Marlinspike #2

Spring 2014

A Model Program The Mate Moves Up Rigging the C. W. Morgan Nova Scotia Sea School Pacific Coast Challenge

$5.95 — about the cost of a Dark & Stormy

Number 2

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More is Better

MICHAEL RUTSTEIN

In our inaugural issue I had a lot of exciting news to share with you, and in our second issue, I have more.

We’ve worked out a partnership with Tall Ships America to send Marlinspike to every one of their individual, business, affiliate, and corporate members.

There’s no additional fee — a one-year subscription is included with every new or renewed membership. In one fell swoop, we’ve given people yet another good reason to continue as Tall Ships America members, and at the same time we’ve grown our subscription base and ensured that every stakeholder in our industry receives this magazine.

If you received this issue by dint of your Tall Ships membership, don’t thank us — thank Bert Rogers and his staff, who work tirelessly to bring home the bacon to their constituents. If you have any questions about our new arrangement, feel free to call me. But only when it’s raining, because the cover comes off April 1!

It’s been a fun winter promoting Marlinspike at the Tall Ships America conference in San Diego, the New England Boat Show, and the Maine Boatbuilder’s Show — three very different venues, to say the least, and all a ton of fun in their own way. In the last month I’ve toured the galleon San Salvador, guzzled dark & stormies on the deck of the Star of India, sung chanteys in a jampacked hotel room at 1 AM, poked around the bilges of Adventure, and been humbled all along the way by the dozens of sailors, educators, boatbuilders and flat-out characters I’ve met who are traveling the world, sailing the seven seas, nurturing traditional skills, and living this life as it was meant to be lived.

I think they’re worth writing about, and reading about, and I’ll bet you agree.

Let’s get on with it, shall we?

MARLINSPIKE MAGAZINE SPRING 2014 • Vol. 1, No. 2

Michael Rutstein, Editor & Publisher Cover Artwork: James Williamson Advertising: (978) 561-3020 Marlinspike (ISSN, USPS pending) is published quarterly for $20 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.

Phone (978) 561-3020 E-Mail Marlinspike1812@gmail.com

Fair Winds,

MarlinspikeMagazine.com

Michael Rutstein, Publisher

4 b Sultana

8 b Rigging the Charles W. Morgan A model program thrives in the Chesapeake

10 b The Mate Moves Up

The down & dirty view from the rigging shed

16 b West Coast Challenge

Billy Sabatini takes command of Niagara

20 b Log of the Picton Castle

The Tall Ships are headed West this summer Log entries from Nuka Hiva in the South Pacific

26 b Swift of Ipswich

A veteran schooner gets a new lease on life

28 b Boatyards 30 b Calendar 33 b Sailing Opportunities 34 b Boats, Bars & Beaches 40 b Tools of the Trade 42 b Job Listings 46 b Parting Signals

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A Model In a tiny town on Maryland’s Eastern Shore lies a locally-built, traditionally-rigged schooner that’s booked a year in advance, stays well ahead of the maintenance curve, and has money in the bank.

How the heck do they do it?

The Sultana Education Foundation traces its origins to a community effort to build a replica of the 1768 schooner Sultana in Chestertown, Maryland, between 1997-2001. The construction of Sultana established the framework for a broader effort to provide opportunities for students to experience the Chesapeake Bay. While the Foundation’s horizons have expanded beyond the decks of Sultana, the schooner remains one of the organization’s most productive educational platforms and the flagship for all that the Sultana Education Foundation accomplishes.

Drew McMullen has been there from the start. He is currently President of the foundation and the author of the lavishly-illustrated Schooner Sultana: Building a Chesapeake Bay Legacy.

Marlinspike: Drew, many people look at Sultana as a model program. Despite being based in a very small community, you’ve got a beautiful wooden boat that you built locally, you have strong community involvement, and your program was able to sustain itself through the long recession. What do you think are the most important factors in your success?

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Drew McMullen: I’d say the organization has been successful because from the beginning, there was a very specific mission.

Before Sultana was built, we were very clear that everything that the boat and the organization was going to do was going to be focusing on K-12 education. That informed every decision we made. That informed what boat we picked to build. That informed how we built it.

We’ve focused very tightly on that.

We’ve had a lot of opportunities to do other things.

We were asked to be in Pirates of the Caribbean, and offered a ton of money, but we turned it down because it wasn’t part of that core mission. I think that gives us a certain amount of credibility — people understand now what it is we are about. We have been consistent. When we demonstrate that we are not going to be distracted by these oneoff things, it helps our funders understand that we are in it for the long haul. We’re serious when we say we want to do education.

MS: In reading your book about the building of the Sultana, I was struck by this sentence: “The most important

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Program step was to discard the wistful notion that the vessel as a school ship would ever be able to cover her own expenses.”

Can you elaborate on that? Because I think that’s the subject of some wishful thinking in the Tall Ship community.

DM: Schools just cannot afford what it costs to operate a boat. You can’t charge a school $800 or $900 for a three-hour trip, even though that might be what it costs. If you operate under the assumption that’s going to happen, you’re chasing an idea that is never going to materialize, and wasting your time. There are other ways you can fund these programs, but the schools, my God, it’s like blood from a stone.

We have a stated tuition, don’t get me wrong, and we work with the schools to see how much of that tuition they can pay. But it’s more important at this point, for us, that the kids go out on the boat than if they pay, even a reduced tuition.

That said, we don’t want anybody to go for free. We feel that it’s important, that there are enough sources of money out there for the school, that they can definitely get some sort of money. If they’re not motivated to do that, then they don’t want to go badly enough, if you follow me.

MS: In your area, what sources for funding are schools tapping into, to come sailing on the Sultana?

DM: On the Chesapeake Bay? Oh, God, there’s tons of money! You can go to PTA funding. Some of them actually put it as a line item in their school budget. Some of the schools for the more disadvantaged kids will get it out of Title I funding. Some schools will have existing grants for Bay education, and they’ll use that. There is a great organization called The Chesapeake Bay Trust which funds environmental field trips for schools around the Bay. In that sense, I will say that the Chesapeake Bay is better set up than some areas of the country for something like this. There is a fair amount of support here. That doesn’t mean it’s easy, but there’s at least something to go on.

To add to that, our number-one source of support is private funding, and our membership. That’s what makes the difference for us. It’s not so much any particular grant program — although those are important — but our private, individual donors. We have about one thousand members, and that is, by far, our most important source of funding.

MS: There are so many excellent sailing programs in the Chesapeake. Do you ever find yourselves competing for the attention of schools and funders?

DM: Yes, but I think it’s probably more for funding.

There are so many kids in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed!

Take, as an example, the Living Classrooms Foundation. I can’t think of a single time when we have competed for anything, because there are just a ton of kids. You could build 20 more boats and you would still barely scratch the surface in terms of the number of kids who could benefit from the experience.

MS: But all of those kids may not be able to find funding!

DM: You know, it depends on the school and how motivated they are. Field trips are not as easy as they used to be for schools to take, for sure. I think you are right that there probably is limited funding after a certain level.

MS: You have developed ties with other Chesapeake Bay vessels and together developed a wonderful Downrigging event for the fall season. Can you talk about how that came about?

DM: It was a total accident! There was no initial planning. It started out on a whim.

We launched the boat in March of 2001, and Pride of Baltimore had been coming to Chestertown once a year for a long time before that, and they were scheduled to come again. We talked to them and said “Hey, you’re going to be here, we’re here now, we should just go out and go sailing together with people, we can open up to the public.”

And we did it, and it was one of those things: a gorgeous day, perfect wind, and everyone who did it had an absolutely great time! We said, “Hey, let’s do it again.”

We did it again the next year, and we had enormous demand that year, so much so that the year after that we said, “Hey, let’s get another boat! Let’s invite the Lady Maryland from Living Classrooms!” and they came over.

We were worried that if we got another boat, we might be spread thin and there might not be enough people who want to pay to go out, but the absolute opposite turned out to be true! The more boats we got, the more demand there was.

At this point we have grown the festival about as large

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as we can with the dock facilities that we have. It sort of grew organically. We added a boat every year until about a year ago, when we maxed out, and we just added events.

It’s fun. It’s a one-off thing for us, something we really don’t do at any other time the rest of the year, but it’s fun to do it once a year.

MS: I’d be worried about sailing with the Pride, because she would sail two knots for our one!

DM: One of the nice things about downrigging in Chestertown is that the river is so small, and it is not a well- traveled river at that time of year, early November. So you get all of these big beautiful ships out there, on this beautiful little river with no other boats on it, and they are all forced to stay close together because of the depth, and it just looks really neat.

If you did downrigging out of Baltimore Harbor, no one would even notice because there’s so much going on.

But in Chestertown, it’s really well set up for that.

MS: Obviously there is plenty of credit to go around and a lot of things have gone well for your program, but is it fair to say that the project might not have ever gotten under way if you hadn’t found an angel in the person of Joyce Huber Smith?

DM: Yes, that’s a fair statement. I think it might have gotten under way, but at the very least our progress would have been a lot slower. And you know what? I think that’s true with any project like this. I think you need one or two or three people who not only have an interest in the project, but have the either the means or the connections to make it happen. If you look at any project that has gotten off the ground, that’s going to be true.

MS: The construction of Sultana is thoroughly covered in your book. Your use of local osage was perhaps the most unusual element of the construction phase. How is the osage holding up 15 years down the road?

DM: All the credit for that goes to John Swain — he deserves enormous credit for it. The osage has turned out fantastic! Ironically, the only piece of wood we have ever replaced on the boat was South American purpleheart.

We pulled our first fastening last summer. It wasn’t at the request of the Coast Guard; we still have a couple of years before that, but we just wanted to see, and the bronze lag bolt that we put into that osage was not only in absolutely perfect condition, it was dry! It was like the day we put it in there.

MS: Are you aware of any other vessel of any size that has been built out of that wood?

DM: No — because it’s a huge pain in the butt! I will 6

say that. It’s enormously time-consuming and labor-intensive, and you would never do it if you were a commercial contractor. It’s one of those things you would never do.

The only reason it worked for us was because we had a ton of skilled volunteers who put in thousands and thousands and thousands of hours of free labor. Without that, it would never have worked. We actually made patterns for the frames and went out into standing timber, and matched up the patterns for the frames with living trees, cut them, marked them and milled them all out ourselves. It’s just nuts!

There is nothing in the framing of the boat that is not osage, with two exceptions: the keel and the keelson are white oak. You just can’t do osage orange in long straight timbers like that; it doesn’t exist.

All the planking is white oak. The decking is Douglas Fir. I think we used the purpleheart for a cap rail or something. It was not in any way a critical piece.

MS: Tell me how you’re manning the schooner these days. Where do your officers and crew come from?

DM: We have a great Captain in Tanya BanksChristensen. She has been with the organization, with the exception of a couple of years, since 2004. She has been captain now for five years. She’s responsible for hiring our crew.

I would say our biggest source of crew is word of mouth. People who have worked on the boat recommend it to friends of theirs, or people call us and say ‘do you have a job?’ We do make use of the Tall Ships America billet bank; maybe we get a third of our crew from that. That’s particularly helpful for skilled positions, like the mate. We usually have one or two deckhands with previous traditional sailing experience; the billet bank is great for that.

MS: That experience must come in handy; you have a fairly complex rig for a small vessel.

DM: Yes, it’s fun! That’s one of the reasons that we picked this boat, because it has the complex rig of a “Tall Ship” but on a size and scale that is accessible to a fourth grader.

But yes, it is a complex rig. We spend a lot of time on it in the winter. That’s part of the appeal of the boat. It gets a different reaction from people than a late 19th century schooner. I love both designs, but the old-school 18thcentury square rig really gets people’s imaginations going.

MS: Sure, that’s why the Pirates of the Caribbean wanted you!

DM: Oh God, yeah. Pirates… they are the bane of my existence.

MS: What does your 2014 season look like?

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SULTANA

DM: Our season on Sultana looks pretty much the same every year, and it has for about a decade. The reason is that we have a very fixed set of clients.

We travel around the Chesapeake Bay. We’ll go down to Cambridge, Maryland and we’ll take every fifth grader from Dorchester County out, every year. Then we’ll go to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and take every seventh grader in Talbot County out, every year. And we’ve set up a schedule with all of the schools where we basically do the same thing every year.

There are challenges to that. We get asked all the time to do neat one-off stuff, festivals, et cetera. We generally don’t do them because we’re booked. We can’t be telling one of our schools that’s been sailing with us for ten years in a row, “Hey, we can’t sail with you this year because we’re going to be sailing at some festival in Baltimore.” So our schedule, for better or worse, looks pretty much the same as it has for ten years.

Now I will say, as an organization, we are vastly different than we were ten years ago in the sense that Sultana has been booked out since 2004, six days a week, April through October. So we have focused on growing the other pieces of our business, and developing those other pieces of our business to the point that going on Sultana is only about 40% of what we do in terms of working with kids.

We do canoe and kayak programs to get kids into wetlands. We do professional development programs for teachers. The Schooner Sultana is a mature business. It is built, it is maxed, we tweak it and make it better every year, but the fundamentals are pretty much locked in. So the

new and sort of dynamic stuff with the organization is going on elsewhere, in areas where we can grow some more. And there is talk about building a second vessel at some point in the future; that’s not off the table, either.

MS: What would you build?

DM: I think we would build something that draws, maybe, two feet less than Sultana. Not that the draft of Sultana is a huge problem; we have plenty of places to go.

But we do get a lot of requests to work with school systems in counties that have ports that we can’t really get into with Sultana.

That’s in the long-range planning process. Right now, we are in the middle of a $5 million campaign for our new education center, and that’s going to have us occupied for the next five years, for sure.

MS: Where are your school kids coming from in July and August, when school is out of session?

DM: Good question. We do summer programs that are sort of under our auspices. What we try to do is work with about 35-40 schools during the year with kids going on Sultana. We work with the teachers in those schools to identify kids who really liked the experience, who have an interest in the Chesapeake Bay, and have an interest in history, and would benefit from — instead of just three hours on Sultana — a whole week! So this summer, we will do seven weeks of week-long trips, with ten kids per trip.

Continued on page 45

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THE

VOYAGE THIRTY-EIGHTH

assie Sleeper has spent the winter at Mystic Seaport working on the rigging of the Charles W. Morgan. 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.

Marlinspike: Tell us a little bit about your background.

Cassie Sleeper: I started sailing with the Girl Scouts when I was 13, with the Los Angeles Maritime Institute.

Then I got a scholarship to do SEA’s first trip ever on the Robert C. Seamans when she was launched in 2001, and the mate on my watch said ‘Hey, you should come volunteer on this boat that I drive called the Hawaiian Chieftain when you’re not in school.’

So I did that, and now I’ve bouncing around from boat to boat professionally for the past seven years.

October I dropped by Mystic to say hello, because I knew Quentin from Amistad, and he asked what I was up to.

They were looking for some more people to rig up the Morgan, people with traditional rigging experience. I had just finished my contract with SEA, and he asked if I wanted a job, and so here I am!

MS: So what are you working on these days aboard the Morgan?

CS: Right now we’re getting all of the standing rigging ready to go, so that the cranes can come in in March and step the topgallant masts and the mizzen topmast. So we’re stripping the old backstays and shrouds and all that, the head rig, stripping it and then we look at it and see if it’s still good, and then we worm, parcel and serve it and get it ready to go back up.

MS: The existing rigging is galvanized wire?

MS: When did rigging become a specialty of yours?

CS: It is not. But we are cold-galvanizing it, which is pretty cool!

CS: Just a few months ago, actually!

MS: So up to now you’ve been more of a jack of all trades? What positions have you held?

MS: So this rigging is what was in place on the Morgan as a dockside attraction?

CS: I started off as a steward on Lynx, really a liaison between the ship and its passengers, and then I got a job as a cook on Lynx, and then I worked on Bounty as a deckhand and an AB. I was hired on Amistad as an AB and was promoted to second mate and then to chief mate. I was chief mate for two years on the Kalmar Nyckel.

More recently I was third mate and then second mate on the Corwith Cramer for eight months last year.

I got this job [on the Morgan] through Quentin Snedeker from the Amistad and Mystic Seaport. Back in

CS: Yes. Actually the wire that was on the boat is mostly in good shape. I think it was put on the boat in the 1970s and 80s. So we strip it and we look at it closely, examine the eye splices, and make sure it’s still serviceable.

If we condemn it, then we make up a new one.

We’re cutting all new runing rigging, and she’s got a full new suit of sails that are already sewn by Nat Wilson.

We’re making up new foot ropes. Everything that’s not acceptable when we examine it, we’re making new.

We have this really cool hemp/flax mix that we got

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PROUD HOST OF THE 2014

GLOUCESTER SCHOONER FESTIVAL August 29–31, 2014 ALL PHOTOS LESTER PALIFKA

MARITIMEGLOUCESTER.ORG

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from Langman in Germany that we’re using for the foot ropes and the lanyards… it’s hot! It’s brown and it’s thick and it’s soft, it’s really nice hemp.

MS: So the crane is coming in March…

CS: Right now we have the three lower masts and the main and fore topmasts in. And the bowsprit. So when the crane comes in we’re going to send up the mizzen topmast and all three topgallant masts fully dressed.

MS: And then you’ll be ready to set up the running rigging?

CS: Actually, I think then the boat is going to go to New London, and then when the mates come on board and the captain comes on board, they’ll start making decisions about the running rigging and how it’s going to be set up. That way, the mates will have a hand in setting it up and they’ll get some experience with the rig.

At least that’s the plan as I understand it.

MS: How many riggers are at work on the Morgan right now?

CS: Matt Otto is the lead rigger, and there’s Alex Peacock and me, Sarah, Haley, Libby, Tim… so there’s seven of us in total. Libby and Tim are from the interpretation department at Mystic Seaport [they went to back to interpretation when Mystic reopened in midFebruary].

MS: And what about you? Will you be moving on to another boat when the rig is finished, or will you be sailing on the Morgan this summer?

The Morgan’s rigging crew is pictured making up new footropes and standing rigging and stepping topmasts while others are hard at work below decks. Pictured are Cassie Sleeper (above, below, and on previous page), lead rigger Matt Otto (right top, in brown hard hat) and photographer Lester Palifka (bottom right). Working below decks (previous page) are Ryan Stokes and Jamie Kirschner.

CS: I got a job on the Morgan as the medical deckhand through August. I take care of all of the medical equipment on board in accordance with Coast Guard regulations. I have to make sure we have everything on board that we’re required to have, so that when they come on board for their inspection we’re good to go.

I take care of any medical events that might happen: bonked heads, splinters, cuts, scrapes. I care for them unless we determine that they need to be taken off the boat to get appropriate medical care. I’m there with the band-aids when someone gets a boo-boo.

MS: Well, that’s a change from rigging. What kind of medical training have you had?

CS: I’m a Wilderness First Responder… which is kind of overkill because the planned voyage is all inland waters. We’re never going to be far from medical assistance if we need it. b 10

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ALL PHOTOS LESTER PALIFKA

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The Mate Moves Up After nine years on the brig, the last six as Chief Mate, Billy Sabatini is moving into the captain’s quarters aboard NIAGARA

p

s reported in our Winter issue, the new skipper of the US Brig Niagara is Billy Sabatini, a Maine Maritime graduate who has spent the last nine years on the vessel as third mate, second mate, and most recently chief mate for the last six years. Marlinspike sat down with Captain Sabatini at the Tall Ships America conference in San Diego, less than a month after he was named to his new post.

Marlinspike: Tell us briefly about the transition. Was this something that had been in the works for some time, or did it come as a surprise?

Billy Sabatini: It was a surprise at the moment, and it was surprising how quickly it happened. But it was something I had always hoped would happen at some point.

I’d had conversations with both Captain [Wes] Heerssen and Captain [Walter] Rybka about becoming captain of Niagara at some point. I was never promised anything by anybody as far as becoming captain. I certainly hadn’t come to Niagara with the intention of becoming her captain someday! I started in 2005 as third mate with the intention of sticking around for a year, maybe two. I got promoted to second mate, then to chief mate, and I just enjoyed the job.

MS: As chief mate, it must have occurred to you that you might be captain someday.

BS: Not the first year. Not the second year… and maybe not even the third! Being chief mate of Niagara was a huge accomplishment for me professionally. I believed then, and I still do, that it’s one of the best jobs you can have in our fleet. You’re exposed to so much rigging. You’re responsible for setting up Niagara, and Niagara is one of the most complex rigs we have in the country. And we rely on it to be out there sailing all summer long. It’s a very demanding job and it’s exciting and it’s everything I ever wanted in a tall-ships job. So my first few years as chief mate I was never thinking that I should have the captain’s job.

On top of that, I think the best way to do your job is to not want your supervisor’s job. My goal was to be the best chief mate that Niagara had ever had. My goal was wasn’t to be the chief mate who wants the captain’s job. Once you start looking up and you’re thinking about what you might do in a given situation, it compromises your ability to your job in the present.

MS: Once it was known that Wes Heerssen was leaving, was there a search for the next captain?

BS: There was a board meeting. I don’t know what was said in the meeting, but what I do know is that they came out of the meeting and they offered me the job. So no, there was no national search for the next captain. It wasn’t posted anywhere. And in reality, there are very few people in the country who could take that job. My experience on Niagara, being with the ship for nine years, was a pretty good qualification for that job.

MS: How does your life change now?

BS: The best way to describe the captains’ role, and I am quoting Walter Rybka here, is that the captain’s job is outside the rails. My job as first mate was inside the rails. I managed the everyday working of the ship, while he was thinking over the horizon. What’s happening next? What does the weather look like? What’s our next port of call? What challenges do we have between where we are right now and where we’re going? And let the chief mate run the everyday operation of the ship.

I’ve been working very closely with both Captain Rybka and Captain Heerssen over the years and they’ve phased me in to that decision-making process. Giving me the opportunity to be part of that has given me some understanding of what goes on at that level. So the transition has been much smoother than if I was coming in from another vessel, or if they hadn’t included me in that process. The two of them have made the transition easy for me.

MS: The continuity within your organization is impressive, with Walter Rybka still associated with the vessel, you taking the helm having been on Niagara for nine years, and your place as chief mate being taken taken by David Goldman, who’s been on Niagara for six years himself.

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BS: Our fourth mate is also coming into her ninth season on the ship!

MS: There are boats out there where the licensed crew turn over every couple of years. What is it about the Niagara program that keeps people coming back? It’s not the weather.

BS: No. [Laughs] It’s not the weather. From a practical standpoint, we run a seasonal operation. Granted, sometimes that season is eight months long. Because of that, you can have the same people back every year with their also having the ability to take some time off. We can bring people back year after year because it’s just not a twelvemonths-a-year job for most of the crew.

The other side of it is that you’re getting to sail on one of the largest square-riggers in our country. There are ships that are bigger — Eagle is much bigger — but we have the size, the sail area, the traditional rigging, and you truly feel a deep connection to the ship. One thing we have tried hard to do over the years is to create a sense of team, a sense of family, a sense that we’re doing this together.

On Niagara, what I think separates us from some other ships is that we desperately need everybody on that ship to be working together. We can’t do everything just with our professional crew. Our trainees instantly become part of our crew, and over time that group of 45 people coalesces into a tight-knit community. We have people who come as trainees, return the next season as apprentices, and come back for a third year as ordinary seamen. The loyalty our

people have shown to the ship over the years has been fantastic.

Aboard Niagara, you truly feel that you are part of something better than yourself. There’s synergy. There’s closure, going through a season rigging Niagara, sailing Niagara, down-rigging Niagara, and putting the winter cover back on. From start to finish, our trainees and our crew are part of everything we do.

MS: Tell us about your trainee program.

BS: In addition to our professional crew, we have trainees on board. Our trainee program is unique. You’re truly a member of our crew from the moment you sign on.

It’s two to four weeks, the cost is $1500, and our program is pure sail training. You’re coming on the ship to learn how to sail the ship. We do science programs — we’re doing one this year — but most of our time is taken up with sail training. Bringing in trainees, getting them onto the ship with a bunch of people they don’t know, and going through the process of becoming part of a ship’s crew.

I think after the first week, a lot of our trainees are thinking, ‘This is the worst decision I’ve ever made.’ All you’re learning how to do is eat, sleep and go to the bathroom. The professional crew is running around shouting out strange terms and giving orders you don’t understand.

You’re just trying to figure out what’s going on. But then in that second week you start figuring it out and you start feeling useful. You’re starting to get it. You’re sleeping better, you’re eating and using the head.

By the third week, you’re a member of this crew. You’re contributing. You know where to go, you know how to do things, you can reef topsails! By the end of that third week, you never want to leave. And that’s how we get so much continuity in our program. Our trainees stick around. They come back as apprentices. It works out very well for us.

Once you get to Niagara, you never want to leave. The hard part for us is getting the word out.

MS: How old are your trainees, and where do they come from?

BS: They are anywhere from 16 to 75. Our trainees come from all over the country and from Canada as well.

We’ll take literally anyone who applies and who fits our criteria. We don’t require any previous sailing experience.

MS: How should potential trainees contact Niagara?

BS: Through our website at flagshipniagara.org, or though our Facebook page.

MS: What’s going to be different with Bllly Sabatini as Captain instead of Wes Heerssen?

BS: Well, I’m a different person, but other than that

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it’s hard to say. I don’t think anybody knows exactly how they’re going to be in a new role. I might want to do some small thing differently than Wes. Maybe I want to come into the dock at 2.2 knots when he always wanted to do it at 2.0 knots. But keep in mind that what I know about Niagara, I learned from Captain Rybka and Captain Heerssen. Their influence on me is going to come out.

Walter Rybka is still there, and what Captain Heerson taught me is in me, so there aren’t going to be any vast changes to the way we operate.

In terms of personality, I’m definitely a different person. My leadership style is different. But like I said, it’s hard to know what you’ll be like until you’re actually in that role. My hope is that the board knows what I’m going to be like, and that’s why they hired me for the position.

almost every guy in the ship had a full beard.

It has nothing to do with the Red Sox, but man, I was excited when the Red Sox all went in for beards last year.

When I was in college the Sox had Johnny Damon and he had the long hair and the full beard and I looked a bit like him back when they won the World Series in 2004.

MS: What do you anticipate as the most challenging aspect of your new position?

BS: The business side. That’s the stuff that I had the least involvement in up to now. Figuring out what ports we’re going to be visiting, establishing our schedule, setting up contracts, the money aspect of it. I knew it was there, but I wasn’t managing the budget.

That’s going to be my number one MS: One challenge to start thing you do have off. in common with After that I the man you’re think it’s going to replacing is an be the idea of havimpressive beard. ing the final say, Is that part of the especially in perNiagara culture, is sonnel manageit a function of the ment. When Erie weather, or is something goes it a badge of memwrong, how am I Walter Rybka and Billy Sabatini together bership in Red Sox going to react as on board Niagara Nation? captain, and how am I going to BS: [Laughs] Before I was first hired on Niagara, they interact with my new chief mate? I’ve been chief mate for asked me to come to Erie for an interview. I went to Maine the last six years and I know how to do that job. It’s going Maritime Academy, and before I left for the interview I was to be hard on him if I don’t find a way to let go of that role talking to my mentor there, Andy Chase. I told him I was and take on my new role as captain. I can’t take over aspects going to cut my hair, I was going to shave off my beard, and of his job, just because I know how to do therm. So the I was going to head down there. And he looked at me and hardest thing for me is just staying within myself in my new he said ‘Billy, please don’t do that.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, it’s an role and not trying to be the chief mate as well. interview, I’ve got to do this.’ And he said, ‘This is who you are. You go down there and you be you. If he doesn’t want MS: Niagara had an extremely busy 2013 season to hire you, that’s his problem. But you have to be yourself, between the Tall Ships being on the Great Lakes and the and you have a beard and a ponytail.’ re-enactment of the Battle of Lake Erie. What’s on the slate So I was a little nervous, I get to Erie, and I walk into for 2014?

Wes’s office, and there he is with a beard and a ponytail.

And I thought, ‘Thank you, Captain Chase, for telling me BS: It’s going to be a little less busy! We’re not going to not to do that.’

Lake Superior, we’re not going to Lake Ontario, we’re going It’s funny, because everyone knows I like beards and to spend a little more time on Lake Erie, and it’s always I’ve always grown a beard, so over the seasons, sometimes in good to be home. We’ll be hitting up a few ports here and my division or my watch, everyone else has grown a beard there but it won’t be as busy a port schedule as we had last too. Why not, you know? And the last couple of seasons, summer. b MarlinspikeMagazine.com

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TALL SHIPS HEA This summer’s Tall Ships Challenge will take place on the Pacific Coast. Recently we spoke to ‘impressario of sail’ Erin Short about the 2014 events as well as Tall Ships America’s exciting plans for future Challenges on the Atlantic Coast and the Great Lakes

Ships of all shapes and sizes will be converging on are always a factor, and I won’t venture a prediction.

Southern California this summer to participate in the “In our races on the Atlantic Coast and in the Great TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® Pacific Coast 2014 series Lakes of the last few years, Lynx and Pride of Baltimore II organized by Tall Ships America. have had a great rivalry. Capt. Jamie Trost, one of the skip“There are three port events this year,” explains Erin pers in Pride II, also used to sail on Lynx, so there’s that Short, who coordinates the TALL SHIPS CHALpersonal element to it as well. At the beginning of a race LENGE® events from her headquarters in Newport. “San last summer, Lynx was ahead of Pride, and they radioed Pedro, which is sponsored by the Port of Los Angeles, Capt. Trost and asked him to take a picture of their stern. from August 20-24; San Diego, sponsored by the Maritime He declined, saying that ‘By the time I go below and get Museum of San Diego from August 29 to September 2; my camera, we’ll have passed you.’ and Dana Point, sponsored by the Ocean Institute, “The races are wide open and anything can happen.

September 4-7.”

All I can tell you is that it’s going to be As always, the TALL SHIPS fun.”

CHALLENGE® series will include a Short says that the Pacific Coast, race or two. In this case, the main with its long stretches between natural 2014: Pacific Coast event will be a race from San Pedro to harbors, presents some challenges to San Diego. With frequent winner Pride organizing a series to cover that full 2015: Atlantic Coast of Baltimore II remaining in the distance.

Chesapeake this summer, that leaves “The West Coast is different 2016: Great Lakes the field wide open. from the Great Lakes or the Atlantic Short declined to handicap this Coast. There aren’t as many natural 2017: Canada’s 150th summer’s races, but says she expects the harbors, and it’s a long sail from the topsail schooners to continue to domiPacific Northwest, where there are a nate the category. lot of ships and ports, to San Francisco, and then another “The races are a big part of the fun for the participatlong passage to Southern California. ing vessels. It’s a friendly competition, but it can also get Short is happy to be going back to Southern pretty intense. There’s a lot of friendly jabs exchanged California this year. “San Pedro and San Diego are great between vessels on the radio during the races — which is towns for sailors. This will be the first time that the really fun to listen in on —and a lot of joking about it TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® series has included Dana throughout the rest of year.

Point, and we are looking forward to it. Ocean Institute, “I’d have to guess that Californian, with a similar rig our partner there, has been putting on a local maritime festo Pride II, has a good chance to place well. Spirit of Dana tival there for 30 years. We are pleased that this year they Point, Exy and Irving Johnson, Kaisei, Tole Mour, and the have linked up with the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® rest are all contenders. The conditions of wind and weather series as an expansion and enhancement to their traditional

Future Challenges

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event.”

As Short points out, there are significant advantages for a port to sign up for the series. By working together to produce a multi-city tour, they create a critical mass for ships, media, sponsors and public interest. There’s an economy of scale for marketing, and for participating ships.

Public excitement builds as the fleet progresses along the coast, and there is a great multiplier effect for media and sponsorship interests. And of course, Tall Ships America provides a wealth of expertise and technical support to port organizers. One of their major roles is to coordinate with the USCG for safety and security throughout the series.

“We have some really exciting ships participating this summer. San Salvador, the replica of explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo’s galleon, currently being built by the San Diego Maritime Museum, is expected to be ready in time to participate in the San Diego events at least.

“Two schooners are sailing up from Mexico, Patricia Belle from Mazatlan and the historic schooner Sunderland, which was built in 1885 and appeared in the original Captains Courageous film. She is based in Cabo San Lucas.

“Another new vessel, the schooner Freda B., is sailing down from San Francisco. Formerly named Liberty, sailing out of Boston and Key West, she’s been in San Francisco since 2010. They are very excited to be part of the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® series, and will be offering public day sails at each of the events.

“Southern California is blessed with so many great vessels that are ‘native’ to these waters. Dana Point has two sail training vessels, Pilgrim and Spirit of Dana Point; San Diego has Californian, HMS Surprise, schooner America, and Star of India. Chula Vista has Bill of Rights.

Long Beach has Tole Mour. San Pedro has the twin brigantines Irving Johnson and Exy Johnson, and LAMI hopes to have Swift of Ipswich back in the water in time for this summer’s events.

“I enjoy going out to the West Coast because there are always so many new and interesting vessels.”

Short says her office is already working on the 2015, 2016, and 2017 TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® events.

Next summer, the series will return to the Atlantic Coast, when a new French ship will be the focal point. She is Hermione, a replica of the frigate that the Marquis de Lafayette sailed in 1780, bringing to General Washington

the vital news that France would support our struggle for independence. Hermione will be the flagship for the 2015 series, which will celebrate more than two centuries of Franco-American friendship and cooperation.

“In 2016 we’ll return to the Great Lakes. We are welcoming some new ports into the schedule, and returning to see our old friends in ports in all five lakes.

“In 2017 we’ll be celebrating the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. We’re working with Sail Training International on a transatlantic race via Bermuda to Boston. The series will culminate in a huge celebration in Quebec City, and then there will be another race back across the Atlantic.”

Despite the opportunity to crisscross North America as TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE’s ‘impresario of sail’ and working with ports both large and small, Short refuses to name a favorite.

“I love all of the ports. Every one is unique. More important than my opinion, though, is that of the ships. If the ports do a good job for the ships, then we are happy.

The ships and their crews are the ‘stars’ of the festival events, they are the competitors in the races, and they are the ones providing the sail training programs and experiences, day in and day out, that we are here to support.

“We use the public festivals as a way to promote public awareness for that core mission. Given the millions of visitors that attend the events, and the incredible media attention, I think the model is working well. For me, it’s a privilege to be part of it all.” b

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S mall by Design THE CHALLENGES OF SAIL TRAINING IN SMALL BOATS

By Michael Higgins

he Nova Scotia Sea School has been in opera- On Canada Day (July 1) 1995 Dorothea was launched, and as the program grew, Elizabeth Hall was built in 2004. Both tion since 1994 and has worked with more vessels were built in-house with a combination of professionthan 2,000 students over the ensuing years.

Founder Crane Stookey envisioned a program al and student labour. Being small, they were not only relathat would do more than just challenge young tively inexpensive, but teenagers were able to contribute in significant ways to their construction. people to learn sail handling and navigational skills.

At only 30’ overall, the boats offer a bare minimum of Crane wanted participants to come away from their space for 12 people (10 stutime at the Sea School with a dents, two instructors) in deeper understanding of who which to sail, row, cook, eat they are and a richer realizaand sleep. Expeditions set tion of their role in shaping out from the school’s sumthe larger community. For mer base in Lunenburg and Crane, the intention was “to last from five to 21 days. help young people grow up Dorothea and Elizabeth Hall well, to be compassionate traverse the waters of Nova and useful adults.”

Scotia’s South Shore, from To achieve that end, Halifax Harbour southwest Crane decided to focus on to the islands of the LaHave smaller boats. Having previriver estuary. ously worked aboard larger The tight quarters are, vessels such as HMS Rose of course, an issue for everyand Pride of Baltimore II, one on the boat, including Crane felt that smaller boats staff. The program needs offered less opportunity to accomplished sailors to lead escape the stressful interperthe trips who are also great sonal situations that with youth — and can live inevitably arise when without much privacy or any strangers must work and live meaningful time off for up to together. It is these situations DOROTHEA underway in fine weather 21 days at a stretch. To be that Crane feels offers the constantly surrounded by 11 greatest insight into our lives, and the opportunity to grow not just as sailors but as human other people, some of whom perhaps whom you do not like, requires a special kind of grace and patience. beings.

Richard Leckenby has been a captain with the school “The wisdom of no escape” is how Crane describes the since 1995 and has probably spent more days and nights school’s approach. Just as beach glass is polished by the sand aboard the school’s two boats than anybody else. As he and water around it, so too are individuals polished by chafdescribes it, the greatest challenge for staff is that “there isn’t ing against their shipmates. a cabin or even a door to close” to get away from it all.

After working with a borrowed vessel for the first seaSo why would someone subject themselves to the stressson, it was clear that the school needed to build a new boat.

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es of a 24-hour-a-day job?

As Richard explains; “when you have given a kid their first opportunity to see the stars on a clear night, enabled them to contemplate the vastness of the universe and their place in it… to have helped open that door for a young person is worth getting up for.”

To make it all happen, as with all sail training organizations, fundraising is an ongoing job.

The School has always operated as a non-profit. Throughout the years there has been generous support from public, private and business donors, and although tuition is also charged, balancing the books is not always a sure thing. The school has always endeavoured to get any interested student into the program, and approximately 40% of students receive some degree of financial support.

The school has always tried to ensure that opportunities exist for all, regardless of social or economic background.

Once your gear is packed in your duffle and stuffed under a thwart, it doesn’t matter if you are the captain of the soccer team or the least popular kid in your school; life aboard is painfully democratic. It can often be the first opportunity for kids from widely divergent backgrounds to spend any meaningful time with strangers.

Beautiful moments of kindness and compassion can, and do, occur as everyone struggles with the basics of living and getting along. Simple acts such as the loan of dry socks or an encouraging arm around a shoulder bring together the crew and remind all how much easier life can be when we help one another. Financial supporters of the school are rewarded with the knowledge that each trip brings together strangers who learn to live and work together despite sometimes strikingly different backgrounds.

Safety has always been foremost in the planning and execution of expeditions. In the early years, as long as the boats carried the Coast Guard-mandated safety equipment, the Canadian Coast Guard and Transport Canada were satisfied. The wooden boats are unballasted, and with additional flotation permanently installed under the thwarts, they are unsinkable. The boats have always carried more than the minimum with respects to flares, lifesaving equipment, first aid and communication gear. All occupants of the boats must wear a PFD when underway, and one staff member always carries a VHF radio on their person. Contact with the office is made twice daily, once by phone and once by Spot Messenger, and escalating response from the office is initiated if the boats do not report in.

This structure worked well through 2008, when Transport Canada reclassified the School’s vessels from “sail training” to “passenger carrying”. Now staff must have a Small Vessel Operators Proficiency certificate (SVOP) a licence that is intended for operators of small motor vessels.

The boats must carry an inflatable life raft, life jackets for all

(in addition to the PFDs worn) and a fire axe (!) and they are forbidden to be underway at night. All of this gear required some significant reorganizing to fit into a boat where space was already at a premium.

The school’s relationship with Transport Canada remains good, although some might question the usefulness of a fire axe on an open boat full of teenagers, or the proper moment to remove one’s PFD to don a life jacket.

Another challenge that Sea School has had to face in recent years is the gradual privatization of the Nova Scotia shoreline. The old fishing communities that inhabited many of the islands along this stretch of coast are gone. In their place now stand seasonal homes and No Trespassing signs.

The Sea School strives to take students away from the urban world, their cell phones, the internet, to explore a wild coast; unfortunately, wild coasts are becoming harder to find. To truly unplug from the world, to be alone with one’s thoughts in the middle of the night on anchor watch, is the goal. The Sea School does not do simulations; it is not a virtual world.

What the School does best is to offer an authentic experience in which each participant can meaningfully shape the outcome. b

Photo: Mikael Carstanjen

Readers can find this image and over 70 others at: FineArtAmerica.com search for “Mikael Carstanjen” Artwork available on paper, stretched canvas, acrylic and metal * Also available as greeting cards *

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From the logbook of the

Nuka Hiva

By Chelsea McBroom

Maria woke me up early for my 2 AM anchor watch, warning me that I might need a jacket. I met her on the quarter deck in my pajamas, foulies in hand, ten minutes later. The stars and nearly-full moon were bright, but clouds were crossing.

It didn’t take long for the rain to come. Throwing on my jacket and lifting my hood, I walked around the deck checking lines to make sure there was a bit of slack in each, should they get very wet. I closed the hatches that looked down into the salon and the

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forepeak. Those who had attempted sleeping on the hatch under the windblown awning had made their escape to their bunks, preferring the heat to the rain.

I spent the rest of the hour looking up at the sky and the lights on the shore, keeping alert for anything — a change in wind direction or the smell of fire — and looking at my watch every so often to make sure I didn’t wake Simon late.

I checked the scuttle bunk map to make sure I knew where he was sleeping and made my way through the well deck and down the hatch, feeling my way in the dark so I didn’t blind anyone with the torch, and whispered his name.

He responded immediately, thanking me for the wakeup and the warning of rain. When he met me on the quarter deck in a pair of shorts (the rain had, of course, passed) I gave him the spiel and left to do a ship check – making sure to look at our skiff and dory that were lowered and kept alongside.

My worst fear when doing a ship check is that I will miss something. The freezers could stop working and our food would go bad; our storage of fresh water could leak; the linseed oil-covered rags could combust; the gas for the galley stove may still be on, forgotten. But the ship check put me at ease and I happily returned to my bunk after saying goodnight to Simon, leaving my worries, and the ship, in the next person’s hands.

— February 25, 2014

Yesterday I went grocery shopping in Nuku Hiva with Donald and my new apprentice, Maria. As soon as we arrived on the wharf, we headed for the post office, the ATM, and finally the farmers’ market so we could buy mango, avocado (HUGE, didn’t even recognize them), banana, grapefruit, tomato and lettuce. Thank goodness the young lady there could speak English — she was very helpful, giving us English amounts and writing us receipts.

We had been told that picking from the trees was frowned upon, but lots of mango and grapefruit could be seen growing along the road. We found it difficult to find Vienna loaves for sandwiches, not knowing where to start, and yet everywhere we looked we saw people eating them.

We found ourselves motioning long loaves of bread and pretending to eat them until they pointed us in the right direction. We bought about 20 loaves at a small grocery past the closed bank.

— February 23, 2014 The last couple days I’ve been stocking up on groceries with Donald and Maria to prepare the Picton Castle for the sail to Papeete. We took the skiff in this morning with some of the port watch, going ashore for their day off.

At the grocery store we raced around grabbing piles of canned goods, pasta, and frozen meat and bringing it straight to the counter, where the lady was ringing it through and packing it away for us. Employees came to us

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Starboard watch then hauled the braces into a port tack and joined the port watch as they hauled the anchor up at the windlass — switching out and taking turns, drinking gulps of water out of the pitchers someone had filled.

Once we had the anchor up (Teis crawling out of the chain locker covered in black smears) we motored out of the bay, setting all sails. Here The crew was all on board the we were, racing to get it all done and ship by 10:00 pm last night to make set all sails, only to slowly coast away sure we were prepared to leave first from the island! thing the next morning, the dory — March 1, 2014 b having already been returned to its Picton Castle arrived safely in place above the galley.

Tahiti in early March. Chelsea It had been a very hot couple of McBroom is the purser aboard the barnights, so I slept well on the hatch que; Captain Dan Moreland is ashore that night (without rain!) and it was for the moment, relieved by Captain humid and sunny first thing the next John Beebe-Center. day. After breakfast we went right You could be Westward Bound into removing the awnings, domesstarting in July 2014 as Picton Castle tics, deck wash and fresh-water rinssails from Fiji back to Lunenburg by ing, hoisting the skiff and then up PICTON CASTLE way of Vanuatu, the Solomons, Bali, aloft and loosing all sails. I ended up Reunion, Madagascar, Mozambique, at the topsails with Samantha, Peter South Africa, St. Helena, Senegal, Cape Verde, and the islands of and Denise, folding my tall frame under the upper topsail the Eastern Caribbean. yard to get to the clew gasket. with boxes of goodies asking if it was something we might need: little yogurts that didn’t need to be refrigerated, or sacks of potatoes.

At the end of it we were given a bag of mangoes. “Present,” the woman at the cash register said, pushing it towards me with a smile.

— February 27, 2014

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Swift of Ipswich he Los Angeles Maritime Institute is best known for its twin brigantines, the Irving and Exy Johnson. But in a municipal lot in Chula Vista, California, the veteran Swift of Ipswich is being readied for yet another act in her long career.

Originally built in Ipswich, Massachusetts in 1939 as a private yacht, Swift of Ipswich is a reduced-scale replica of Swift, an American brig captured by the Royal Navy during the Revolution.

Soon after completion, Swift of Ipswich was sold to actor James Cagney and transported to Newport Beach, where she served as his private yacht and appeared in numerous Hollywood films.

After being sold by Cagney in 1958, Swift was used for various purposes. As the original owner recalled, “She was un-rigged, masts lifted out, and was taken through a highway bridge in California to a lagoon where she was re-rigged and put on display as the last privateer, or some such nonsense.”

The topsail schooner was also used for harbor cruises and charters before being acquired by LAMI in 1991.

After the construction of LAMI’s twin brigantines, Swift was retired while fundraising began for an extensive rebuild. New LAMI Director Bruce Heyman is excited about the prospect of bring her back into the fleet.

“Los Angeles is an important commercial port, but it’s not really a tall-ships tourist town. We’re trying to change that. We want to get people re-focused on the waterfront. We’d like Swift of Ipswich to be a part of that — a new beginning for the port, for LAMI, and for the schooner herself.”

Heyman says the schooner has been out of the water for seven years. “She was in sad shape,” he admits. But during that time her deck and houses have been rebuilt, futtocks replaced, and her interior removed.

He hopes with continued fundraising to have the boat back in the water soon, perhaps even in time for the Tall Ships Challenge, which will bring tall ships to San Pedro, San Diego, and Dana Point this summer.

Heyman says the schooner will eventually be recertified as a Subchapter T and R vessel and could host as many as 30 trainees overnight, making Swift of Ipswich a viable sail-training vessel. b 26

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OLIVER HAZARD PERRY

PHOTO: ROD SMITH / NARRAGANSETTBAYSHIPPING.COM

The Oliver Hazard Perry will soon be moving from Senesco Marine to Newport Shipyard, where the ship’s lower masts, Douglas fir upper mast sections and 16 yards will be installed.

An ambitious summer sailing schedule has been announced, with visits to ports from Baltimore, MD to Portsmouth, NH, as well as week-long voyages to and from Bermuda in September. See page 35 for more on the Perry.

H 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.

In early February, attendees at the Tall Ships America conference were treated to a tour of the vessel, which has already been fitted with twin John Deere diesel engines.

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 behind schedule but within its budget, according to museum officials.

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 28

Park is open daily from 11-4.

H Jake Stevens of the Maine boat-building Stevens family, now with Eastern Shipbuilding in Florida, reports that the company’s Columbia replica is coming along nicely and could be launched in June or July.

Brian D’Isernia, the firm’s owner, “had this dream of building a replica of Columbia,” according to Stevens, and found the lines for her at the Essex Shipbuilding Museum.

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SAN SALVADOR

PHOTO: JERRY SOTO

He had Jack Gilbert convert the lines into plans for a steel hull, which is now complete.

A second hull is being built to the same specs and was “about 80% complete” in mid-March. The sections of the second hull will be joined as soon as the first Columbia hits the water.

Stevens says there is still some joinerwork to be done, but the interior is well advanced and is designed with luxury charters in mind. Photos show a stunning, traditional schooner-yacht interior. The schooner will feature four staterooms, not including a day cabin/stateroom aft, and will have a traditional focsle capable of sleeping 12. There will be 27 berths overall.

The spars, sails, blocks and running rigging are all complete and on-site.

D’Isernia “is in no hurry” according to Stevens, but he plans to promote the schooners to the luxury charter market and hopes to eventually sell one or the other of the two hulls.

First, however, he may spend some time cruising the initial Columbia hull himself.

H Volunteers working on Maine’s First Ship, the pinnace Virginia, unloaded the first shipment of planking in January.

The planking, along with frame stock, the forward keelson, false sternpost and other assorted heavy timbers, cost nearly $12,000. By February the forward keelson was bolted in place.

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 Virginia will be constructed to USCG Subchapter T standards. When the pinnace is complete, middle school and high school students will partici-

VIRGINIA

MATTHEW TURNER

COLUMBIA pate in programs that teach operating and maintaining a traditionally-rigged sailing vessel. Students will learn to handle 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.

H Back in 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.

“We are currently shaping the centerline, frames and transom,” stated a March press release. “Assembly will begin in April when the 45-ton lead ballast keel arrives. To keep on schedule, we'll have three to four teams creating the various parts, ready to sequence in during the assembly process.

“Our plan is to more than double our volunteer force to 15-20 and add contract professionals to help maintain schedules.”

For a live feed from the boatshed, be sure to check out www.educationaltallship.org. b Got a “Boatyards” story or update? 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 $56 million museum is hoping to open late this summer 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 8-11, 2014. Events kick off with a Stories of the Sea event at the Highliner Pub on May 8, followed by a maritime career fair on the 9th, and culminate with Family Fun Day on Sunday the 11th, with Quick and Dirty Boat Building, Survival Suit Races, Vessel Tours, Ship Canal Tours, Remote Control Boats, Kids Boat Building, and the South Lake Union Chowder Cook-off.

Texas Maritime Museum, Rockport, TX (361) 729-1271 * TexasMaritimeMuseum.org ‘From the Banks of the Sabine to the Rio Grande: A U.S. Naval Presence Since 1845” opened in October. Included in the artifacts are a Civil War-era 9-inch Dalghren shell and canister shot recovered from the USS Westfield. The Westfield was blown up to avoid capture in 1863.

GREAT LAKES Council of American Maritime Museums April 27-30. Annual meeting at the National Museum of the Great Lakes, Toledo, OH. Erie Maritime Museum, Erie, PA (814) 452-2744 * FlagshipNiagara.org May 14-17: 2014 North American Society for Oceanic History Conference. A special reduced-rate session of Niagara’s sailing school program is available to attendees.

June 7th, 7:00 PM: Fourth Annual Mariner’s Ball, the Great Lakes’ premier black-tie nautical event. Cocktails, live music and fireworks.

Michigan Maritime Museum, South Haven, MI (269) 637-8078 * MichiganMaritimeMuseum.org The museum’s sloop Friends Good Will promotes tourism in 30

West Michigan by providing the public with a wide variety of cultural and educational experiences. The historic replica is the only tall ship to sail the Great Lakes with a state-of-the-art, interactive, floating classroom.

Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Manitowoc, WI (866) 724-2356 * WisconsinMaritime.org 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 The annual Annapolis Oyster Roast & Sock Burning will take place at the Museum from 12-4 pm on Saturday, March 22.

The tradition dates back to the mid-1980s. There will be live music by the Eastport Oyster Boys. A shucking contest provides a chance to show your shucking prowess.

Charleston Maritime Center, Charleston, SC 843-853-3625 * CMCevents.com April 11-20. The Nina and Pinta replicas will be visiting.

Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels, MD 410-745-2916 * CBMM.org May 4-10. The schooner Sultana will be visiting.

May 10-18. The Nina and Pinta replicas will be visiting.

Commercial Marine Expo, New Bedford, MA CoMarExpo.com June 11-12. CME is the Atlantic Seaboard’s largest commercial marine trade show.

Historic Ships in Baltimore, Baltimore, MD (410) 539-1797 * HistoricShips.org Daily live cannon firings on board USS Constellation at 12 & 4 PM. Learn about the ship’s guns, their force and accuracy. The presentation culminates with a live firing of the ship’s Parrot Rifle. Also, live demonstrrations throughout the day: Brace the Yards, Food in the Navy, and Anchors Aweigh.

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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 Six themed week-long camp sessions beginning July 7. Themes in chronological order are: Patriots and Pirates; Monsters & Myths of the Sea; Eco-Squad; Aquapalooza!; Navy Boot Camp; and Flora, Fauna & Foul Play.

Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Vergennes, VT (802) 475-2022 * LCMM.org On the 200th anniversary of the final year of the War of 1812, the schooner Lois McClure's 2014 tour will focus on the British invasion of the US via Lake Champlain.

Long Island Maritime Museum, West Sayville, NY (631) HISTORY * limaritime.org June 14-15, 11 AM-6 PM: Pirate Festival! Grab yer little swashbucklers and prepare to have the time of yer life! Roving entertainment and performances by Ye Pyrate Brotherhood

raising awareness about the changing perception of whales.

New Bedford Whaling Museum, New Bedford, MA (508) 997-0046 * WhalingMuseum.org New Bedford Homecoming, June 28- July 6, will feature the Charles W. Morgan. The whaler will dock at State Pier and will open to the public daily. The city is planning nine days of concerts, programs, regattas, whaleboat races and parades, a whaling history symposium, public ceremonies and more.

Peabody-Essex Museum, Salem, MA (978) 542-1609 * PEM.org May 31-September 1, 2014. The first US exhibition of Joseph Mallord William Turner’s maritime paintings. Turner & the Sea features more than 100 works spanning the fifty-year career of one of Britain’s celebrated painters. Encompassing oils, watercolors, prints and sketches from the 1790s to the mid-1800s.

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.

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

“Gone Fishing” exhibit explores how Maine’s fisheries define and influence the state’s history, economy, and culture. Learn about the early days of hand-lining, how to catch a lobster, how to dress for sea, and different kinds of boats and gear. Kids will enjoy going aboard a real dory and replicas of a lobster boat and the sardine carrier Jacob Pike.

Lunenburg Wooden Boat Reunion, Lunenburg, NS (902) 634-4794 * LunenburgWoodenBoatReunion.com July 26-27. Boatbuilders and related trades folk will offer displays and demonstrations. Saturday features the Nova Scotia Schooner Association’s 8th Annual Heritage Cup for schooners and other sailing races, while Sunday is the putt-putt race for boats powered by vintage “make and break” engines.

Strawbery Banke, Portsmouth, NH (603) 433-1100 * StrawberyBanke.org September 23 at 7:00 pm: Herbs, Food and the War of 1812.

Cookbook author Katie Barnes Moose lectures about the period leading up to the War of 1812 including foods and herbs consumed at the time and how they were provided. She will give a cooking demonstration with foods typical of the period.

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

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

US Naval Academy Museum, Annapolis, MD (410) 293-5275 * USNA.edu The Rogers Ship Model Collection is the largest collection of 17th- and 18th-century ship models on public display in North America. More than 70 models illustrate 200 years of developments in warship design. The adjoining Beverley R. Robinson Collection features an exceptional collection of prints illustrating famous ships and naval scenes from the last 500 years.

The Mariner’s Museum, Newport News, VA (757) 596-2222 * MarinersMuseum.org Opening October 25, 2014: The Paintings of James Edward Buttersworth.

Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT (860) 572-0711 * MysticSeaport.org Work continues on the whaleship Charles W. Morgan as she prepares for her historic 38th voyage this summer. The whaleship will sail to historic ports of New England in the summer of 2014, engaging communities with their maritime heritage and

USS Constitution Museum, Charlestown, MA (617) 426-1812 * USSConstitutionMuseum.org Constitution vs HMS Java: Learn how the bloody battle between USS Constitution and HMS Java began and ended.

What happened to the wounded crew members? What did they experience when they returned home? b Got an event for our next Calendar? E-mail us at marlinspike1812@gmail.com

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The original VIRGINIA was commissioned in 1917 and was the last all-sail schooner built for the Virginia Pilot Association. For a decade the original ship trained apprentice pilots in seamanship and navigation sailing the waters of the Chesapeake Bay. This re-creation of VIRGINIA was built on the Norfolk, Virginia waterfront in 2004. Now you can be a part of this sailing legacy!

VIRGINIA’s 2014 season offers exciting educational programs for both youth and adults sailing from the Chesapeake Bay to Bermuda and New England!

For more information, visit www.SchoonerVirginia.org 32

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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 The 2014 Expedition Voyages Family/Youth Camp is scheduled for July 21-25.

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

Nine vessels offering windjammer cruises on the Maine coast from mid-May through early October.

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

Oliver Hazard Perry, Newport, RI (401) 841-0080 * www.ohpri.org Week-long summer teen camps; sail-training cruises for adults in the fall.

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

Schooner A. J. Meerwald, Bivalve, NJ (856) 785-2060 * BayShoreCenter.org “Sailor for a Day” programs in summer; overnight Maritime Camp programs July 7-11 and 21-25 for children 13-17.

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

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

Schooners North, Friday Harbor, WA (360) 378-2224 * SanJuanSailCharter.com Cruises from the San Juan Islands to Alaska aboard the schooner Spike Africa.

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

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.

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

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

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

US Brig Niagara, Erie, PA (814) 452-2744 ext. 214 * FlagshipNiagara.org Sail training on an authentic wooden square-rigger.

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

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

Maine Windjammer Association, Midcoast Maine (800) 807-WIND * SailMaineCoast.com

Schooner Wendameen, Portland, ME (207) 766-2500 * PortlandSchooner.com Overnight trips for up to 14 passengers on Casco Bay. SEA Semester, Woods Hole, MA (508) 540-3954* Sea.edu Accredited semester-at-sea programs for college students.

Sea/mester, Sarasota, FL (941) 924-2900 * Seamester.com Accredited semester-at-sea and gap-year programs for college students aboard SSV Argo and SSV Ocean Star. b

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b

b

MAYFLOWER II sailed in March for the first time in almost seven years. Her outing was 34

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PHOTO: KRISTEN ONEY / PLIMOTH PLANTATION

filmed for an upcoming PBS project.

Almost seven years after she last sailed, Mayflower II got underway on March 11. The rare outing was filmed for a show that will air on PBS’ American Experience in November.

Plimoth Plantation is collaborating on the project with WETA, Steeplechase Films, and filmmaker Ric Burns.

With 26 crew on board, Mayflower II was towed out on the morning tide. In Cape Cod Bay she dropped her tow and sailed for about an hour. She was then towed back to Plymouth.

The filming was done from two boats and a helicopter. Plimoth Plantation’s English Village and Wampanoag exhibits will also be featured in the film.

H The tall ship Oliver Hazard Perry, currently fitting out in Rhode Island, has announced the following summer sailing schedule: July 10-13: Providence, RI July 28-30: Cape Cod Centennial Celebration, Massachusetts Maritime Academy August 2-3: Portsmouth, NH August 9-10: Boston, MA August 16-17: New Bedford, MA August 23-24: Newport, RI August 30-31: Greenport, NY September 11-14: Star Spangled Banner Bicentennial Celebration, Baltimore, MD Oliver Hazard Perry is the State of Rhode Island’s official Educational Sailing Vessel. When operational she will be the largest civilian sail training vessel in the US, with the capacity to take up to 49 people overnight and 100 for day sails.

The 200-foot ship will also undertake two longer voyages this fall: one from Newport to Bermuda, departing September 21 and arriving September 28, and one from Bermuda to Portland, Maine, departing September 28 and arriving October 5.

Both trips will offer courses on navigation and meteorology with professional instructors from Ocean Navigator magazine, and every participant will serve as a member of the crew.

The navigation and meteorology courses are taught concurrently; therefore, applicants need to decide which of the two courses they would prefer to take.

The voyages are available at a prices ranging from $1,850 to $2,800 per person based on cabin selection.

H The Dutch-flagged Tres Hombres, a 126-ton brigantine, has been ferrying goods (including rum) between Europe, the Caribbean and America since December of 2009.

The engineless Tres Hombres is the prototype vessel for a project aimed at proving the feasibility of cargo transport under sail. In addition to her capacity for 35 tons of cargo, she carries a crew of five and 10 trainees.

The website (search for “Brigantine Tres Hombres”) makes for interesting reading, provided you have a smattering of Dutch.

H Hermione, a reconstruction of the frigate in which the Marquis de Lafayette sailed to America in 1780, bringing news of French support and troops, is ready to cross the Atlantic again, in 2015. Its original voyage represented the pivotal turning point in the American War of Independence.

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The Friends of Hermione-Lafayette have announced that the frigate will leave Rochefort in April 2015 and return to France in August. The first landfall will be Yorktown, Virginia, where the British surrendered, and at which the original Hermione saw action. Other cities to be visited were provisionally announced as Norfolk, Alexandria, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Greenport, and Boston PRIDE II before departing for Nova Scotia.

H With a series of bicentennial celebrations taking place throughout the Chesapeake — including the “Star-Spangled Spectacular” being held in Baltimore in September — the Pride of Baltimore II will be staying home for once.

Pride will spend her 25th sailing season in the Chesapeake, visiting nearly every accessible Maryland port. By agreement with the Maryland Historical Society, Pride will transport their hand-sewn, 30’ x 42’ recreation of the Star-Spangled Banner to ports throughout the region.

Pride will continue to offer education programs, interpretive dockside tours, on-water lectures, day sails, private charters, and a number of overnight guest crew opportunities.

“Historically, local ports have not offered appearance fees; therefore, in recent years Pride has spent significant time voyaging to ports outside of Maryland that host festi-

vals and offer revenue opportunities,” said Executive Director Richard Scott.

“With the upcoming bicentennial celebrations throughout the state, keeping Pride in the Chesapeake is important to our mission. 2014 will be the first time in many years that we will spend most of our sailing season in local waters.”

H Plans for a Trans-Atlantic Tall Ship Regatta to mark the 150th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation in 2017 are well advanced.

Sail Training International is working in partnership with the City of Quebec, in association with Le Rendez-Vous Naval de Quebec, to take a Tall Ships fleet across the North Atlantic in 2017, with visits to ports in five countries.

The transatlantic leg of the regatta is scheduled to depart from Portugal in May and arrive in Bermuda by the beginning of June. The vessels will then race to Boston and continue on to Canadian ports, including Quebec, before returning in August to Le Havre, France.

The partnership with Quebec and Rendez-Vous Naval is providing financial assistance for those ships which register early. For more information, see pages 16-17.

H The schooner Zodiac is offering a four-day Summer Brewery Cruise this July 24-July 27. Prices begin at $875.00

Bermuda is a wonderful but expensive place. The restaurants catering to tourists are pricey, and anything you buy at your hotel will need to be paid off in installments. The nips in our mini-bar were $9 apiece!

The liquor stores do offer some relief; prices are pretty similar to those here in the US. An evening of homemade drinks in the room (or the hot tub) will save you a lot of dough. Why do you think hotels have ice machines?

Still, you don’t go on vacation to sit around drinking in your hotel room now, do you? Maybe you do.

But we prefer to get out and see the sights, and in Bermuda the sights include wonderful English-style pubs such as the famous Swizzle Inn (now with a second location), the Hog Penny in Hamilton, and the White Horse in St. George. The food is terrific, the drinks are decent, and most importantly you’ll be introduced to new menus, foreign booze, and obscure English brews like Black Sheep Ale from North Yorkshire.

No, it ain’t cheap. But what the heck! As the Rum Monkey likes to say — “Let’s go places and drink things!” — MR 36

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per person and include all meals.

Guests will join fellow micro-brewery lovers and homebrew fans from around the world as Zodiac sets sail for famous San Juan Island brew-pubs!

While aboard, they will discover how to sail a tall ship, learn how to pair different Northwest ales with a variety of dishes, and participate in brewing a batch of “Schooner Rat IPA” onboard at anchor.

Guests will tour island breweries and meet the owners and master brewers of Pike Ales, Snoqualmie, Port Townsend Brewing Co. and more!

The onboard host for this trip will be brewer Dave Eiffert from Snoqualmie Brewery. For information and reservations, call (206) 719-7622.

H When the whaling ship Charles W. Morgan visits Provincetown, MA on her historic 38th Voyage (July 1015), she will be escorted by the schooner Mystic Whaler of New London, CT. During the five-day port visit, the Mystic Whaler will provide meals and overnight accommodations for both the Morgan crew and Mystic Seaport Museum guests. The Mystic Whaler will also sail in company with the historic barque during whale-watching daysails on Stellwagon Bank.

H The brigantine Black Pearl, on which the American Sail Training Association (ASTA, now known as Tall Ships America) was founded back in 1973, is being restored.

According to the November/December issue of WoodenBoat, the 1950s-era yacht is up on Lake Ontario getting “a new stem, topside planking, more refastening, and more new frames” in addition to the work on the deck, deckbeams, and coach roof that began back in 2011.

The boat is scheduled to return to the water this summer.

BLACK PEARL Black Pearl was formerly owned by Barclay H. “Buzzy” Warburton III, a resident of Newport, RI. After participating in the 1972 International Sail Training Races in Europe, Warburton and a group of friends from the Newport area founded ASTA and began working to bring the international tall ship fleets to American ports.

Warburton later founded the Black Pearl restaurant, which continues to thrive on the Newport waterfront.

H Picton Castle is currently in French Polynesia, on the home stretch of the South Seas Voyage.

The Westward Bound voyage begins July 1 at Fiji and will bring the ship around the world to complete her sixth circumnavigation. Ports of call include Vanuatu, the

Remember that time you spent the night on a rickety outer dock, in the pouring rain, and all you had on board was cheap tequila, some warm Coke, and an over-ripe banana? And you made a drink out of it?

Well, trust me, that drink has been made by someone else, and it probably even has a name, and several twostar reviews on the internet.

That was the discovery I made recently when I found a drink which I considered my own private tipple on a website called “A Mountain of Crushed Ice” where they call it a Tortuga. This simple drink is highly dependant on the quality of the rum. Cruzan SingleBarrel Estate rum is my current fave, and now comes in a new wide-mouth bottle! O technology!

Serve in a martini glass, after shaking with ice.

Tortuga

2 oz. Cruzan Single-Barrel Estate Rum 1/2 oz. Grand Marnier Twist of lime

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Solomon Islands, Bali, Reunion, Madagascar, Cape Town, Namibia, St. Helena, Senegal, Cape Verde and the Caribbean, before joining the tall ships fleet on the East Coast of the US and Canada in the summer of 2015.

Picton Castle is currently seeking mates and watch officers for this voyage. All professional crew must have STCW Basic Safety Training and watch officers must also have licenses suitable for a 284-ton ocean-going ship.

Picton Castle is also seeking a limited number of apprentices for the Westward Voyage. This opportunity is designed as professional development for young mariners who want to gain additional experience and square-rig sea

BOATS

for

time. Apprentice positions are open to those with a) six months of sea time on a recognized sail training vessel or b) three months of sea time plus STCW Basic Safety Training or who are a graduate of a recognized marine training institution.

There is a fee for the apprenticeship, but it’s significantly less than trainee fees.

Trainee berths are still available for both the whole voyage and the individual legs. No experience is necessary to become a trainee — just a desire to learn to sail a barque and general good health and fitness.

Details of the voyage, as well as the online application

SALE

Schooner VICTORY CHIMES Three-masted schooner in the Maine Windjammer trade. 1900, oak on oak. Located Camden, ME. COI for 50.

Asking $1,200,000.

Schooner NATHANIEL BOWDITCH Two-masted schooner in the Maine Windjammer trade. 1922, oak on oak.

Auctioned in February with an opening bid of $250,000 but received no bids.

UNICORN

Schooner TIMBERWIND Engineless two-masted schooner in the Maine Windjammer trade. 1931, oak on oak. Located Camden, ME. COI for 20. Asking $410,000.

Schooner HIGHLANDER SEA Two-masted schooner, formerly a yacht and a sail-training vessel. 1924, oak on oak. Located Gloucester, MA. Asking $2,000,000.

Schooner AMERICAN EAGLE Bald-headed schooner in the Maine Windjammer trade. 1930, oak on oak.

Located Rockland, ME. COI for 56 daysails, 28 overnight. Asking $750,000.

Schooner UNICORN Topsail schooner, currently a sail-training ship. 1947, steel. Located Lunenburg, NS. COI 12 daysails, 6 overnight.

Asking $695,000.

Sloop PROVIDENCE Replica of Revolutionary War sloop, travels to tall-ship events and appears in films. 1976, fiberglass. Located Newport, RI. 59 GRT. COI for 40 daysails, 6 overnight. Asking $795,000.

Schooner MYSTIC Three-masted schooner or barquentine. 2007, steel. Located Mystic, CT. COI for 150 daysails, 36 overnight. Asking $1,500,000.

Schooner PIRATES LADY Bald-headed two-masted schooner running sunset sails and Boy Scout trips. 1984, steel. Located Marathon, FL. 40 GRT. COI for 28 daysails. Asking $350,000.

Schooner HERITAGE Three-masted schooner in the Maine Windjammer trade. 1983, oak on oak. Located Rockland, ME. COI for 30 overnight. No price listed. Yes, it’s the same schooner that appears on the cover of this issue!

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This has been an unusually harsh winter here in the Northeast, and that is the only explanation we can offer for our decision to visit Bermuda for a weekend in early March.

Bermuda is a beautiful place — sandy beaches stretching between romantic rock outcroppings, old forts everywhere — but not for the three days we were there. The temps were around 60, but it rained intermittently and blew 25 knots at all times. Now 25 knots is fine, but 25 knots with rain... why are we here again?

We visited the Spirit of Bermuda lying at the Royal Dockyard, but the crew had fled ashore. Likewise the crew of Tres Hombres, on the quay in St. George. We got excited when a brig out in the bay appeared to be setting sail, but in fact her sails were merely loosely furled on the yards and she had no intention of budging from her anchorage.

Only on the final morning of our trip did we see the sun. We went for a walk on Horseshoe Bay Beach and finally caught a glimpse of the fair-weather Bermuda. Not even discouraging amounts of plastic trash (apparently they do not clean the beaches during the winter) could detract from this stunning spot. We’ll be back... but not in early March. — MR Post a photo of your favorite beach to our facebook page, or e-mail it to us at marlinspike1812@gmail.com

form, are available at www.picton-castle.com.

H The USCG barque Eagle will spend half of each year for the next four years at the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore and the other half at sea, with only brief stops in its longtime home port of New London, CT. Eagle will leave New London in March to sail with its first group of officer candidates before returning in early April to City Pier. Eagle will spend about a month hosting tours for the public at City Pier. She will then sail with cadets to the Caribbean, Canada and ports along the East Coast this summer before returning to City Pier again for about three weeks in August.

The ship will return to Baltimore in September for its second round of maintenance work, designed to prepare Eagle for another 30 or 40 years as the training vessel for Coast Guard Academy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Antiquated equipment will be replaced, lead paint will be removed and work will be done on the 80-year-old steel hull. Eagle was originally built as a sail-training vessel for the German Navy.

Overall, this “service life extension” will cost $20 to $30 million, Captain Wes Pulver told the Day newspaper.

“We get great work done in the Coast Guard Yard, but the home of Eagle is New London, our families are here, so it means a great deal for us to come home whenever we can,” he said. b Do you have news for Boats, Bars & Beaches? Send it to us at marlinspike1812@gmail.com

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

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

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of the Mudd Sharrigan of Wiscasset, Maine, has been fooling with knives for over 70 years now. A merchant mariner, hot-rodder, home-builder, and swimmer, he has hand-crafted something like a thousand knives, and his business continues to grow. Recently we caught up with him at the Maine Boatbuilder’s Show, where he was doing a brisk business in 3”, 4” and even 5” blades with individually-crafted wooden handles, marlinspikes, and handmade leather sheaths.

Marlinspike: Mudd, tell us how you got started making sailor’s knives.

Mudd Sharrigan: Oh, I go way back with that! I was in the merchant marine, on troop ships and other vessels, back at the end of World War II! I’m 86 years old!

MS: How much use for a rigging knife do you have on a troop ship?

Mudd: Not that much!

MS: But that’s where you got interested in making knives?

Mudd: No, I was interested in knives long before I went on the ship. I attended a maritime school in Sheepshead Bay in New York. Then I got on the ship. That was right at the very end of the war. There was so much shipping that had to be done. We had to bring food to all these different countries, bringing it from one country, like Argentina, to Europe. Ships were going back and forth like a chain!

MS: When did you start making knives?

Mudd: Oh, early on, when I was in junior high school.

Even before that, I was finding knives in disrepair, or with no handles, and I would fix them up. The minute my father saw it, he would take it, and I never saw it again. He wouldn’t trust me with it.

MS: What kind of tools did you have?

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Mudd: I had some old files, and I had C clamps, those were my vice. I had hammers and old saws — at first I didn’t know how to sharpen a saw! But I made sure I could get through the wood all right with it. Eventually I learned how to sharpen my tools. I read a lot. Woodworking was my favorite subject at school. I really enjoyed that. I used to go after school, during lunch, whenever… I just liked being in woodshop.

My father was not handy — and he did not believe in Christmas. In fact, that turned out to be a good thing for me: we did not get gifts, so I had to make my own toys. My mother made clothes for us; she was very handy. And I got better and better at it. I learned more. I thought, ‘Well, I want a knife. I guess I’ll have to learn how to make a knife.’

I worked in a cobbler’s shop, where I learned how to work with leather. I worked in a machine shop, where I learned more about metalworking. I learned enough of both to have fun doing it.

MS: Why are you making the knives you’re making now? How did you decide on those designs?

Mudd: I started making these knives because I found out that the knives that were out there for sailors, they were just kitchen knives that people had cut up and modified, and they weren’t really doing the job.

I went aboard the Harvey Gamage, and I said, ‘Listen, what kind of knives are you guys carrying?’ They all brought out different knives. I said ‘Is that it?’ I said, ‘I want to make a special knife for you guys. It will be a Harvey Gamage knife, a seaman’s knife. You all get together, with all of your know-how, and make me a little sketch of what a

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sailor’s knife should be like. How heavy should it be? How about the size of the handle? Anything you can give me. I’ll be back in a couple of weeks.’

So I went back there. They came up with a knife that was about a five-inch blade, and a handle that’s something you can get your hand on… but their ideas weren’t very defined. I had to kind of guess at what they wanted.

Anyway, I made a bunch of them. I found out they were OK, but the blade was too long; it should have been shorter.

The handle was not that comfortable, but at least it was better than what was out there.

The knives I make now have evolved from those knives.

They’ve gone through at least five different stages. The shape of the blade is basically a turndown, they call it a wharncliffe.

My blade, at the bottom, is curved. When you’re holding it, you can cut with the tip, and your finger won’t be in the way.

I modified the wharncliffe the way I want it, and I think it’s more practical.

it… if I didn’t have to wait for all that, I could make a knife in two days. I have to do other things while the blade is cooling down, while I am annealing it, while the epoxy is hardening… I usually give it overnight. I don’t push it. I want it to be maximum hardness when I am working it.

MS: You’ve got a great display of all the ships where people are using your knives.

Picton Castle is here…

Mudd: I have quite a bit more at home. My knives are all over. I sent some to Iceland, Japan, Australia. One went to Italy, and a couple to Canada.

Most of them are in the United States.

There was article about me in WoodenBoat, about three years ago, and people are still calling me about it. ‘Hey, I decided I want one of your knives. I read about you in WoodenBoat.’ Well, that was three years ago!

MS: People don’t throw away WoodenBoat.

MS: How many knives do you make a year?

Mudd: No, I have them all myself! The guy who wrote the article is a friend of mine, we swim together. One day he said, ‘You know, you need to get into WoodenBoat.’ I said, ‘Eh, I don’t need that,’ and he said, “Yes, Mudd, you do!”

Mudd: Anywhere from 150 to 200, at most.

MS: How long does a knife take you to make?

Mudd: I usually make them in batches of at least five or six. I don’t set up my machines for just one operation, and then shut the machine off! My grinders, my drill presses, my forges…

I figure if I didn’t have to wait for glue to dry, the leather work that goes with it, the heat-tempering part of

Authentic Tarred Hemp Marline

MS: You’ve got some great-looking knives here. I see the blades are 1095 High Carbon Steel. What are these handles made out of?

Mudd: Those are walnut. This one here is cork. And these right here are made from wood that was left over from work they were doing on HMS Bounty — deck planking, I believe it was. All my handles are attached to the tang with two-ton epoxy.

MS: I’m happy to see you offer marlinspikes as well.

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

www.tarsmell.com

Mudd: Yes, hand-forged from medium carbon steel, in a couple of different sizes. I make custom leather sheaths that can hold both the knife and the spike. My sheaths are nine or ten-ounce steerhide, hand-sewn with waxed polyester thread.

MS: Sold. b Mudd doesn’t have a website, but you can reach him by calling (207) 882-9820.

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CAPTAIN / RELIEF CAPTAIN CAPTAIN Schooner Roseway www.worldoceanschool.org Job description: Reporting directly to the Marine Operations Director, this person will be the primary operator and manager of the schooner Roseway and the programs of the World Ocean School. The position requires exceptional sailing and traditional seamanship skills, and the willingness to be a teacher, leader and mentor. The candidate must possess a high level of confidence and maturity, excellent communication skills, ability to make independent decisions while respecting the parameters of the organization, and take ultimate responsibility for the safety of the vessel, its passengers, and its crew. We are seeking a self-starter who takes pride in his/her role, can be the face of our organization and is dedicated and passionate about Roseway and education under sail.

For a full job description and more about the World Ocean School, visit http://www.worldoceanschool.org/about-us/jobs 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, e-mail a cover letter, resume, and contact information for three references to kristen@salish.org CAPTAIN S/V Liberty Clipper and Liberty Star http://www.libertyfleet.com The position is seasonal from June-Sept with possibilities of becoming full time. Captains must be able to demonstrate leadership and excellent sailing skill and experience to run the deck and manage the crew. USCG 100-ton Near Coastal Masters License with sail endorsement required as well as specific experience in leadership positions on Tall Ships. From June to September we offer public day sails and charters in Boston Harbor. From November to May, we offer week long windjammer cruises in the Bahamas and Caribbean so you must be passionate about working with the public and have strong customer service skills.

Contact: Capt. Christopher Shaw (617) 742-0333 67 Long Wharf, Boston MA 02110 email: Chris@libertyfleet.com RELIEF CAPTAIN / FIRST MATE 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,

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friendly nature is required. Send cover letter, resume and list of references to: tkrihwan@discoveryworld.org

MATE / BOSUN / ENGINEER 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 CHIEF MATE S/V Pride of Baltimore www.pride2.org Pride is seeking applications for Chief Mate for the 2014 sailing season. Applicants need to be American Citizens or possess American working authority. All applicants must possess previous experience aboard traditional sailing vessels (so called Tall Ships).

We request all applicants email their Resumes & References, as well a Cover Letter to Captains Miles & Trost. In the Cover Letter please describe what you would bring to the ship and her mission as well what you could gain from the opportunity.

This post is Seasonal.

E-mail Resume with References & Cover Letter to : jan@pride2.org & jamie@pride2.org CHIEF MATE S/V Bowdoin Qualified applicants must have a minimum 100-ton Near Coastal Mate License with Auxiliary Sail endorsement. Significant traditional vessel sailing experience as master, mate, or watch officer and related maintenance experience required. A valid US passport and passing a pre-employment drug test and participation in MMA’s random drug testing program are required for this position. This is a six-month stipend position starting around May 1, 2014. The chief mate will assist with outfitting the vessel during May. June/July/August the vessel engages in day sails and sail training voyages between Southern New England and Canadian Maritimes.

September/October the mate will assist with day sails, weekend trip, and with other Maine Maritime sailing courses as needed and will begin laying up the vessel for winter maintenance. A successful candidate must be able to enter Canada and have no prior convictions that deem them “inadmissible” under Canadian law.

Contact Capt. Eric Jergenson at eric.jergenson@mma.edu.

MATE S/V Denis Sullivan www.schoonerdenissullivan.org 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.

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$1400-1600 per month, depending on experience, plus shared room and partial board. To apply, see below.

MATE S/V Liberty Clipper http://www.libertyfleet.com The Liberty Clipper has an immediate need for Mate on the 125 ft Tall Ship Liberty Clipper. Mate must be able to demonstrate leadership and excellent sailing skill and experience to run the deck and manage the crew. USCG 100 ton Near Coastal Mate License with sail endorsement required as well as specific experience in leadership positions on Tall Ships. From November to May, we offer week long windjammer cruises in the Bahamas so you must be passionate about working with the public and have strong customer service skills.

This post is Seasonal.

Apply by email: Jobs@libertyfleet.com Christopher Shaw 67 Long Wharf, Boston MA 02110

DECKHAND

ferred. A valid US passport and passing a pre-employment drug test and participation in MMA’s random drug testing program are required for this position. This is a four-month stipend position with a start date of May 1, 2014. The steward/deckhand will assist with fitting out the vessel during May and is responsible for feeding a crew of 16 while shore side. The steward is expected to serve as a MMA representative while enrolled students reside in the dorm (May only). June/July/August the vessel engages in day sails and sail training voyages between Southern New England and Canadian Maritimes. The steward’s primary job will be planning meals, cooking, and maintaining ship’s galley stores. Deckhand responsibilities are secondary and will be limited by the vessel’s needs. A successful candidate must be able to enter Canada and have no prior convictions that deem them “inadmissible” under Canadian law.

Additional sailing opportunities are available during the month of September and October.

Contact Capt. Eric Jergenson at eric.jergenson@mma.edu for further information on all positions.

COOK

DECKHAND 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 S/V Pride of Baltimore www.pride2.org Pride is seeking applications for Deckhand for the 2014 sailing season. Applicants need to be American Citizens or possess American working authority. All applicants must possess previous experience aboard traditional sailing vessels (so called Tall Ships). We request all applicants email their Resumes & References, as well a Cover Letter to Captains Miles & Trost. In the Cover Letter please describe what you would bring to the ship and her mission as well what you could gain from the opportunity.

This post is Seasonal.

E-mail Resume with References & Cover Letter to : jan@pride2.org & jamie@pride2.org

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.

OTHER POSITIONS 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.

DECKHAND S/V Liberty Clipper and Liberty Star http://www.libertyfleet.com The Liberty Clipper has an immediate need for deckhands on the 125 ft Tall Ship Liberty Clipper. This post is Seasonal.

Apply by email: Jobs@libertyfleet.com Christopher Shaw 67 Long Wharf, Boston MA 02110 US

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.

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.

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 b

STEWARD/DECKHAND S/V Bowdoin Qualified applicants must have experience cooking for large numbers and interest in part-time deck work and maintenance.

Experience cooking aboard sail training vessels offshore is pre-

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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Several years ago the Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain came to my home port of Morro Bay, California. My wife and I went on a “battle sail” where the two ships fired their cannons at each other during some close-quarters maneuvers. It was a childhood dream come true! At day’s end one of the officers told us about their -“Two Weeks Before the Mast” program where they bring you onboard for a couple weeks and teach you the art of square-rig sailing.

As soon as I had some vacation time, I signed on board Hawaiian Chieftain.

Best money I’ve ever spent. After completing the program, they invited me to come back whenever there was a free bunk, as a bona fide member of the team!

Last year I finally got in touch with my tattoo artist, Brian Wilkinson, of Traditional Tattoo in San Luis Obispo. We had spoken before about a tall ship design, but now I knew that if I wanted a design with depth and personal meaning, there was really only one choice. My beloved Hawaiian Chieftain.

Drafting the tattoo took a long time. We started with a photo by Bob Harbison [see the cover of Marlinspike #1]. The first draft had the Chieftain in a storm with all sails set. In the words of our first mate, Johann: “Holy crap!

Squalls, thunder and lightning, insane seas — and the raffee and outer jib set?"

Second draft featured the Chieftain at first light on calmer seas. After a few back-and-forths we were ready for color. I gave Brian more artistic license on the background, which turned out stunning and included bioluminescent ink in the sunrise which would glow under a black light.

A grueling four and a half hours of Brian’s needlework later, and I could finally say it: the Hawaiian Chieftain is now under my skin, both literally and figuratively. — Matthew Bain

I’ve just obtained a fancy new Myerchin rigging knife with a bone handle for no reason other than I needed more surface area to fill with scrimshaw after covering the handle of my last knife. I abandoned the spike that it came with, favouring my heftier one, and set about making a sheath that would house both.

I’m not much of a leatherworker, but I’ve made my fair share of chafe-gear and have stumbled through the creation of two previous sheaths. I came up with a pattern and set to cutting out the piece and stitching it together — my first sheath using only a single piece of leather.

The last one I made left the end of the spike free, which proved hazardous to objects I sat on and required extra diligence when in an inflatable. So I determined to completely cover the spike in this sheath. I also made it possible to wear both vertically and horizontally on one’s belt. It turned out to be (in my humble opinion) one of the finest-looking rigs I’ve ever seen.

Now all that’s left is to complete the scrimshaw I was so anxious to do in the first place.

A sailor’s rig is such an important and personal object, I wanted mine — however many variations it went through — above all to be something that I put my own heart and soul into. As many times as I’ve changed sheaths or gotten new tools, my rig retains a part of myself.

You can find more examples of my leatherwork and scrimshaw at katherinealoft.com/everything-else — Katherine Pogue 44

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Continued from page 7 We’ll go from Chestertown to Cambridge, down to St. Mary’s, all over the Bay. That’s what we do over the summer. Those trips are super popular.

MS: The kids are sleeping on the boat?

DM: Yes. We have a version that we’re trying this year where the kids will sleep on shore. But mostly they do sleep on the boat, where we’re limited to ten overnight passengers.

We are trying a version this summer for younger kids, where we will go for three days and two nights, and go down to a nice dock in a private area of the bay, and we’ll set up sort of a tent base camp. The kids live on shore but go out sailing every day, and they also do other things — kayaking, marsh mucking. Sort of a combined program.

And that allows us to work around the max of ten overnight berths.

I don’t know of any boat where you can do a liveaboard program with kids that is limited to the number of Coast Guard approved bunks. And you have the requirement for two crews on the boat if you’re running 24 hours per day. Unless you have a large boat, it becomes financially a big challenge.

MS: What do you see as the biggest challenges facing you going forward with the schooner?

DM: You know, the organizational fundraising and the fundraising for the Schooner Sultana, which is part of the organization, I don’t ever view them as separate things, which is one of the advantages of that model.

I will give you an example. I never write a grant anymore that is specific to the Schooner Sultana. What I would rather write a grant for, and what I would rather do programmatically, is say “Hey, let’s take the fifth and sixth grade of XYZ elementary school, and let’s develop a program where for the next two summers, their teachers come out with us and do a variety of professional development programs that include going on Sultana, and also might include a trip to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, and might include a kayaking expedition or a trip to Jamestown.

“We’ll get those teachers really geared up for teaching their kids about history and the environment in an experiential way, and then let’s get their kids to do two or three programs, one of which might be a Sultana program, but might also include a canoe program or a wetlands restoration program, and let’s wrap that up into one big package.”

Because, to be honest, that has a greater educational impact than a single three-hour trip on Sultana does, and if you are thinking less fundraising, your fundraising is going to be tied in a lot of instances to ‘Hey, what sort of experience are you bringing to the kids?” And that’s a better

experience than just an isolated three-hour trip on the boat.

Now, in terms of the maintenance of Sultana, that’s a different matter. The boat is in great shape so far. When we built the boat, we established a million-dollar endowment for maintenance, of which we put a portion of the income generated every year into a reserve fund. So when we do come to something big, like let’s say we have to replace a ton of planks twenty years down the road, we will have money in the bank for that.

Say there are smaller projects; we basically do a fundraiser for them every year. This year, we did a redesign of the galley that probably cost us $15,000. We just did a specific fundraiser for that. A couple of years ago we replaced the sails. We did a specific fundraiser for that.

That model has worked pretty well for us.

MS: The Canadian brigantine St. Lawrence II recently tried a crowd-funding appeal to raise $5,500 to replace their lower masts. Donations over a certain amount were sent a t-shirt, or two tickets for a day sail, or a Christmas ornament, and so on. They got about halfway to their goal.

DM: The key is being proactive with the maintenance.

If you let yourself get behind, then your bill gets bigger and bigger and bigger, and then two things happen: your funders get scared, and they also get the sense that maybe you aren’t managing the facility correctly.

If we think there’s a chance that something is going to go in the next year, we don’t wait for two or three years, trying to milk more out of it. We’re so heavily booked, the worst thing for us would be some sort of unexpected maintenance issue where we had to take the boat out of operation, even for a week.

With the engine, I bring in the best mechanic I know, twice a year, and I say ‘replace anything that you think might have more than a ten percent chance of failing in the next thousand hours of operation.’ I don’t care if it’s showing signs of wear or not.

MS: I think most boats would like to do the same, but they just don’t have the funds.

DM: I agree, and I sympathize. It takes a little bit of capital to get this going, but doing it that way can be important to your funders because they get a sense that you’re really on top of things, rather than playing catch-up.

It’s easy for me to say, having a boat that is ten years old, rather than 30 or 40. It’s a totally different game when you have a boat that is a more advanced in age.

I think we have had one day in the last five years where the boat didn’t operate for a maintenance issue, unexpectedly. It makes all of our clients super comfortable that we are always going to be going out, and it makes all of our funders very happy that we have a good, reliable boat.

Ask me that question again in ten or fifteen years, though, and you may get a different answer! b

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CRANE STOOKEY

Asleep at the Wheel The bad leader is hated and feared.

The good leader is loved and praised.

The great leader, when their work is done, the people say: “We did this ourselves.”

— Lao Tzu I too aspire to be the leader that Lao Tzu describes, to make my leadership not about me. But generous leadership, selfless leadership, is hard to give. I crave love and praise as much as the next guy. And I often find that in the pressure of the moment, in the rush to get things done or under the weight of my responsibility, I fall back into the small, fearful, controlling view of making it all about me. But when I succeed in leading generously, the results always exceed my expectations.

On one 10day voyage with the Nova Scotia Sea School, a young woman was my assistant instructor, and there were also two senior crew, veterans of previous voyages, who were sailing as Leading Crew, instructorsin-training.

After a few days I turned command of the boat over to the three of them for the day. I went and lay down in the middle of the boat along one of the midship thwarts, the rowing benches that run across the boat, and rested my head on the gunwale. After a while I folded my hands on my stomach and pulled my broad-brimmed straw hat down over my face.

I didn’t really sleep. We had a long, vigorous beat to windward, the kind of sailing that calls for careful attention from the crew steering at the helm. I could tell by the motion of the boat and the sound of the wind in the sails 46

whether we were badly off course or sailing poorly. For a while I made a comment or two from under my hat when the crew steering at the helm veered too far from the wind, but then I stopped. The assistant and the Leading Crew kept the steering focused, or they got distracted themselves by the thrill of the ride, then focused again, and we made good progress.

I lay there under my hat for a couple of hours, keeping still even through the periodic commotion of tacking the boat, listening and feeling everything, enjoying the conversations and excitement of the crew. I dozed occasionally, waking up whenever the motion of the boat changed. But the crew did well, and I just lay there.

At the end of the trip the assistant and the two Leading Crew told me that they had been so pleased to see me sleeping while they took command of the boat. It made them feel their responsibility was real. They felt trustworthy and competent, eager to rise to the task. At the same time they knew I hadn’t abandoned them. One of the Leading Crew told me that having me sleeping there through the maneuvers made him feel safe. So I got my love and praise in the end anyway.

When the people say, “We did this ourselves,” it’s not that they have become leaderless. It’s that the work has become about them, not about the leader. b Excerpted from Crane’s new book, Keep Your People in the Boat-Workforce Engagement Lessons from the Sea. If you would like to talk to Crane about his support for your leadership and engagement strategies, or to have him speak to your group, please contact him.

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Sign on and be a part of the adv venture! Become a Tall Ships s America member today and receive a complimentary y subscription to Marlinspike ke DV D EHQHӾW RI \RXU PHPEHUVKLS )RU PRUH LQIRUPDWLRQ DERXW PHPEHU EHQHӾWV DQG WR MRLQ visit our website at www.tallshipsamerica.org ca.org

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