 1931-1973. Look for more on skiff. By constructing a boat from start to finish, traditional Zodiac in our next issue.

Chesapeake boatbuilding techniques will be taught to par★ ticipants of all skill levels, under the direction of a profesStill on the topic of big old schooners, the Highlander sional shipwright.

Sea, formerly the Pilot, Star Pilot and Caledonia, continues to AFAD participants can be a part of the whole 21-week languish at the Gloucester Marine Railways, where she has process, or can sign up only for specific dates. Individual been tied up alongside Adventure since the fall of 2011. classes are $45 for museum members and $55 for nonHighlander Sea was built in neighboring Essex in 1924 and members. Participants must be 16 or older, unless accompahad a refit as recently as 2005. She is for sale for $2 million, nied by an adult. but an October 2012 survey indicated that her deck, deck For more information, contact boatyard manager Jenn

When we tell you that Captain Oliver’s on Oyster Bay is right on the border between the French and Dutch sides of St. Maarten, we mean right on the border. The hotel is on the French side; its marina is on the Dutch side.

Captain Oliver’s serves as The Moorings’ main base on St. Maarten and its two bars and great restaurant are terrific places to swap rounds and stories with fellow sailors cruising the Leeward Islands.

The pool deck in particular has a great view of the harbor entrance. Oyster Pond is on the windward side of the island, and the tricky pass provides much entertainment. While we were there, a pilot in a whaler led departing yachts out through the channel. Returning boats had a pilot brought out to them.

One of the specialities of the house, bottled and labelled for Captain Oliver’s, is their 60-proof Ma Doudou Banane Vanille “Punch au Rhum” which is exactly what it sounds like: a sweet, dark concoction of rum, banana, and vanilla that is very, very sippable. We were introduced to it after dinner in the restaurant and, some time later, left with two bottles. — MR 26

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Kuhn at 410-745-4980 or email afad@cbmm.org. ★ The holidays were anything but happy in Halifax, where there is gnashing of teeth over the long-running and expensive restoration of the Bluenose II. Nova Scotia’s heritage minister has asked for a full review of the $16 million project, which is two years behind schedule.

The schooner is now scheduled for sea trials this spring. Bluenose II was supposed to return to regular sailing in the summer of 2012 after a two-year rebuild.

The restoration is being carried out by the Lunenburg Shipyard Alliance. Insiders point to government oversight of the project as the main source of delays and inefficiency.

Bluenose II, launched in 1963, is a replica of the original Bluenose, a Grand Banks fishing schooner that won worldwide acclaim for its graceful lines and speed. Bluenose appears on the reverse of the Canadian dime. ★ After spending eight months in Fairhaven, Massachusetts for much-needed repairs, Mayflower II returned to Plymouth in August to great fanfare.

In December 2012, Mayflower II was brought to the Fairhaven Shipyard to repair her hull and rudder. The scope of the work expanded once the outer planks of her hull were removed, however, and renovations scheduled for future visits had to be immediately prioritized. Her return to Plymouth was further delayed as staffers scrambled to locate the necessary supplies of white oak, the primary building material of the ship.

The repairs Mayflower II underwent are merely the first phase of Plimoth Plantation’s ongoing $2 million restoration of the ship.

“Mayflower II’s presence on the waterfront has enlightened, educated and inspired millions since her arrival in 1957,” remarked MAYFLOWER II Plimoth Plantation’s Executive Director, Ellie Donovan. “We want to ensure that she is in prime condition for the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrim’s voyage in 2020.”

Mayflower II will return to dry dock several times over the next seven years for scheduled winter repairs.

Mayflower II was constructed in the 1950s in England, and great pains were taken to make her as accurate to the original Mayflower as possible. The project utilized English oak timbers, hand-sewn linen canvas sails, hemp cordage, hand-forged nails and Stockholm tar, all of the sort used on 17th-century ships.

The hull was launched in September of 1956 and Mayflower II departed from Plymouth, England on April 20,

Through the Islands

MAINE COAST ART PRINTS fine color prints of watercolors by Consuelo Eames Hanks

www.mainecoastartprints.com

Bernie Noon, who has helped Harold Burnham build four schooners and has crewed on two of them, sails his Catalina 28, Rum Monkey, out of Pickering Wharf Marina in Salem, MA. Years ago, Bernie was visiting Barbados with his lovely wife Susan and the two of them were amused to hear locals referring to a certain kind of rum as “Monkey Rum”. Later, when they got used to the Barbadian accent, they realized the locals were saying “Mount Gay Rum”.

Now Bernie has taken the Monkey Rum and turned it into a drink he calls the Rum Monkey. This simple and refreshing apres-sail cocktail has caught on at such waterside establishments as Vic’s Boathouse and Finz, both of them a short stumble from Bernie’s slip.

Rum Monkey 2 oz Mt. Gay rum 3 oz pineapple juice 1 oz banana liquour Stir and serve on ice

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1957. Her transatlantic voyage under the command of Captain Alan Villiers was eventful, and she weathered a violent storm and a becalming in the lower latitudes. She arrived safely in Provincetown, Massachusetts on June 11, 1957, and finally reached Plymouth Harbor on June 13 after a 55-day voyage. ★ Billy Sabatini was introduced as the new captain of Niagara at a January news conference at the Erie Maritime Museum.

Sabatini joined the Niagara back in 2005 as third mate.

“I never thought I would be here nine years later,’’ said

Sabatini, 32, who served as the Niagara’s chief mate for the past six years.

The U.S. Brig Niagara, home-ported in Erie, Pennsylvania, is a representation of the vessel with which Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry won the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813. Forced to abandon his battered flagship, the Lawrence, Perry had himself rowed to the undamaged Niagara, brought her into the battle, and compelled the British squadron to surrender.

The current Niagara, the third reconstruction of the original vessel, was launched in Erie in 1988. Niagara sails the Great Lakes, preserving and interpreting the story of the

of Kim Carver has been publishing Jack Tar Magazine for the last seven years. She’s also been publishing her Women of Maritime calendar off and on since 2009, a project which occasionally ruffles some feathers.

Marlinspike: Kim, tell us about your calendars. What attracted you to that project?

Kim Carver: Initially it was a funny idea that several crew and I used to joke about. After I began Jack Tar, I thought it might be a good way to raise the money needed in order to print lots of magazines. Lots of women wanted to be in it, which kept me motivated. Except for the 2011 edition, when Wojtek Wacowski designed the calendar, I have taken almost all the photos and put the calendar together on my own.

Other than in 2011, it never made enough to support more magazine printing, so I stopped doing it for a few years. Many mariners, several of them ladies who wanted to be in it still, kept asking when the next one would come out. All that prompting motivated me to start it up again.

MS: Can you comment on the different ways that women sailors view the calendar?

KC: Not only did lots of women want to be in it, but I have rarely had to ask anyone! Don’t get me wrong; there are also plenty of women who don’t want to be in it, but I’ve never had trouble filling 12 pages.

The feedback is overwhelmingly positive. One complaint is that a wider variety of women need to be represented: plus-size, older, more racially diverse. Actually, many of the ladies in it are plus-sized, including myself. Ages range from 18 to 45, and I’m elated when a non-white woman wants to be in it, but being a Pacific Northwest sailor, most of my mariner friends are Caucasian.

Even a few years back, when my calendars were racier, not one woman told me that they didn’t like the gender gap being highlighted. I myself don’t know any women who feel that hiding their female-ness is the key to acceptance in a male-dominated industry. These are modern times, and truly professional tradeswomen are tough; they expect to be judged based on their attitude and skill on the job, nothing else.

MS: And if they feel like emphasizing their sexuality during your photo shoot, that’s cool? I’m not sure how traditional feminists would feel about that.

KC: Some ladies see being in the calendar as an act of defiance against the old-fashioned belief that they need to hide their sexuality to get respect. Some rarely get seen in anything other than work clothes, and simply want to play model for a day. The models all wear work clothes now, and a few of them miss the sexiness of past calendars.

Traditional feminists who want to shame any individual for how they safely express themselves should catch up with the rest of us. Thankfully our female predecessors fought for our rights, so now we can be and do whatever we want! ❂ 38

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Even in a region well known for white sand, clear water, and natural beauty, some beaches still stand out. The best of the best, as it were.

As one of these, the Marlinspike staff would like to nominate Little Bay on the quiet island of Anguilla, just north of busy Sint Maarten. We were there not quite a year ago, having sailed over from Grand Case. We had a fine downwind run to the southwest point of Anguilla, then hardened up in the lee of the island and sailed close-hauled into Road Bay to clear in, a reasonably quick and pleasant process. The beach at Road Bay is very fine, a small store is close at hand, a couple of bars offered cold libations and a troop of local children were jumping off the dock.

However, the anchorage was decently populated and we thought we’d push our luck and take a look at Little Bay, just to the north.

It was a good call. Two of the four moorings were open, there was good snorkeling from the dinghy, and we had the tiny, pristine beach all to ourselves for over an hour until some Beautiful People and a 12-pack of cold Heineken got chauffered in on a surf boat.

And even that wasn’t so bad. — MR Post a photo of your favorite beach to our facebook page, or e-mail it to us at marlinspike1812@gmail.com

Battle of Lake Erie, and acting as an ambassador of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Sabatini succeeds Wes Heerssen, who resigned in December. Heerssen, Niagara’s captain for the past 11 years, is going to work for an offshore supply-boat company that services oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.

Sabatini, a native of Natick, Massachusetts, graduated from Maine Maritime. He will be replaced as chief mate by former second mate David Goldman, who has been on Niagara for six years. ★ If you’re dreading scraping and painting your bottom this spring, track down a copy of the trade publication PCE International and see how the big boys do it.

The Oct-Dec 2013 issue describes the sandblasting and re-coating of the bottom of HMB Endeavor. Sponge-encapsulated media were used that not only allowed the bottom to be blasted without harming the Jarrah hull or caulking, but the hull did not have to be covered and other work projects were able to go on side-by-side with the blasting. The sandblasting media was collected and re-used again and again.

The end result was a surface similar to what would have been achieved with 80-120 grit sandpaper.

Airless spray equipment was then used to apply three coats of Intertuf 203 and then two coats of Micron Extra.

No cost was given for the ten-day operation, which was performed by the Garden Island Naval Dockyard in Sydney. ❂ Do you have news for Boats, Bars & Beaches? Send it to us at marlinspike1812@gmail.com

PROUD HOST OF THE 2014

GLOUCESTER SCHOONER FESTIVAL August 29–31, 2014 MARITIMEGLOUCESTER.ORG

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of the Recently we spoke to Tim Whitten, proprietor of marlinespike.com in Stonington, Maine. Tim works in rope and leather and also has a line of traditional rigging tools — rigging knives, fids, marlinspikes (of course), and even vintage sailmaker’s palms. Tim ships worldwide and says he’s pretty confident that he has “work afloat in all seven seas.”

Marlinspike: Tim, you have a nice selection of rigging tools on your website, marlinespike.com. But before we go there, do you have any idea why the line is MARLINE but spikes can be MARLIN-spikes, MARLINE-spikes, or MARLING-spikes? You use MARLINEspike with an ‘e’ in your URL, but on the page where you sell spikes... no ‘e’.

but I don’t really consider myself a tool merchant. The smaller sizes are in keeping with the scale of work that I do.

Tim Whitten: The older spelling is marlinespike with an ‘e’ because the word is derived from the tool used for doing work with marline. Marline is a type of twine, traditionally two strand hemp and often impregnated with pine tar. The word has two parts, ‘mar’ and ‘line’. ‘Mar’ is a derivation relating to the sea, hence sea-twine or sea-line.

Marling is a technique for binding or lashing and can be used as a verb such as “to marl”. Marlingspike is the least common spelling, and modern usage has the ‘e’ dropped out of marlinespike and is frequently separated into two words. The reason that I use the ‘e’ in my website is mostly because the URL without the ‘e’ was already taken!

But the fact that it is the more traditional spelling is a propos.

TW: Whacking the spine to drive the blade through thick cordage is an acceptable method of parting rope, so I looked for a blank that I could work with and make a traditional-styled rigging knife.

MS: Tell us first about the spike and the fids. How did you choose the sizes and shapes that you offer? Have you done traditional rigging yourself, or did you pattern them after tools that others found to be useful?

MS: I’d be embarrassed to show you my spike, which is one of those combined rigging knife / marlinspikes made by Myerchin. The coolest thing about my knife is that it has a little red LED so you can see what you’re cutting... but I broke it or it wore out years ago. What do you think of these modern tools? Do you own a Leatherman?

TW: I never worked as a rigger; I’m self-taught.

Without knowing of any sources where I could buy items like traditional lignum vitae fids, I made my own based on photos that I found in references such as the Ashley Book of Knots. I offer small marlinspikes on my site because I figured people who found my site would be expecting to find them there, and I might make a few sales by stocking them, 40

MS: The knife you offer looks great, and it appears you’ve made the spine especially wide so that it can be whacked pretty good.

MS: The lanyard and the sheath you offer are pretty slick as well. Do you do the leather work?

TW: Yes. I consider a limited degree of leather work to be part of the sailmaker’s repertoire, so stitching a sheath together is an extension of marlinespike work. I’ve learned a few tricks to improve my sheaths and they have evolved into a decent piece, but I don’t consider myself a fine leatherworker.

TW: I don’t own a Leatherman. If I carry a knife it is more likely to be a single, fixed blade. I prefer a dedicated tool to do a particular job and working in the environment that I do, I can usually locate that tool on my bench. If I were working in an environment where I didn’t have the

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luxury of setting out an array of tools, I can see the utility of a multi-tool and I don’t have anything against them. And I don’t work in the dark.

MS: The sea chests on your site are gorgeous, but I notice you don’t sell them — you sell plans for making them.

Why is that?

TW: Sure! That would be the person I’d hire.

MS: You’ve said that you don’t consider yourself a patient person, and yet the bellropes, beckets and rope mats on your site must require a lot of man hours.

TW: I am meticulous by nature. To me, there is a difference between something that requires time and attention to detail, and something that requires patience. I enjoy my work, so I don’t think patience is an appropriate word.

TW: I made a few chests early on, but my interest in woodwork is declining. The pieces pictured on my site are all sold and remain there as examples of chests that reflect the details in my book.

Having made both chests and handles, or beckets, I can say that the chest is the accessory to the becket. There are many more people out there with woodworking skills and I am happy to leave that part of the job to them and just supply plans and beckets.

MS: Have you been able to keep track of any of your tools once they leave your shop? Do you know of any rigging or sailmaking projects that are going on using your tools?

MS: It seems like the invention of first the duffel bag and now rolling luggage have dealt the sea chest a death blow. Can you imagine showing up for a summer of work on one of the Maine Windjammers with a sea chest?

TW: There are a few locals who use my tools and other items, so I can keep tabs on them to some degree. But for the most part, once items leave my shop I don’t see them again. I do ship items all over the world, and I’m pretty confident that I have work afloat in all seven seas. ❂ Got an idea for Tools of the Trade? E-mail us at marlinspike1812@gmail.com

Authentic Tarred Hemp Marline

American Rope & Tar 8115 River Front Ln. Fair Oaks, CA 95628 877 965 1800

(902) 634-9984

www.tarsmell.com

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Continued from page 7

nuances of the vessel and be sailing from mid-May on.

tax lawyers to make that work!

We don’t want to complicate the picture here. We’d love to live off sponsorships and grants, but the reality is, there are going to be paying customers in our picture as well.

We need to go out and build a brand. A lot of people know about Adventure: they know someone who lives in Gloucester, or who came to our breakfasts, or gave us some money. We’re a known entity. But we need to keep building our brand and our marketing and our public relations. We need to grow our organization and build capacity.

Right now we have myself and Geoff and a part-time bookkeeper. The reality is I’m also the educational director, but there’s an opportunity for a full-time or mostly full-time person there, an event planner, a grant writer. This organization could be five, six, seven employees with up to a milliondollar budget.

We’re not going to make a million dollars charging people $50 or $75 a head. As long as we’re fulfilling our mission of being an educational platform and a cultural and historic icon of the community, then that’s what we need to do and that’s our challenge.

MS: There are two schooners in Gloucester already. Are there enough bus groups, enough school kids, enough grant money to support three traditional vessels here in Gloucester, not to mention the whale-watching boats?

Geoff: All our effort up to this fall was focused on getting Adventure sailing and finally she was in a condition where we could take it out and do that. We sailed it four times, we parked it and we took a deep breath. The prime movers behind the restoration retired, and we took a seat and started looking toward the future. What John’s describing now is what we’ve been doing in the three months since.

John: Well, I don’t know that the other two schooners rely as much on grants as we would. We’re a National Historic Landmark and we’re a Save America’s Treasures project, so we have something that they don’t. But we need to be more than just a tourist boat. The mission of Adventure is to be part of the community, an educational platform, a cultural and historic icon. There will be tourists on the boat, but that’s not going to be our focus.

Of course, that’s all ahead of us. I literally sat down this morning to make up lists of entities that we need to contact and who we think would be interested in coming out on the boat. Will all those entities pay their own way? Or will some of those have to be sponsored? A group of veterans may not have the money to go out on the boat, but a group of veterans supported by a grant from New Balance or Bank of America… there are things we have in the works. That’s a model that the board thinks can work for us.

Plus we’ll have dockside fundraisers; there’s no shortage of opportunities to get the local restaurants down on the dock or bring local brewers and distillers down to the dock with some musicians and have a great old time and charge $100 a head or whatever we can get.

Our cruises to other ports will be underwritten.

MS: Do you have any dates for those cruises?

MS: Did nobody think about these things during the fifteen years that the schooner was being restored? Was there no plan for where she’d be based or how she’d be operated once she was seaworthy?

John: I have a 20-page business plan. We’re not starting from scratch. We received a very generous grant from the Lynch Foundation to come up with a business plan in 2008 and it was just refreshed in 2012. Most everything I’m saying is consistent with what’s outlined in that business plan.

MS: Who developed that plan?

John: It was done internally. I’m not sure if we had outside help on that…

We do have an annual meeting coming up where we’ll be looking to expand the capacity of the board, expand our operational side, expand our vessel operations, get a captain and crew signed on. We can’t go out and find a captain and crew each time we want to sail.

But right now we’re looking at a pretty blank slate for the entire 2014 sailing season. We’ve got work to do this winter, as we’ve said, and hopefully come April, we’ll get our certification, and come May we can go out and learn the 42

John: Nothing definitive. Sailing to Provincetown would likely happen after the Gloucester Schooner Festival, the first week of September, as part of their annual event down there when the boats race from Gloucester to Provincetown.

MS: Where are you basing the boat long-term?

John: Our lease at the Marine Railways runs through August, so we’re considering our options. Our preference would be something on this side of the harbor: Maritime Gloucester, Rose Marine, Cruiseport… the downtown side makes tremendous sense because we feel the schooner can be a place-maker, a focus for community development.

Right now we’re embedded in two cultural districts, and being based in this structure [the Fitz Henry Lane House] is pretty cool. We’re having our annual meeting at the Rocky Neck Art Colony, which is pretty cool. Part of our outreach is linking up with the other local cultural institutions.

I’d love to tell you we have all the answers, but we don’t have them yet. We have a lot of ideas. We’ve got a dedicated board that’s giving the vessel a lot of support. We just need to keep reaching out and reaching out and reaching out. ❂ For more on Adventure, visit www.schooner-adventure.org

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Continued from page 19 with a clearly-defined structure, accepting responsibility and accountability for themselves and for what they’re learning.

MS: Once you returned from Harvard you were more involved in administration.

JW: Administration, development, growing programs at SEA and other places.

Immediately after Harvard I went out and sailed the Californian to Hawaii and back. The Nautical Heritage Society was operating the boat then, and they were looking to SEA as a model.

But they were confused about what they wanted to do.

They had high school students on board, a film crew on board — it was an odd mix of passengers and students and it was hard to manage. That program didn’t make sense to me.

With a young family in Ipswich, I decided to leave SEA as full-time faculty member in 1998. After a year at Ipswich Middle School, I started teaching at Waring. I did a few summer trips with SEA as a contract captain.

I also was a regular relief captain for Greg Muzzy on the Liberty Clipper sailing out of Boston. I convinced Greg that there should be an educational component to his operation, and with his support we got the Liberty Classroom going. The goal was to provide a traditional sail education experience for Boston-area youth groups. We established an educational non-profit entity within Greg’s company.

The vision was sound, but the realities were difficult.

The program was an add-on to a very busy charter schedule and we could only discount the costs so much. A lot of youth organizations were on hiatus in the summer and fundraising was challenging as well.

The schedule was also tough on the crew. They lived on the boat and had very little time off. They just got burned out.

It’s too bad it didn’t work out because Greg was very interested in sail training and did all he could to accommodate that interest within the context of trying to pay the bills.

Eventually I stopped enjoying doing those public sails off Long Wharf. The big business was at night, when we’d have 80 people on the boat and a band up on the bow, in a busy commercial harbor with passengers who didn’t know if they were on a sailboat or a motorboat…

But I’ve been lucky to be able to continue to do some trips as a relief skipper with SEA from time to time, and a couple days a week on the Fame out of Salem.

MS: John, how has sail training changed since 1971?

JW: In the past, the students were there for the experience. Nowadays students still want that experience, but there’s also a little bit of ‘What’s this experience going to do for me? What’s it going to look like on my resume?’

Social changes, greater pressure, more competition.

Technology and the cell phone — the fact that students are continually plugged in. Students today have a tough time letting go of that, putting the technology away and working with a block and tackle or a tiller.

MS: Does that it make it more important to offer these opportunities? Or is sail training becoming irrelevant?

JW: It’s more important than ever to help students get to places where people are working together toward a common vision, where they become tuned in to their environment, so that when they go outside they’re aware of the clouds and the changes in the wind and the world around them.

It’s one thing to achieve that when you’re at sea for six weeks. The cohesion and the confidence that the students develop are real and meaningful and they stay with the students for a long time. It’s a very different challenge to try and accomplish this on a two- or three-hour day sail. How do you get to that sense of cohesion and immersion?

People involved in shorter-term programs face a real challenge in trying to get from a fun day sail to something more meaningful. It’s a huge challenge, but it’s worth striving for. That should be the goal of the captain and the crew — to create that environment. ❂

CLASSIFIED ADS BAREBOAT A SABRE IN MASSACHUSETTS — Clean, well-found Sabre 38 Mark I available for bareboat or crewed charters on the North Shore. Call 978-729-7600.

MARLINSPIKE SAILORS ARTS & CRAFTS — A guide to those hard-to-make Turk’s Heads, Monkey’s Fists and Carrick Bends. Detailed directions, drawings, and photographs. International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press, 2013, $13, Kindle $10.

SAIL ON THE SALEM PRIVATEER — Cruise into history on a full-scale replica of the first American privateer to take a prize during the War of 1812! Day sails, private charters, and a summer day camp for children ages 8-14.

Call 978-729-7600 or visit us at SchoonerFame.com AMI WATERMAKER SYSTEMS — Maritime series from 150 to 1600 gallons per day. (760) 727-3711 or visit www.AppliedMembranes.com/maritime

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Not every sailor has a full-rigged ship tattooed across their chest.

Bob Isenberg does.

“As I understand it, the stars were for safe navigation, a safe voyage. I got those done first by Rama Bass at Babylon Tattoo in Ft. Lauderdale. I went back to Rama with a drawing that was supposed to be the Northern Lights, a clipper ship commanded

by Joshua Slocum. I told him I wanted this line drawing instead of the usual stylized ship. Nor did I want the typical border. He called me the next day and said he had the drawing. It was perfect, but the border still suffered from stylized dolphins and such. I brought Rama a copy of H.G. Smith’s The Marlinespike Sailor, and he called me the next day with this amazing work of art! He pointed to the Star Knot in the center and said “Smith said you become a marlinespike sailor from a knot-tyer when you can tie a Star Knot!”

The first one I tied is in my ditty bag!

I’m not barechested often, but when I am it’s usually at a “Pirate Event” and most that see it find it interesting. Of course there’s a lot of other work on myself as well. ❂

The best thing about Bernie Noon’s spike is that it didn’t cost him a cent.

Bernie is a retired firefighter who keeps himself busy working on the schooner Fame in Salem, Massachusetts. Bernie helped build Fame eleven years ago, and nowadays he is in charge of uprigging and downrigging. Bernie also helped build and later crewed on the Thomas Lannon out of Gloucester.

“I made this spike while we were building the Fame. It was one of the carriage bolts we used to fasten the butt-ends of the planks, and it had somehow got bent. So I cut it off before the threads and then used the belt sander at the boatyard to get the shape right. Then I fine-sanded it.”

There’s a Turk’s Head around the head of the spike as well as a small lanyard and, of course, a custom leather sheath.

“The nice thing about the silicon bronze is that you can polish it to a fare-thee-well, and it’s absolutely beautiful. I call it the Precious.

“Touch it, touch it — I know you want to touch it!

“On the other hand,” Bernie admits, “the bronze is pretty soft.

A regular spike, made out of hardened steel, you can use to loosen a shackle. If you did that with this spike, you’d probably bend the tip of it.” ❂ 44

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DECKHAND, COOK The Columbus Foundation www.thenina.com/employment.html Minimum one month commitment. All meals are provided. You will have a bunk with a personal storage area. Also provided are outlets for recharging electronics, plenty of fresh water, and first aid/medical supplies. There is a head aboard both ships. Crew salaries start at $200 a week, $300 for cook. While in port, you will receive additional income in tips.

DECKHAND Schooner Mary E. schoonermarye.org/mary-e-employment.htm We are always taking resumes of qualified local schooner buffs in the Eastern Connecticut area. If you are willing to ship out for a summer or winter season please send resume to: Captericvandy@aol.com and type "Crew" in the subject line.

ENGINEER S/V Denis Sullivan www.schoonerdenissullivan.org A full-time position handling logistical planning and ongoing maintenance for shipboard mechanical, electrical, plumbing and propulsion systems. Qualified candidates must have: extensive knowledge base on ships systems, traditional sailing ship experience, a desire to teach and learn and a positive, friendly nature. Competitive compensation, health benefits, vision and dental care plans, 401K and an annual educational reimbursement for qualification for the position.

Send cover letter, resume and list of references to: tkrihwan@discoveryworld.org FIRST MATE/RELIEF CAPTAIN S/V Denis Sullivan www.schoonerdenissullivan.org First Mate who can be a Relief Captain for day sails. This position is seasonal from April to November. This position serves as Chief Mate handling day-to-day shipboard operations, maintenance planning & implementation, crew training & scheduling. Qualified candidates must have: extensive knowledge base on traditional sailing ships and experience as a Watch Officer and hold a 100-ton Mate or Masters Inland (Near Coastal preferred) MMC with sail endorsement. Also, a desire to teach and learn and a positive, friendly nature is required. Send cover letter, resume and list of references to: tkrihwan@discoveryworld.org COOK Schooner Brilliant mysticseaport.org/about/employment/seasonal-positions/ Seeking a seasonal, full-time experienced cook to provide three meals a day for up to 12 people during our 10-week summer youth sailing program. Participation with on-deck activities is encouraged and is required during emergency drills. Sails will last between five to ten days. You must be at least 20 years old.

Mandatory drug screen and background check are required. This position will begin in early summer 2014. Please send your resume to human.resources@mysticseaport.org.

RELIEF CAPTAIN S/V Piscataqua Portsmouth, NH-based vessel seeks Relief Captain for the 2014

season. Piscataqua sails up to three times a day with school groups, charters, and the general public. A 100-ton Inland Master’s license with sail endorsement is required, along with relevant captain experience. Local knowledge and experience with educational programming under sail is preferred. Relief captain is expected to sail once a week, although flexibility is a plus. Apply to Captain Matt Glenn at captain@gundalow.org CAPTAIN Salish Sea Expeditions salish.org/GetInvolved/progemploymentopportunities The Captain works as one member of a 5-7 person team, in coordination with a fellow Captain, and independently. Trips range from 3 to 5 day expeditions with students where each night the vessel is either docked or anchored, to transits between ports and short 24 hour promotional sails. Must have 50-ton Inland Masters license with sail endorsement. $1900-2200 per month based on experience, plus shared room & partial board. To apply, see below.

MATE Duties include ensuring that all deck operations are carried out in a safe and orderly manner, instructing and overseeing students in proper vessel operation, and presenting nautical science topics both in the classroom and on the vessel. Must have 50-ton Inland Mate license. Experience teaching students. First aid/CPR required. $1400-1600 per month, depending on experience, plus shared room and partial board. To apply, see below.

ON-BOARD PROGRAM DIRECTOR Duties include working with students in their classroom to design a marine research project, and the creation of a communication piece. Aboard the vessel, the Program Coordinator is directly responsible for overseeing onboard program operations. BA/BS in science, education, marine science, or related field , or 3+ years experience. Current first aid/CPR/WFR certification. $15001600/month, depending on experience, plus shared room and partial board. To apply, see below.

MARINE SCIENTIST EDUCATOR Duties include working with students in their classroom to design a marine research project, and the creation of a communication piece. Aboard the vessel, the Marine Scientists supervise students who are creating a sampling plan and itinerary, deploying equipment, collecting and analyzing data. BA/BS in science and/or education with experience in marine science, demonstrated inquiry teaching ability and current first aid/CPR/WFR certification $14001600 per month, depending on experience, plus shared room and partial board. To apply, see below.

LOGISTICS COORDINATOR Duties include coordinating pre-trip and day-to-day food and supply details for 2-5 day science education programs plus a few day programs aboard a 61’ sailboat. This position will be split approximately half-time onshore and half-time onboard.

For all Salish Sea positions, e-mail a cover letter, resume, and contact information for three references to kristen@salish.org ❂ Got a job opportunity you’d like us to include in our next issue? E-mail us at marlinspike1812@gmail.com

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G. ANDY CHASE

Why Sail Training?

In this modern age, all maritime schools are spending a great deal of money and time training our students to operate the latest technologies in ship operations and management. Why then would Maine Maritime Academy want to also train them to sail an eighty-year-old sailing ship?

The answers are many, but first let it be said that we don’t require all of our students to sail on our sail training vessel, the wooden, two-masted schooner Bowdoin. We require our Vessel Operations & Technology students (candidates for 500 or 1600 ton licenses) to do so, and we encourage all others to do so.

The primary reason we encourage all students to take advantage of this training is that we consider it the finest basic training there is for a career at sea. It is training with consequences.

How many mates, standing watch in the enclosed, air conditioned bridge of a container ship or tanker, do you think would be able to answer the question “What direction and strength is the wind at this moment?” without having to look, either out the wheelhouse windows, or worse, at the anemometer? It would be a rare mate on a sailing ship who couldn’t tell you immediately, without even glancing at the compass. Most of them could tell you even when they are off watch. And most of them will notice, even when down below having dinner, if the wind shifts by more than a point.

Why? Because such information has consequences on board a sailing ship. It has consequences on board a container ship or a tanker as well, but too many mates are too far removed from their environment to notice such things.

A training program on board a sailing ship requires no contrived input from the “trainers” since the environment provides the curriculum. If you simply require the trainees to plan and execute the voyage they will get plenty of training. That is what makes it such a powerful training tool.

There need be no lecture on the effects of a wind shift on your planned route. It will be obvious when it occurs, and it will demand a solution immediately. There will be no grade to debate. You will either arrive on time, and without damage, or you will not. It will be quite clear if you have passed the final exam.

The consequence of each and every decision is obvious… sometimes painfully so. A delayed decision about reefing 46

might be made out of laziness, inattention to the changing conditions or simply out of decision-making paralysis.

Regardless of the reason, such a delay may easily require all hands to be called in the middle of the night to tie in a reef in the midst of a squall, increasing the risk to all. All hands will know who didn’t pass that test of seamanship. There are consequences to even the smallest things. A furled sail incorrectly secured will find its way out of its lashing in a squall, perhaps causing the loss of the sail. The consequences of that mistake are more than financial. Shipmates may have to be put at risk to climb aloft to secure the damaged sail before more harm is done. Then the vessel will have to proceed at reduced speed until a sail repair lesson is completed.

Every aspect of seamanship is revealed in its purest and most demanding form. Some examples: Meteorology. You must understand the minutest details of meteorology if you are to take advantage of every slant of wind between departure and arrival. To miss the signs of an approaching storm or squall can have severe consequences.

Marlinspike Seamanship. You will use knots and splices, bends and beckets, deadeyes and lanyards, wire and rope, canvass stitches and patches, and rigging techniques that though old, are still important today. For what is modern cargo gear (yes, even a container crane) but a refinement of the old sailing ship rig? It may be nearly unrecognizable now, but the basic principles are exactly the same, and an understanding of the basics will help the mate understand the most modern equipment.

Stability. A sailing ship is a stability model in motion.

You see and feel every force. You are engaged in a perpetual inclining experiment. You must constantly monitor the forces of the sails and the seas so as to stay within the safe limits of your dynamic stability curves. While a sailing ship’s generous stability may be forgiving, the crew may not be when you cause them to be thrown from their bunks by misreading the approaching wave, or failing to slack a sheet.

Shiphandling. As master of a modern containership, car carrier, or LNG ship you will be carrying more sail area than the largest sailing ship ever built. If you don’t understand the effects of wind on a sail you will forever be at a disadvantage when handling your vessel. If, however, you have learned to handle a sailing vessel you will find it intuitive to use the wind as an assisting force whenever possible. Even when not under sail, a sailing ship is a strict teacher of shiphandling, for such vessels are typically under-powered,

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MMA's schooner BOWDOIN reaching across Penobscot Bay in 30 knots of wind on Captain Chase's Auxiliary Sail Class weekend training cruise carry a large amount of windage, and have very delicate projections at each end (bowsprits and boomkins and such).

Cargo Stowage. Given the amount of heel that sailing vessels typically carry when under sail, cargo stowage is arguably more demanding than on any other type of vessel.

Imagine being told to stow your cargo for a voyage that will be conducted with an anticipated list of ten degrees, which will alternate every few days from port to starboard. And expect to roll deeply on a regular basis. Your cargo lashings and shoring will be severely tested.

Navigation. Gone is the notion of laying down a trackline in advance and following it for days on end. Under sail there is no such thing as a rhumb line or a great circle track from departure to destination. Days are spent going in every direction but the one you desire, hoping to make good, on average, a track approximately toward your destination. Your navigation is constantly challenged as you carry each tack as close to danger as circumstances and good seamanship permit, in order to take advantage of a good slant of wind.

Merchant Navies of many countries have long recognized the value of a traditional sailing vessel to train men and women to operate power-driven merchant ships. Some of our students will benefit by this training for a merchant marine career. But with all the traditional sailing ships oper-

ating in the world today, we are in fact training many of our students to be the mates and masters aboard these sailing vessels. Tall Ships America lists over 150 such vessels in their directory, and all of them need qualified and certified mates and masters. Maine Maritime Academy is the only school in the US where a student can get a college degree, a license, and all the necessary international certificates to sail in these positions. We have a large number of faculty and staff with extensive experience in this field, and as a result we have assembled a concentration in Sail Training. This curriculum includes courses dealing with topics such as rigging, sail handling, and sailing vessel stability.

In 2003 we determined by poll that forty percent of our incoming mate candidates considered sail training to be a “major” factor in their choice of MMA over other maritime colleges. It is a niche market, and we are proud to be in the lead position in this unique field, especially since it complements our core mission so well.

Details about MMA’s Sail Training Curriculum can be found at: http://sailtraining.mma.edu/ ❂ Captain G. Andy Chase is Professor of Marine Transportation at Maine Maritime Academy. He is also the author of the excellent Auxiliary Sail Vessel Operations for the Aspiring Professional Sailor (1997).

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