Marlinspike #33

Winter 2021-22

Number 33

AMERICAN EAGLE has a new steward

Another re-boot for the ISAAC EVANS

A long-awaited shipyard for NIAGARA

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Transition Time for Maine’s First Ship

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MICHAEL RUTSTEIN

Hands-On Crew hiring and retention continue to be a major concern, and any boat operator looking to expand in the COVID era has to be creative. Cue Harold Burnham, who along with his partner Mary Kay Taylor launched an apprenticeship program this season in order to support their growing business.

Noting that even some sailors who had managed to acquire licenses still lacked critical skills, Burnham decided to get serious about providing hands-on experience to deckhands and captains in training.

“As the employers of some of these kids, it made us feel that we had failed,” said Burnham this fall. “So our idea was to take cadets 16-22 years old, let them know what was expected, and get them hands-on experience in every aspect of boat operation: logkeeping, shiphandling, docking, emergency procedures, understanding the weather, anchoring, ungrounding, damage control, and so on.

“Amanda Madeira, David Stoltz and I were the instructors. Twice a month we had ‘safety sails’ during which the cadets had to work through problems such as docking without the engine under adverse conditions, setting the topsail for the first time without instruction, or getting us off the beach after a grounding.

“At the end of the season, we did a three-day cruise to Thatcher’s Island and Isles of Shoals, and — among many other things — taught them the fine art of planning meals and cooking at sea.

“Not only did we have fun, the apprentices gained confidence and competence, and they’ll be ready to utilize their licenses as soon as they get them.”

Burnham hopes to build a pool of competent crew for the growing Gloucester fleet, which will boast five schooners once he completes the restoration of the 1911 sardine carrier Sylvina Beal (see Boatyards, page 38).

MARLINSPIKE MAGAZINE Winter 2021-22 • Number 33 Michael Rutstein, Publisher Marlinspike is published quarterly for $29

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4 b EAGLE has Flown

28 b Transition Time

Tyler King has taken the wheel of AMERICAN EAGLE

Maine’s First Ship prepares to move from building to operating their 17th-century pinnace

10 b Back to Basics New owners take up the reboot of ISAAC EVANS

14 b A Shipyard for NIAGARA After a lengthy pandemic delay, she’s hauled at last!

20 b The Challenge is a Challenge Tall Ship festival planning in the era of COVID

32 b 38 b 43 b 44 b 46 b

Boats, Bars & Beaches Boatyards Sailing Opportunities Name That Boat Show Us Your Spike / Tattoo

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3

EAGLE has Flown

PHOTO: GEORGE BEKRIS

After several years on the market, one of the highliners of the Maine windjammer fleet has changed hands.

Captain John Foss has passed the torch to Tyler King, who grew up in a boatyard and has been keeping tabs on Foss and the Eagle since he was a boy.

Marlinspike spoke to King in November.

Marlinspike: Should I even congratulate you? I mean, it’s not easy, replacing a legend like John Foss.

Tyler King: No, it is not easy — he is a force. But it’s an exciting thing.

MS: You grew up in a boatyard in Gloucester; that sounds like a pretty good background for running a windjammer. But how did you get involved with John and American Eagle?

TK: Growing up in Gloucester, there are signs of schooners everywhere and growing up in a boatyard, history and tradition are even more a part of what you do. History really exudes from everywhere, if you know where to look — especially in this yard that I grew up in, which started in 1904.

I started sailing on my parents’ 1922 62’ Alden schooner Ellida when I was, really little. My parents owned her from 1990 to 2000 and she was a wonderful vessel. We would sail her to Penobscot Bay in the summers as well as race against John in the Esperanto Cup from time to time. There was a great picture in the Gloucester Daily Times of the two of them charging to windward in a good sea.

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PHOTO: LEN BURGESS

Despite her simple rig, AMERICAN EAGLE is a formidable competitor

TK: 2017. But I had met him four weeks into my first season on the Timberwind in 2013. So throughout my whole time windjamming, we’ve always known each other.

MS: By that summer, we were already listing American Eagle for sale.

After several years on the market, with John looking for the right person, what enabled you to close that deal? What was it that he saw in you that made him think, ‘Yeah, this is the guy I can hand over the American Eagle to?’

My parents sold Ellida and bought back our 1939 Alden cutter, and that was the boat that I grew up sailing with the most. We continued going to Maine most summers, and every year John would come down for the schooner races, so I knew of the American Eagle at a very young age, she was always around and always my favorite.

Back then my grandparents also had a house in Bucks Harbor, in South Brooksville, Maine, so I always saw the rest of the windjammers when we’d all go up to visit them by land or sea. Then my grandparents moved to Camden, of all places, where I spent a lot of time sailing Optis and 420s in the harbor, watching all the schooners come and go and getting in everyone’s way.

So in short it was always just ingrained in my life.

Eventually I couldn’t stand it anymore — I just wanted to be a part of it and work on one of these schooners as crew. But it turned out I was too young — I was 10 — so I waited and waited and finally when I was a junior in high school, I started applying to try and get work on one of the schooners up in Maine. I applied to work on the American Eagle first, but the entire crew was coming back that year. I was eventually hired on the schooner Timberwind. I worked on her for the summer of 2013 as the apprentice/messcook/deckhand and then went back to high school, and then 11 days after I graduated high school, I left for the season on the schooner Stephen Taber with Captain Noah Barnes.

I did two years on the Taber, which was great fun. Then after getting my Electrical, Diesel and Systems certificates I was a part of the Ladona rebuild, as an electrician and a carpenter.

And then I was her mate, for her inaugural season. And after that season, John finally had an opening, and so that next year was my first season with John.

TK: Well, I hate to speak for myself. This is more a question for John. But like I said, it’s kind of just part of the fabric of what I do. It’s been such a part of my life. I truly love what I do. I have learned lots of the skills needed to care for and operate a vessel like this because they were always a part of my day-to-day, growing up with a boatbuilder as your dad, just on a different scale.

Also growing up, fishing schooners were and remain my passion. I read every scrap of anything about them I could get my hands on, they always captivated my imagination, especially growing up with the backdrop of Gloucester.

And these vessels — and the American Eagle specifically — are a tangible connection between the present and the past. I have no illusions of going dory trawling again, but I understand the whole of it. What it was and what it is. I also love taking people sailing and I love showing people all the things that I find so fascinating about these big old wooden boats, and the coasts they sailed by. And that’s really something I want to preserve.

MS: John always keeps her in fine trim, but there’s no getting around the fact that American Eagle is over 90 years old. What kind of shape is the boat in structurally? She certainly looks great from across the harbor every Labor Day.

MS: What year was that?

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TK: She’s in wonderful shape considering the hard lives she’s had, through both her working careers. John has done a very good job meticulously keeping up with all the niggles.

Deck leaks are treated just as ferociously as spongy spots, and he does a very good job of tackling things when they need to be tackled.

The boat’s in very good shape and there’s quite a bit of her hull that’s original. And it gets checked on every time we pull a plank or do our inspections. The list sure doesn’t get any shorter to keep up with, but she is in very good shape.

MS: I seem to recall that she was repowered in the last few years.

TK: She was. Yeah, she had a V671 put in her when John rebuilt her, which replaced the big old Caterpillar that she had at the end of her fishing days. And after many years of service we had to repower with the John Deere, which was certainly was a step up, but the timing left something to be desired.

MS: In what sense? You mean doing the repowering in the middle of the season?

TK: Yeah. It cut our season short, which was too bad.

But these things happen, as much as we try to avoid it.

MS: Is anybody in the fleet still running one of those old 671 engines?

TK: The Angelique has two 471s that are from the ‘50s, and they’re in great shape. I was just talking to Captain Dennis [Gallant] a couple days ago about them and he has rebuilt one of them and he bought plenty of parts from farther downeast. So they are going to be running happily for quite a while now.

A good friend said to me once, “You can’t kill ‘em, you have to put ‘em down.”

MS: So what happened to American Eagle’s 671?

TK: There’s a clean vessel engine initiative. If you participate in it, one of the stipulations is you have to make the previous engine ‘untenable’ as they say. So, they took a sledgehammer to Ladona’s old engine, and I don’t think Eagle’s was in any better shape. It was just time.

MS: So now you’ve got one of those newfangled Tier 3 John Deeres.

TK: Yep. It’s a big four cylinder, 200-and-something horse.

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MS: Is that the same horsepower that she had previously? I mean, in the same ballpark?

TK: Yes, that is very similar to the output of the old engine. But the two engines have different power bands and torque curves. The Detroit produced more power low down in the rev range and these smaller four cylinders, which have bigger pistons and a big turbocharger with an aftercooler, create their power higher up in the rev range where those turbos are happiest. So they act a little bit different.

MS: What, if anything, will you be doing differently than Captain Foss?

Competing for the Mayor’s Cup in 2019

TK: Well, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. John has done an incredible job of creating a unique experience for all of our guests, and everybody really enjoys how things are done on the American Eagle. I do not see any seismic shifts coming down the pike.

I also really just want to make sure that we utilize all the tools we have at our disposal to reach more people who want to come sailing, and broaden our scope to welcome more people who don’t know about us yet. We want to keep the same core values so that we don’t alienate the people who have come to enjoy what we do and have been sailing with us for, gosh, so, so long.

MS: You belong to a different generation than John Foss, and marketing these businesses has changed enormously over the time that John’s been running the boat. Will there be changes in the way that you do your marketing?

TK: Yeah. Obviously, social media has really come more and more into the scope of usability, and into the mainstream consciousness. We have our newsletters that we put out, which people really enjoy. And we have our social media accounts. Instagram is one we’re going to utilize a little bit better. I think there’s ways we can grow healthily in good directions, and ways that we really need to maintain.

MS: Looking at your website, it seems like we’ll continue to see American Eagle come to Gloucester for the festival.

TK: I’m from Gloucester. If I didn’t bring her back here, 8

I think that would be... just not right.

MS: Plus, American Eagle has had quite a run of success in the Mayor’s Cup race over the years.

TK: Indeed. Well, we’ll see if we can keep that going.

MS: What makes her such a great competitor? Her bald-headed rig is deceptively simple-looking — there’s not a lot to it — but that is a very big mainsail!

TK: It is very big. We spend a lot of time, when we are racing, shifting those draft centers around in the main, and also the fore too, with the sheets and the jiggers to make sure our slots and transitions are right were they need to be.

But yes, it’s a very big sail.

We really just spend a lot of time trimming and trimming some more. Interestingly, though, she’s a bit narrow, 19 foot at the beam, which is three or four feet thinner than she kind of should be. So that helps her slip along a bit easier. A big part of her success of course is John, and part of it is she’s just a very good sailing hull.

It’s really interesting to look at her hull through the lens of the progression of fishing schooners of that final era, because they were inevitably moving towards power, and the vessels kept getting fuller and PHOTO: GEORGE BEKRIS fuller running forward for hold space and to make room for the bigger engines. She is unique in that she holds onto her run way back aft, but midships, she’s starting to look more and more like the Eastern rig draggers of the following decade.

MS: Tyler, the North End Shipyard is an important component in the continued success of the fleet, a critical resource for everybody up there. John Foss stepping aside from the American Eagle, Doug and Linda Lee stepping aside from Heritage — how does that change things at the Shipyard? What does the future look like there?

TK: Well, that’s a very good question. It is a very special resource to have to take care of all these amazing vessels and it has created so many talented people and given them the tools to do very amazing things. It’s doesn’t seem like the

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Lees or John are disappearing in the immediate future; they still seemingly love to be a part of it, in many ways. The future looks very bright. With all the skilled people that are taking over these vessels, alongside the generation that took their vessels over, 10, 15 years ago, we have really made wonderful strides in keeping this business alive and doing so well. So I think there’s plenty of will and reason to keep things going just the way they should be going.

MS: Most of the boats in the fleet have changed hands since we started publishing the magazine eight years ago, which is pretty amazing. And now Capt. Ray Williamson is looking to sell his boats. But it’s not like outsiders bought their way into the windjammer fleet. The new owners are people who were captains and mates and had previously worked on the boats, and are now moving up into ownership roles. And you all know each other.

TK: Yeah, we certainly do.

MS: I’m sure not everybody is best friends with everybody else, but for cooperative projects like the Maine Windjammer Association or the North End Shipyard, how important is it that you know each other, that you all understand the business, that you grew up in the business?

TK: Well, I think it’s invaluable, because we’re all the same passionate people who love this way of life. So there is

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no sense in really butting heads or arguing, because we’re all on the same team. And we are much stronger together than we would be apart, because there’s only a handful of these boats left. So we have to stick together.

MS: When you guys do have disagreements, what is there to disagree about?

TK: There’s different models to what we do. There’s different levels of excellence. There’s different levels of service that we offer to our guests. If you took a look at the history of this industry, it started very, very differently. It was hammocks and very, very simple food, and the lifestyle onboard was more akin to the real coastermen that worked them 100 or so years ago.

And since then everyone’s kind of come up with their own niche to bring people onto their own vessels in their own specific ways, which is wonderful. But I think some people don’t want that trueness of the original recipe to be lost, and they don’t want that to become the expectation. So there’s plenty of stuff people can grumble about, but it is not louder than the intrinsic goodness of what we all do.

MS: In the spectrum between the more rustic boats and the Ladona, which is marketed as a more upscale option, where does American Eagle fit in?

TK: I think that we are firmly in the middle. We have our niche, which is the longer trips that we do. We go up to Canada, we come down to Gloucester, and everywhere in between. And a little more adventureoriented, because with our inboard engine and with our short rig, we can get to places in a timely fashion and get farther away than people who have other types of power can.

We’re not trying to be high-end and we’re not trying to be the economy option. I think we have a very nice placement in the spectrum of this industry.

MS: So, is John planning to ghost you guys, or is there still a chance that we might see him stepping on as a relief skipper now and then?

TK: If you look at our schedule closely, there’s asterisks next to about five trips this coming season.

Those are trips that Capt. John will be joining us on.

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MS: Brilliant! And will he be sailing as the captain, or is he just coming to spend time with passengers who relate to him personally?

TK: I think he can do whatever he pleases.

MS: Yeah. He’s John Foss, right?

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TK: He most certainly is. ❂

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Back to Basics

An earlier attempt to re-boot the Isaac Evans was derailed by COVID. Now, new owners, a new home port, and a new business plan are on tap for this windjamming veteran Josh Jacques and Jessica Kelley have purchased the Isaac H. Evans, originally the Boyd N. Sheppard, along with their partner Andy Tyska of the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard.

The schooner was built in New Jersey in 1886 for the thenlucrative oyster fishery. She was converted to windjamming in the early 1970s by Captains Doug and Linda Lee, and has sailed under several owners since.

Marlinspike spoke to Jess shortly before Thanksgiving.

Marlinspike: Jess, tell us about yourself and how you ended up in the windjammer business.

Jess: So there’s three of us that are partners in the Isaac H. Evans right now: myself, my fiance and partner Josh, and our business partner, Andy Tyska. We’ve all been in the boat business for some time now, all of us to different degrees.

Josh and I met on Lynx and then came to Maine for the 10

summer to wind-jam on different boats. But upon hearing that the Boyd N. Sheppard was about to be foreclosed on, Josh and I investigated it — a little bit too much, I guess you could say!

Andy is a big person in wooden boat preservation. He’s native to Rhode Island, but he just purchased the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard a few years ago, he’s a big preservationist.

We’re all passionate about these wonderful historic vessels.

And the three of us devised a plan, once we heard that she was going to go under, because she’s from 1886. She’s one of the older ones surviving. So we just made a plan to get her out of her poor position with the bank and thankfully it all went through.

MS: Did Andy come to you guys, or did you guys find out that the Evans was in trouble and go to Andy? How did that all come together?

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Jess: Josh was meant to be the mate on schooner Heritage and the Evans’ winter home is rafted-up to the Heritage at North End Shipyard. So when Josh was working on board, there were people in the shipyard who knew what was going on with her. So Josh found out and that’s where it all started.

MS: Three and a half years ago [see Marlinspike #19] we talked at length with Katie and Adam McKinlay, who were also veterans of the windjammer business. They had just purchased the Evans from Captain Brenda Thomas for a dollar.

McKinlays, or from the bank?

Jess: We were able to buy it from the McKinlays, with the bank heavily involved.

MS: Got it. So, I assume Andy’s not going to be on the boat. That’s going to come down to you and Josh, right?

Jess: Josh and I are co-captains of the Evans. I spend most of the time in the yawl boat, so that’s my boat and this is Josh’s boat! But we are co-captaining her, with Josh being the primary captain.

Jess: Yeah.

MS: And who’s going to cook?

MS: During the offseason, the Evans had come loose in a storm and crushed one of the yawls. The Evans had some damage, and it done some damage to the Heritage. Brenda had been trying to pass the schooner on for a while, at that point, and after the storm, Adam and Katie happened to be on the spot, and the price was right…

Jess: We aren’t windjamming, actually.

MS: You’re going to stick with the day-sail business plan?

Jess: Yes. We’ll be offering public and private charters and day sails and some other special sails. And we’ve actually taken the boat to Boothbay Harbor, Jess: Yeah, I know. which is where she hails Adam and Katie did a out of now. really wonderful job.

Anyone coming on They put on a whole board should know that SPENCER WHITEHOUSE new bow on her, so that they’re actively helping was huge. That was a big The engineless EVANS under her fore and jib, us to preserve the Evans. project. They did a really That’s our mission. She’s with an assist from her yawl boat great job with that.

1886, She’s an older vessel, so the projects are MS: They knew going in that the boat needed major never ending. Anybody that owns a wooden boat knows work. They secured a loan from one of the banks. They had that, especially the older ones. So it’s no surprise that she big plans to re-name and re-brand the schooner, using its needs some work to keep going, and that’s the mission that original name, Boyd N. Sheppard. Do you have a sense of the three of us are on: to get those funds by whatever means what went wrong? Was it COVID? possible, to keep her alive and keep her sailing.

Jess: The Sheppard, she didn’t go out for her 2020 season.

They would’ve made it, I think, if it weren’t for COVID. But because they had to sit out a season so early in their tenure, it wasn’t ideal.

MS: I’m surprised that the bank would yank out the rug from somebody they had just given a loan to. Especially with all those government programs designed to help people weather the storm. Did you buy the boat from the

MS: Well, if your boat is 135 years old, you couldn’t have a better partner than a guy who owns a boatyard.

Jess: Oh, exactly. And he’s so passionate about keeping these boats alive. I mean Ernestina, that’s been a huge project. So the three of us, I think we make a pretty good team.

MS: What is the business plan going forward? The pivot away from windjammers to day sails, was that about

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some time. Her COI was facing being taken away; luckily we had some extensions in place from COVID. As soon as we closed, we hauled her immediately and were able to keep her COI, so she still has that for overnights, and we will maintain that.

It’s important for her to keep that.

She’s grandfathered into a lot of the Subchapter T regs.

We won’t be windjamming. Her below-decks just isn’t fit out to be competitive with the other windjammers. She’s been out of the overnight trade for a couple years, so she needs some more work, and that’s on the list.

We brought her to Boothbay just for Windjammer Days, initially, this The EVANS has returned to her earlier paint scheme past summer. And then we ended up serendipitously putting together some your COI? Was it about the market that you see in day sails. We did a charter, and that prompted us to rethink Boothbay Harbor? our original business plan of getting her back into the overnight business.

Jess: We had intentions of windjamming when we first Eventually we decided it would be better for her to do bought her, but she hadn’t been used for overnights in quite something that didn’t require overnights. We’re going to do day sails and private charters, and I think that’s what she’s best suited for right now.

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MS: Tell me more about what kind of shape she’s in, what work she needs at this point.

Jess: For 1886, she’s in good shape. Right now, the big projects we’re facing have to do with her centerboard log, in that area that’s seen a lot of use. And those centerboard logs, in these coastal ships, are notorious for just needing upkeep.

So that’s the bigger project we’re looking at right now.

She’s going to need a new deck down the line. That’s going to expose some beams and just the typical stuff.

I mean, it’s nothing crazy. It’s everything we anticipated when we bought the boat, and did our homework, and talked to the shipwrights that had eyes on her over the years.

I’d say the centerboard is probably the bigger project we’ve got in the near future.

MS: Where would you like to be in four, five, six, years with this boat? In terms of the condition of the boat and the business plan that you might be running.

Jess: We’d love to take on the bigger structural components, like the centerboard log that I just named. And with that, it would be great to tackle the keel, give her a new bottom. That’s hopefully the first project we. And then I think the deck would be next.

The bow is completely new. Her stern post is pretty new.

I think the transom would probably come after that. The

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transom was cut so that she could stay under a hundred feet overall, to adhere to those T-boat rules. So it’d be nice to get a nice high transom that she used to have back in the 19th century on her. So those are the bigger projects we’re looking at over the next five to six years, I’d say.

MS: And she’s currently at Boothbay Harbor?

Jess: She is, yep, at the public dock. She’s got half of her winter cover on, plastic’s going on this week, so then she’ll be totally wrapped up and ready for winter.

MS: I assume you’ll be working all through the winter? When do you hope to get started in the spring?

Josh and Jess hold down the stem; good times with the random orbital sander

Jess: Yeah, absolutely. We are going to be doing our first sail on Memorial Day weekend. We’re really excited for that. But we’ve got a ton of work to keep us busy. She’s going to get all new paint, varnish, block work, just all the fun stuff.

MS: What’s the impact of the Evans leaving the North End Shipyard and going to Boothbay Harbor? Do they still have the critical mass that they need at North End Shipyard to keep that operation up and running? I know that’s a vital component in the windjammer industry, having that yard available to the windjammers.

Jess: Yeah, absolutely. They’re doing their thing, North End, and they’re great. John [Foss], Doug and Linda [Lee] were so, so helpful in the very early days with Josh and I and Andy purchasing the boat. They all have so much history with her, they’re all great, and they’re doing great.

MS: What do you and Josh and Andy hope to bring to midcoast Maine that’s not already being done?

Jess: I mean, we just want to see these boats survive. That’s what we’re passionate about. And that’s how we got here, seeing that there was the potential for one to be taken away.

Our mission is to just do whatever it takes to keep them going, and I think that’s what everyone’s doing. So it’s nice to be a part of a community that’s really passionate about that. And I think it’s a cool niche that Maine has. Excited to be here! b For more information on the Evans, visit www.schoonerisaachevans.com.

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a Shipyard for Niagara After a long delay due to COVID, the brig Niagara was finally able to head to Cleveland’s Great Lakes Shipyard this fall to take care of business

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Traditional tools such as this adze are still in use to maintain NIAGARA

Marlinspike spoke to Capt. Billy Sabatini, Executive Director of the Flagship Niagara League, in mid-November.

important that they do get credit, because this would not have been possible without their funding. And they are the ones that own the ship!

Marlinspike: How’s it going in Cleveland?

Billy Sabatini: It’s going all right. They’ve stopped taking stuff off the ship and started putting it back on!

MS: This shipyard’s been a long time coming, right?

BS: We haven’t been there since 2016.

MS: We’ve just had the most amazing two-week stretch of weather in New England. I hope you got some of that.

BS: We have. It’s really been phenomenal. The last two weeks of October were pretty brutal here. I kind of wished we had kept Lettie [the 1893 fishing schooner Lettie G. Howard, on loan from South Street Seaport] sailing into November instead. But Lettie’s all done for the season and the winter cover is pretty much finished. Having excellent weather has been really, really helpful to help us get the work done we want to get done.

And I have to mention that this shipyard is being funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, through the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. It’s very

MS: I was watching a local TV interview that you did, and you used the word “shocking” to describe seeing Niagara out of the water for the first time in forever.

BS: I think it’s shocking to anybody the first time they see that ship out of the water. It is just a really impressive thing to see, because Niagara is relatively low to the water.

The big bulwarks are there, but the gunports are right down the deck. And so there’s a lot of ship underneath her. And when you first get to see just how big Niagara is, it truly is amazing. Like I said, in the interview, it was pretty shocking!

I like giving people the opportunity to see the ship. And I think it helps crew to understand what the underwater portion of the ship looks like, whether you’re doing it as a ship handler or even as a deckhand, just understanding the forces that are happening above you and how it’s affecting what the ship looks like underneath you.

MS: I thought maybe you were referring to outrageous bottom growth, or damage to the planking.

BS: No. I meant just the visual, or just being able to see

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view that you were replacing four planks a day, which is a pretty amazing pace. Were these planks that you had identified that there were problems with, before you got to the yard? You also mentioned that the boat had experienced some damage sitting at the dock and banging against whatever it is, camels or fenders. I don’t know what your docking situation looks like in Erie.

NIAGARA’s transom

Niagara fully. What does her whole shape look like? How deep is her keel? How big is her keel? Where is the turn of the bilge? Is it a round bottom? Knowing these things really helps when you’re sailing the ship.

MS: So do you think that the crew is able to connect what they see to the sailing characteristics of the brig?

BS: I think it’s always a pretty big eye-opener to see the ship, to see the bottom of the ship. I kind of feel that way about any ship, though, once you get it out of the water.

Then there’s different components to that too. When we’re looking at ships, we’re in the dock, we’re always looking down on them, for the most part, unless it’s a floating dock, then you might look up a little bit. And when you’re standing beside a ship, you’re looking up, you’re looking at it from a perspective you never get, as if you’re standing on the bottom of the lake, and looking up at the ship as if you were scuba diving. And it’s just such a unique perspective. And I think it always takes people’s breath away.

BS: No. We didn’t know what was going to be wrong until we got to the yard. We had our suspicions, of course. As with Lettie, we noticed a pattern of where the ship was worn more. And we found that it was the same type of pattern on Niagara. The side of the ship that was up against the dock... I’m not an expert in these things. But all I can figure is that the washing-machine activity of the water between the hull and the dock was actually causing damage to at least the seams. In Lettie, we had to re-caulk the majority of the wind-and-water line on the side that was tied to the dock.

And in Niagara, we had similar issues, where the side that was tied to the dock had ended up having more seams that needed to be reefed out and re-caulked and more planks that had to be replaced. But the biggest thing is just sitting at the dock. Ships do not do well when they don’t move.

And I think that came into stark relief here as Niagara sat for two years without getting underway even once. And the amount of damage that was done to the ship — not damage, but deterioration — that we found, far exceeded any other yard period that we’ve had. And I really believe that not sailing for two years was a big reason for that.

MS: What does the dock look like, that Niagara is tied up to?

MS: What does she draw?

BS: About 11, 11 and a half feet.

MS: And has she got any drag to her? Or is it 11 pretty much consistently?

BS: It’s pretty consistent the whole way. I mean, we’re 9 1/2 forward, maximum 11 1/2 aft, but that keel runs the entire length of the ship.

MS: You were saying in that same inter16

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BS: It’s a solid dock that goes straight down. And so because of that, the water’s constantly bouncing between the hull and that dock wall.

And we breast the ship off too. So the ship isn’t hard up against fenders, alongside the dock. There is actually no fender contact. We haul the ship off and the fenders stay on the dock. If it blows really, really hard, they’ll make contact with the fenders, but we have the ship breasted off so that there is no contact with the dock.

MS: And you’re able to do that by what, running lines to the other side of the vessel?

BS: Yes. Our dock is such that we can run lines across to the other side. It’s almost like a slip, but it’s a really, really big slip. We have Lettie tied up on one side and we have Niagara tied up on the other. And we send offshore lines out to haul the ship away from the walls, so that we don’t have that constant contact.

more deckhand-type people that can assist them and keep them going.

MS: And where did you find the people that you hired?

BS: All over the country. I know that our shipwright made many, many phone calls all around the country to find the shipwrights. And we did the same, calling everybody we know to help to get some crew. And in the end, we got enough people to get the job done, but it took months. I mean, we started calling people back in July.

MS: Was there ever a point when you thought — I mean, everyone’s having difficulty hiring now — that you weren’t going to get a crew together?

BS: Yes. Absolutely.

MS: Yikes. How long was there between the crew coming together and the boat being hauled out?

MS: Getting back to the shipyard period — replacing four planks a day, are you happy with that level of production? That seems amazing.

BS: Yeah. It’s pretty good. You remember, Niagara’s planks are 3 inches thick, 27 feet long, and 8 to 12 inches wide. So we have a 30-foot steam box that we use. Really what’s limiting us is our tools. If we had more clamps or a bigger steam box, we could probably go a little bit faster. You can put multiple planks in the box. And then we have teams working to get everything going. We have 15 people working on a yard right now.

BS: The last person arrived yesterday.

MS: [Laughs] Okay. And you say you’re already putting things back on the boat?

BS: Yeah. We have our full complement and now it’s a matter of just getting the ship put back together and getting her back in the water and enjoying a nice cold ride back from Cleveland.

MS: Do you think you’ll get to everything on your work list?

MS: Are these all your own people? Or is the shipyard providing some people?

BS: We’ll get to everything to get the ship safely back in

BS: We’ve hired all the people ourselves.

MS: And how many of them are full-time Niagara crew and how many are temporary?

BS: The captain, shipwright and one of the crew that are part of our full-time crew.

Everybody else was hired for this job.

Some are experienced boatbuilders and some are laborers.

We brought in people that are more tall ships crew, that are there to assist the shipwrights as they’re working. That was the goal, to get the shipwrights that have the skilled labor and get

NIAGARA has 3” planking over double sawn frames

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Hanging a new plank at the Great Lakes Shipyard

the water, but the work list is going to continue well past getting back to Erie. We have lots of winter maintenance projects to keep going.

MS: Obviously, COVID delayed your shipyard period, but I’m sure that’s only one of many ways that you and your operations were impacted by the pandemic. So how are you doing in other respects?

MS: I assume that the Coast Guard has visited you.

BS: Oh, yeah. We have a great relationship with the Coast Guard in Cleveland.

MS: They must be as gobsmacked as anybody when they see Niagara.

BS: Yeah. I mean, everybody is. It really is an impressive thing. Many of the Coast Guard personnel though, in Cleveland, we’ve been working with them for many years. So it might sound kind of strange, but they’re used to Niagara.

MS: That’s interesting, because here on the East Coast we’ll see the same inspection team for three to five years and then bam! They all get re-assigned and we start over with a bunch of new folks.

BS: Oh, we’ve been very lucky to have many of the same inspectors yard period after yard period. And even with the inspectors that were coming in to do the underway portion, for many years we had the same inspectors. So we’ve been able to develop a relationship. And I think it’s a very positive relationship.

BS: I mean, we weren’t able to hire a crew at all in 2020.

That’s something that we never thought could ever happen.

I’ve been with Niagara since 2005. And my goal every single year since I started working here was to make sure that Niagara was going to go sailing. And to have to make that decision that Niagara would not sail in 2020 was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make. So yeah, it affected us.

This year, being able to get Lettie out really was not just good for us as an organization, it was good for our community. Erie is used to having a tall ship sailing. And with Niagara not being able to get underway, having Lettie here, being tied up right downtown, out in the bay every single day, and doing a sunset sail every night... Lettie became the backdrop of Erie’s bayfront and has been since 2018. But this year, people really were excited to have that tall-ship presence on our bayfront again.

MS: What kind of signals is the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania giving you now? What kind of signals are you getting from the people who would normally fill up your programs in the summer?

BS: So that’s two different questions! We have gotten

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approval from the Commonwealth to sail Niagara in 2022.

So that’s very exciting. We actually put out a press release last week about that. It didn’t get picked up though, because part of that press release was also that we were talking about shipyard and everybody in Erie was interested in what’s going on at the shipyard.

BS: Yes. We do have an idea of what programs we’re going to be doing all throughout next summer. We have longstanding relationships with many schools, both locally and nationally. And we also have affiliations with other programs and things that haven’t happened since 2019. But it’s looking like there is a demand and we’re looking forward to getting trainees sailing on Niagara again.

MS: Now, is there demand?

MS: And the cherry on top of the sundae — or maybe the straw that broke the camel’s back — is that there’s going to be a Tall Ships Challenge event on the Great Lakes this summer. Are you going to be able to fit everything in?

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BS: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, we’ve always been able to do both. Niagara doesn’t necessarily do a lot of the day-sail type programming. We’ve almost never done it in May. And school gets out first week in June here. So we’re normally doing all of our high school and college based programming all throughout the summer alongside, and with, and part of the Tall Ships Challenge series. And then the end of the summer, we’ll be back here in Erie for Tall Ships Erie.

MS: So you’re three weeks into your shipyard now, and still hoping to return to Erie by midDecember?

BS: Yeah. I mean, I’m very happy and proud of the work that the crew’s doing out in Cleveland. I’ve been there for every yard period since 2006, and now with my role as executive director... the people out there are Adam Stanisz, our shipwright, and the captain, Chris Cusson.

So I’m not out there every day, which is definitely unique for me.

I’m in Erie primarily. I go out maybe once a week just to see what’s going on and get an update, but I’ve stayed in Erie. I feel the best place for me is to not be in their way.

But I can’t say enough about the crew and how great of a job they’re doing... and also our community, Erie, Northwest Pennsylvania, and the Great Lakes: people all over the country really have been supporting Niagara throughout the pandemic. The people that care about Niagara and want to make sure that she’s still sailing, that’s how we were able to make it through this.

We’re very thankful that the people who care have continued to support us, even though the ship wasn’t sailing. We’ll make sure we get out there next year and take everybody sailing! b For more on the Flagship Niagara League, their boats and programs, visit www.sailfnl.org.

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When the

CHALLENGE is a

CHALLENGE

Marlinspike chats with Tall Ships events maven Erin Short about planning Tall Ship festivals and conferences during a pandemic

PHOTO: JOHN LINCOURT

Announcements of this summer’s Tall Ships Challenge ports and visiting ships have been delayed this year due to COVID-related planning concerns, but a Thanksgiving-weekend press release finally parted the veil just 72 hours after the accompanying interview.

One of the five ports included in this summer's Great Lakes Challenge will be Two Harbors, Minnesota, on Lake Superior.

The “Festival of Sail Lake Superior” will take place August 4-7 and promises “at least a dozen ships — including an impressive new visitor from Seville, Spain.”

The venue had to change from Duluth to Two Harbors, said festival producer Craig Samborski, because of port construction.

Vessels committed to the festival include Niagara, Pride of Baltimore II, Inland Seas, Utopia, St. Lawrence II, Gerhard Folgero, Abbey Road, Charley, and Perception.

The “impressive new visitor” will be the Nao Trinidad replica. The original Trinidad was the flagship for Ferdinand Magellan's 1519 circumnavigation.

Marlinspike: Erin, the job market’s very strong. You do not have to bang your head against the wall trying to set up a series of tall ships events — and an in-person conference — during a pandemic. Maybe this is your time to change careers!

Erin Short: [Laughs] You’d miss me too much.

MS: Tell us what you can about the Tall Ships Challenge on the Great Lakes in 2022.

ES: We are going forward with it. We are really excited about it. We have three US ports and two Canadian ports 22

that are returning Host Port Partners. We are still finalizing two of the contracts, which is why I’m being vague, but these are all ports or port organizers who have hosted the Tall Ships before, which is a good thing.

With everything being so up in the air, it’s nice to work with a group who have done this before, who know what works, who know what can be tweaked, so that’s really good.

For the most part, this event is concentrating on the Great Lakes community of tall ships, with the exception of one or two vessels from the Atlantic coast who we consider ‘friends of the family’ and who’ve been to the Great Lakes before. So, we’re highlighting our Great Lakes vessels: they’re out there sailing, there are kids on board, they are excited to visit the ports and talk about their programs, and the ports are eager to host them.

I think a lot of people are looking forward to something that is familiar, and having Tall Ships at the dock is very familiar, especially in the Great Lakes. I do think the interest is there from the general public, which is really good. Many of the ports have returning sponsors, which is awesome.

Some of the vessels are going further than they’ve gone before. Some are even venturing up into Lake Superior, which isn’t part of their normal program, but they recognize that things are a little different now, so they’re shaking up their programming as well.

MS: When you say Lake Superior, you’re kind of giving something away there, aren’t you?

ES: [Laughs] Yes… but it’s not what you think! We have ports in the St. Lawrence Seaway, Lake Erie, Georgian Bay, and Lake Superior. But, officially, we won’t be announcing the ports and what ships are going where probably until January. With COVID, things just take a little bit longer to plan. We’re trying to make this as safe as possible for the visiting public, and for the crews on the vessels, so we’ve been working closely with our security partners and port partners to make sure that we’re consistent between all of the ports. It just takes more planning than normal.

MS: The border between the US and Canada just reopened. Was that an issue? Were ports and vessels waiting to find out how and when that was going to happen?

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ES: Absolutely. That was a big relief. We’ve been slowly moving forward with everything, and I think it’ll start moving faster now that booster shots have been approved, the borders are open, and our COVID plans have taken shape.

MS: Over the years, I’ve got a good sense from talking to you about the regular challenges of putting together a Tall Ships Challenge, but what are the challenges specific to this time, to this era of COVID? ES: One thing we did notice was that sponsors were looking to invest money in more health or social services, as opposed to events, and some ports decided not to come back because their sponsors had invested their money elsewhere.

That is completely understandable, and it’s amazing that companies and organizations were able to provide for their community in that way. For the ports that are working with us, their sponsors also saw the value also in bringing people down to the waterfront, celebrating their community, and investing in local businesses. It was a really mixed bag as to who came back and who didn’t.

We only have five ports this summer, down from our normal 15, so there’s a little bit more breathing space now between the ports. Ships are actually able to sail and do some sail training; they don’t have to leave on Monday and be in the next port by Thursday. Instead, they can make stops along the way, explore a little bit more and just sail their ships in the Great Lakes. In past years, it was so go-go-go that we weren’t really able to have those options.

MS: Some boats might prefer the tight scheduling, because unscheduled time throws them on their own

resources, to plan out their time between ports, to come up with ways to generate revenue during what is a very short season up here.

ES: I’ve had meetings with the ports and with all the ships. Everyone’s cautiously optimistic and getting creative.

We have a shoreside program that we’re excited about, created by Nic Hardisty, our program manager/historian. He’s working with local historians, highlighting indigenous cultures and Black maritime history, specifically the Maritime Underground Railroad.

I get chills even just talking about it. The goal of the underground railroad was to escape slavery by making your way to Canada. Because we have US and Canadian ports, we’re able to close that circle by talking about not just the escape routes from slavery in the South, and avoiding Fugitive Slave Laws in the North, but also arriving in Canada — and then what? Nic will be exploring these stories during the summer.

MS: Are you months behind where you would normally be in your planning for a Tall Ships Challenge?

ES: Normally we’d have had the ports signed over the summer, so from the port side, we’re a little late, but from the ship side, we’re okay. The nice thing is that we have returning ports and they have, for the most part, returning sponsors and vessels for whom this is not their first rodeo. If this was a 15-port series where half of the ports were new, or we were bringing ships in from Europe, then I’d be nervous.

I feel good because of all the experience we have. I know we’ll start feeling the pressure in January! But right now, we’re okay.

MS: What are the concerns of the vessels that are participating? What do you hear from them?

ES: All of the ships require their crew to be vaccinated. No [visitors] allowed down below decks, and it’s an outdoor event. Some of the ships do require masks on board regardless, but for the most part, I think it’s just making sure that we have a plan in place, and we do.

For the most part, the ships have been pretty flexible, knowing that we want to work with them and we’re Continued on page 26

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EUROPA is a steel-hulled barque sailing under the Dutch flag. Built in 1911 in Hamburg, she was a lightship on the river Elbe for six decades. During the 1980s she was brought to the Netherlands, renovated and re-rigged.

Since 2000, EUROPA has visited all seven continents. From December to March, she conducts expeditions to the Antarctic Peninsula from Ushuaia, Argentina.

Photo by J. P. Morales

CHALLENGE, continued from page 23

snowed in.

not just dictating what needs to happen. During our ship meetings, COVID protocol was a major part of the discussion, and we had minimal questions, but I’m sure more will come up as it evolves. That’s the thing: we’re staying flexible, we’re evolving. We just want to make sure everyone feels safe, and a large part of that has to do with the crew being vaccinated.

MS: Let’s switch gears and talk about the Tall Ships America conference, which is returning as an inperson event after a oneyear hiatus. How is this conference going to be different from 2019, which was the last in-person conference, and all the years before?

ES: [Laughs] …bring sleds or something!

MS: I hope the bar at the Hampton Inn is ready for us!

But back to the Challenge. I would think that the stakes are high these days to show that we can successfully pull off these Tall Ships events, because with the [stumbles over the word] Semisesquicentennial coming up, that could mean a lot of events, on multiple coasts — IF we prove that we can pull this off in the COVID era. Do you feel pressure?

ES: Not until you mentioned it. [Laughs] No, I don’t think so.

We’ve been doing these events for years. COVID has forced us outside of our box in a way, which is a ES: We’ve restructured good thing. We’ve been the schedule to allow more doing it the same way for networking and discussion the last 20 years and the times. Each day has a difpandemic forced us to ferent theme, with the overrethink what these events arching theme of Building can look like, and to create Our Community. a business model for the Each day, we’ll have an future. all-hands muster to examThe basics are still ine a case study, and then going to be the same — the afternoon will be deep ships show up at a dock, dives and sessions that build there’ll be an opportunity PRIDE II has been a frequent visitor off of that case study. In the for kids to sail on board— to the Great Lakes mornings, we’ll have workbut there’s more shoreside shops. They’re a bit more programming we can do. hands-on. The exact content for the conference is still being Nowadays, there’s a growing awareness of the BIPOC, the hammered out, and I encourage people to go to the Tall Black Indigenous People of Color, experience and what these Ships America website and check out the agenda as we get events mean to that segment of the population, who may closer to February 8. view the Tall Ships very differently than white people do.

Everyone has been experiencing this interest in diversity, MS: Normally, the conference is held in one of the port equity, and inclusion. How can we include that in the Tall cities for the upcoming summer’s Challenge, right? But Ships Challenge? How do we teach that history? How do you’ve broken with that tradition the last couple of times. we reframe what the Tall Ships mean so that they are meaningful to everyone in the port, and not just a certain segment ES: You’re right, we have kind of broken from that. After of the population? a few years of getting snowed in a hotel while in a northern port city, we decided maybe we’ll start going somewhere a MS: If Tall Ships America is going to do a deep dive little warmer… except for this year! We’re at Massachusetts into historical interpretation, you may find that you are playMaritime Academy in Buzzard’s Bay, so keep your fingers ing to different audiences in California and New England crossed that we don’t get snowed in. Honestly, even if we do, than you are in the Great Lakes and on the Gulf Coast.

I don’t mind…

ES: You’re absolutely right, and I don’t have an answer MS: There’s not a lot to do there. You might as well be for that, but it is something Nic is really passionate about, 26

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and that [Tall Ships Executive Director] Kris Von Wald really wants us to focus on. That, and workforce development.

The maritime community is aging out, and it is a very white community, so one of our challenges is to open up Tall Ships, and the entire maritime community, to a wider audience. I think that we can do that through the Tall Ships Challenge by bringing, not just Tall Ships to the dock, but working vessels, tugs, fireboats… It’s not necessarily about learning to sail, there’s this whole amazing wonderful community ... not community, but this amazing ... what’s the word?

participating in the Tall Ships Challenge, and the general excitement in the area that comes along with it, it creates more opportunities. I think that vessels still look forward to these events — I wouldn’t say rely on them — but look forward to them.

MS: Are there still appearance fees in this post-COVID world?

ES: They’re still there. They’re still happening, ships still get paid to participate in the Tall Ships Challenge. It’s been pretty steady, pretty consistent.

MS: Career opportunities?

ES: Exactly! And it’s not just about sailing. By broadening what the Tall Ships Challenge is and bringing in the DEI aspect of it, bringing in the workforce development aspect of it, bringing in the maritime careers aspect of it, we have an opportunity going forward to expand what the Tall Ships Challenge is all about.

MS: Some of your member vessels used to hold their breath waiting for Tall Ships events to come around to their neighborhoods, because those events represented a major revenue bump for them. Do you get a sense that vessels still feel that way?

ES: I do. Part of that, too, is that I know some vessels participate because it’s one less thing for them to have to stress about…

MS: You’re setting up their summer schedule for them.

ES: Exactly. It’s guaranteed money for the summer, as opposed to having to go out and chase it on their own. By

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MS: Has there been a change in the vessels that people are willing to buy tickets for and are interested in?

ES: No, I don’t think so. Next summer, a lot of these ships will be familiar to the Great Lakes ports, but still, there is value to having the crews out there interacting with the public. But I think that people are so eager to do something that seems familiar — and to get the kids out of the house — I think it’ll be a really positive year in terms of attendance.

MS: As to the Big Anniversary, America 250… what would you say to port cities and to your member vessels about the potential for Tall Ships events in those years?

ES: We have a lot planned. We want to have Tall Ships events on every coast, and they are all going to look a little different, not all Tall Ships Challenge-type events, but maybe Tall Ships festivals, and we’re planning to make it as diverse as we can in terms of events and ships.

So our member vessels might ask themselves: how far do we want to go? Where do we want to go? Just figure out where you want to go, what you want to do, how you want to be involved. We are looking to kick things off in the Great Lakes in 2025. It’ll be a big year in the Lakes, with the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal and the 250th anniversary of the US Navy. The Great Lakes series will kick off a year-long celebration with tall ships events in the Gulf Coast, Atlantic Coast and Pacific Coast.

If ports or ships are interested, feel free to contact me. I’m happy to talk about it in more detail as I know it. I know it’s only 2021, but I have a feeling that this is really going to sneak up on us! b

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Transition Time for Maine’s First Ship With Launch Day looming after ten long years, MFS has hired its first Executive Director to take the Bath-based non-profit to the next level Orman Hines, President of Maine’s First Ship, spoke to Marlinspike recently about making the transition from a decadelong build to actively operating their new ship.

Marlinspike: We’ve been publishing the magazine for eight years now, and we’ve seen several new ships get launched and come online. I’ve noticed some organizations struggled with the transition from the building phase to the operating phase.

keel… but the only person who actually gets paid has been the caulker.

MS: When you’re building a boat, it’s an easy sell when you’re talking to donors, when you’re recruiting volunteers — it’s an exciting thing to be involved in. But when the boat is finished and you transition to operations, and to maintenance of the vessel that you built, it’s a little more difficult sell. There’s not as much sizzle. Are you noticing that?

Orman Hines: Yeah.

Well, we’re probably in that boat, I would guess.

OH: I hear that from various people, but you know what? I hear it the other way, too. But we’re right just north of the bridge in Bath, Maine.

We’ve got a pretty nice site there, right on the Kennebec River. We’ve got pretty good visibility. We’re hoping we’re going to draw people. Bath is becoming more of a tourist area. The Maine Maritime Museum, they draw a lot of

MS: How long has it been since the keel was laid?

OH: It’s been 10 years.

2011.

MS: So you’ve already had plenty of opportunities for leadership roles to evolve, and for key people to slip in and slip out of your build phase.

people.

OH: Yes. We’ve been pretty lucky. We’ve had some great volunteers. Rob Stevens is our master shipwright. So we’ve got a good cadre on the vessel build, and a couple of vice presidents that do a lot. We only have one part-time staffer in the office. Really, the board picks up a lot of the work.

MS: Is anyone getting paid, besides that part-time staffer?

OH: The Coast Guard asked us to hire the caulker; the caulker is basically the only person that’s being paid in the build stage. And we’ve purchased some things, like the lead 28

MS: You plan to operate from the freight shed location, right? Just north of the bridge.

OH: Yep. We’re building a dock, and we’re just waiting for the ramp, actually. It’s hard to get the aluminum for the ramp. So the dock is all built. And we’ll probably keep her on the dock until we finish the rigging and all the safety stuff we’ve got to get onto her over the next year.

Our plan is we’re launching June 24th of next summer.

Then we’ll be rigging for three to six months, and then we’ll be looking for our captain and probably won’t actually sail it for at least six months or more.

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MS: You mentioned tourism, so I assume that you are looking at public sails as a way to generate revenues. Have you thought about the business plan in broad strokes?

You’ve committed to a salary of $50,000-$65,000 for your Executive Director, which is money you’re going to have to come up with somewhere, right?

OH: We figured we’d get the money for the Executive Director all right. It’s hiring a captain and some of the other things we’d like to do. Phase it in over the next three or four years.

We’re actively working on different educational aspects. And we just formed a group the other day in the education committee to look into different methods we can use onboard the ship, like, say, using sea shanties, haul up the sails — working with young people. We have a few good ideas already.

years, and we usually have a dinner or two in the summer, and we haven’t done any of that. But the fundraising in general — as far as our capital campaigns and annual fundraising go — that has been pretty good, actually.

MS: Can people sense the finish line now with Virginia?

OH: The end of the build, at least, yeah.

MS: And it really looks like something now.

OH: Oh, it certainly does. Awes people a little bit, when they come in.

MS: How do people respond to that bust of Rob Stevens on top of the knighthead?

OH: [Laughs] They love it. Maybe we should turn it around so people can see it a little better, but people are pretty awed by it. Rob says it hasn’t got a big enough nose.

MFS volunteers fit the garboard back in 2014

MS: Have you developed any partnerships with public or private schools in the area that might lead to regular programs?

OH: We’ve worked a little bit with a couple schools.

There’s one called Chewonki, a top-notch school we’d like to do more with, and we’ve had students from a private school in Bath. And the local high school, Morris High School, and the different grade schools in the area. They bring students in. Of course with COVID, we had to cut back a little bit on that.

MS: I notice the number one responsibility that you listed when you posted your Executive Director job was development.

OH: Yeah, I think that’s usually the case for the executive director, they need to have some expertise in fundraising. That will take a little bit of the load off of some of the board members.

MS: Even more so these days, with this unpredictable pandemic. If revenue from operations is unpredictable, then revenue from fundraising becomes even more important than ever.

MS: It sounds like you are still in early stages of developing your business plan — you mean to let your new executive director take the lead with that. Tell us a little about Kirstie Truluck.

OH: Well, she’s a local, she’s been associated with a high school and local education and one of the big-time camps up here in Maine. And she’s sailed on schooners down to Camden. And she likes working the outdoors. We feel pretty lucky to have her.

MS: Her education background — does that reflect the board’s interest in developing relationships with local schools? Will that be the centerpiece of the business plan going forward?

OH: Well, that’s one of the things we’re looking for, that and the fact that she has some expertise and done some fundraising with the camp. Fundraising was always an attribute we wanted in our Executive Director. So she’ll bring some new ideas to us, and help us move forward.

MS: Would it be fair to say that your volunteer base, and your donor base, are right there in Maine?

OH: Yeah. We haven’t had our annual dinner last two MarlinspikeMagazine.com

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OH: Pretty much true, but we potentially get a lot of summer visitors. Some are from all over the country, and so we do have quite a few people, particularly down in Jamestown or Virginia area where the captain, James Davies, had a big plantation right at the mouth of James River. So we do have supporters from all over the country. A lot of people come to Maine for vacation, they have summer homes here, whatnot.

They live other places.

MS: Looking at the Kennebec River as a location for public sails, I have to ask you about the Mary E.

OH: Well, we got the diesel engine, and we’re hooking that up. It’s a 175 horsepower V drive, which give us enough to overcome the tide and a little bit of a wind. It’s going to be interesting learning how to do that, I think. Any captain will need some good training and experience.

MS: Speaking of other new boats that have gone through this transition, the Matthew Turner out in Sausalito went with a diesel/electric hybrid propulsion system. That sounded very appealing to me, until I found out that they had spent about a million bucks on it.

OH: We don’t know exactly what happened to the Mary E... and I’m not conversant on what they were doing as far as sailing it, how often they sailed. It was kind of sporadic the first year, but this year it seemed to be going along pretty good, until the accident.

Everybody says that it was a microburst, that’s all I’ve heard.

MS: Do you have any concerns about operating public sails in a bluff, old-fashioned boat like Virginia on a tidal river? Between the bridge, and the current, and the tendency, I’m guessing, of the wind to blow either up or down the river..?

OH: We looked at it a little bit and it was kind of high priced. How much did you say, a million bucks? I don’t think it was quite that, but it was a little out of our reach when we looked at it.

Our naval architect, David Wyman, thinks we should go with a dual electric motor on... I don’t know exactly how he plans on hooking it up on either side of the shaft. He thought that would be the way to go.

We’ve got to respect him, he’s done a great job for us.

Kirstie Truluck became MFS’s first Executive Director beginning in December

OH: Yeah, with the current and everything, it’s always tricky. I haven’t personally had a boat on the river.

My father kept one on the river there, and I know that it’s tricky coming in to the docks and along the river there.

We’ll need somebody who knows their way around the river a little bit, because there’s plenty of ledges and tricky spots in the river. We hope to actually put an electric motor in it at some point to be a good kicker to have going when maneuvering very tight places.

MS: Absolutely. Your captains are going to need some horsepower.

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MS: What does your winter look like and the spring leading up to your launch in June?

OH: Well, finishing up on a new business plan, and how they’re all going to fit together. That’s going to keep us pretty busy.

And we were also purchasing the building. We’re trying to keep that on the quiet side right now. We just got the purchase and sale agreement written up. It’s going to be an ideal spot for us. We want to make it our home, but it’s not cheap process, purchasing any waterfront! ❂ Maine’s First Ship is building a reconstruction of the 1607 pinnace Virginia, the first English ocean-going vessel built in the Americas. Learn more at mfship.org

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❂

❂

Capt. John Eginton delivered his schooner MYSTIC WHALER to Florida this fall as the first stage in the vessel’s sale.

The 21-day delivery (photos at left) was a memorable one.

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Mystic Whaler, a fixture along the New England coast for decades, has been sold. According to the Mystic Whaler facebook page, a California couple purchased the schooner on behalf of the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, where she will be used primarily for education programs.

The 83’ mild-steel schooner departed in October from Mystic Seaport Museum for Fort Lauderdale, where it will be placed aboard a ship for the trip to California.

Captain John Eginton, who captained the ship along with his wife Pat for the past 38 years, kept a blog during the 21-day transit south, and posted this as the finale: “Thirty-eight seasons have passed since I first stepped aboard Mystic Whaler. It has been twenty-seven years since we purchased the abandoned hull from the yard where it had been out of the water for five years.

“I believe we have written a happy chapter in Mystic Whaler’s story. And by ‘we’ I mean hundreds of people.

“Leaving Mystic Whaler is difficult but not sad. What would be sad is if we had written the final chapter in her life’s story. Instead, she is on her way to a bright future and her next chapter. By her appearance, the schooner has not aged. I have.

“In my first years on the schooner passengers would occasionally ask ‘Aren’t you kind of young to be a captain?’

It has been decades since anyone asked me that question.

It’s time for Mystic Whaler to once again have a captain

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who looks too young for the job.

“With my bags on the dock, I went back to the wheel for a final conversation.

“Well, we sure have been through a lot together. Thank you for keeping us all safe. And thank you for the wonderful experiences you have provided to so many thousands of people.

“We gave you our best, and you certainly gave us yours. You have performed nobly in everything we have ever asked you to do. You’re on your way to a bright future. You’re going to be fine. I need to leave you now.

“Thank you.”

Mystic Whaler was built in Florida in 1967 and that year began offering windjammer-style cruises out of Mystic, along with brunch, lunch, dinner and sunset cruises and environmental education programs.

Eginton said he will continue to captain boats at Mystic Seaport. ★ In October, the Ecuadorian Navy training barque Guayas captured a so-called “narco sub” — a homemade low-profile vessel designed to transport illegal narcotics — off the Pacific coast of Colombia.

The 257’ barque was on a training cruise when it spotted the drug-running vessel and made the stop, the Ecuadorian military said.

Three Ecuadorian nationals and one Colombian were taken into custody, but the military did not give any details on what cargo was on board the narco sub, which was pow-

GOTHEBORG

ered by three outboard engines.

Most “narco subs” are actually boats with most of their bulk below the waterline, although more advanced versions show just a hatch and air intakes above the surface. These vessels first emerged in the late 1980s as Colombian drug cartels looked for ways to evade law enforcement patrols in the Caribbean.

No interceptions were made by police until 2006, when the U.S. Coast Guard seized one near Costa Rica. ★ The planned expedition to Asia of the replica vessel Götheborg has been both postponed and extended. The changes came in response to the worldwide pandemic, of course but also to what organizers termed “the great interest

Bandor, Oregon. A challenging coast for sailors for many reasons, particularly the lack of good harbors.

Photo by Dan Parsons.

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in the expedition.”

“The stopover in Stockholm, in August 2021, drew great attention from both business and the public,” said Peter Alexandersson, CEO at SOIC Ship Management.

“In response to that interest and the possibilities it presents, we have decided to extend the expedition and increase the number of harbours visited in Europe. The expedition is primarily expanded with stops in capitals and countries around the Baltic Sea.” Götheborg will sail in Europe during the summer of 2022, winter in the Mediterranean, and continue to Asia in the spring of 2023.

“By extending the expedition we also take into account and manage the insecurities that still exist around the effects of the pandemic, particularly in Asia,” said Alexandersson.

The mission is to promote Swedish-Asian trade relations and use the ship as a platform for Swedish businesses and Swedish innovation.

Götheborg will depart in May 2022, and arrive in Shanghai in September 2023. ★ The Hudson River sloop Clearwater is preparing for a major overhaul “akin to open-heart surgery” this winter: lifting out its mainmast to inspect and restore the portion of the boat’s backbone on which it rests.

This fall, Clearwater will be hauled out in Albany, placed on a barge, and brought to her home port at the Hudson River Maritime Museum in Kingston where shipwrights expect to spend six months on the work, costing the organization upwards of $600,000. 75% of the cost will be reimbursed from a grant from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation.

“This year the sloop will come out of the water early.

Starting the overhaul soon will facilitate completing the project earlier next spring and allow Clearwater to fulfill more of that season’s many sail requests from the region’s schools,” said Board President Steve Stanne.

This winter’s project will include examination and if necessary, repair of the standing rigging. With the mast and rig off the sloop, the chainplates can be removed, allowing replacement of underlying planks as required. The sloop’s transom also needs new planks and frames.

This overhaul is part of a planned series of extensive maintenance projects conducted roughly every five years.

Earlier this month, Clearwater announced the launch of the Century Fund, a board-directed perpetual fund to support the maintenance of the sloop. The fund’s initial fundraising target of $600,000 will cover the cost of this project and provide a steady stream of designated funding into the future.

Launched in 1969 by legendary folk singer and activist Pete Seeger, Clearwater has become a grassroots model for producing positive changes to protect the environment. ★ In December, Salem Maritime National Historic Site plans to re-post the position of Ship Operations Supervisor, i.e. Captain and Supervisor for their three-masted, cold-

Last issue I earned both boos and hisses for reviewing Captain Morgan’s ready-to-serve cocktails.

Back to basics this month, I venture to offer some holiday rum-buying advice: * Avoid black rums and spiced rums (young rum + sugar + flavors = hangovers) and overproof rums (for obvious reasons). * Read the label. Look for rum that has been aged for a specified number of years, at least five and preferably seven to twelve.Avoid “solera system” rums which are a blend of minuscle amounts of aged rum and larger amounts of whatever. * El Dorado makes good rum at fair prices; I love their 12-yo. Doorly’s is a great value if you can get it.

But there are lots of nice rums out there, and any of them is a great way to say “Happy Holidays!” — MR

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for WINDY

Brand new sails. Located Camden, ME. Asking $450,000 Schooner BAY LADY 85’ LOA steel hull launched 1987. COI for 87 + 3.

Located San Francisco, CA. Business purchase also an option. Asking $425,000.

Schooner AMAZING GRACE 58’ LOD ferrocement schooner, built 1991 by McQuiston & Sons in San Diego. New engine, rigging, electronics.

COI for Lakes Bays & Sounds, 33 + 2. Located San Juan, PR. Asking $450,000.

Schooner ALLIANCE Three-masted schooner, 1995, steel hull built by Treworgy.

COI for 49 daysails, 12 overnight. Located Yorktown, VA. Boat and business for sale. info@sailyorktown.com Topsail Schooner WINDY 148’ custom steel hull, 1995, COI for 150, 36 overnight.

Located on Navy Pier, Chicago. Ship and business for sale, or ship only. Asking $2,100,000. Tallshipwindy@aol.com.

Schooner ATYLA Wooden hull built in Spain, 1984. EU certification for 24 trainees & crew. Located Spain. Asking 1.2 million Euro ($1,433,000).

Schooner MERCANTILE 1916 wooden-hulled schooner in the Maine Windjammer trade. LOD 79', COI for 49, 29 overnight. Brand new sails. Located Camden, ME. Asking $350,000.

Schooner WIND DANCER 63’ LOA Colvin-designed steel schooner, 1988. COI for “21 souls, total.” Located Grand Haven, MI. Asking $230,000.

MISTRESS

Schooner HALIE & MATTHEW 2006, fiberglass hull. Located Maine. COI for 100 on deck, 50 overnight. Asking $1,250,000.

Schooner GRACE BAILEY 1882 wooden-hulled schooner in the Maine Windjammer trade. LOD 81', COI for 54 passengers, 34 overnight.

MERCANTILE

Schooner CAPT. KIDD LEE STEUER 55’ steel schooner, 2000. COI for 28. Located Seabrook, TX. Asking $190,000.

Schooner RED WITCH Cypress hull built by Nathaniel Zirlott, 1986. 77’ LOA. COI for 49. Located Kenosha, WI. Asking $149,000.

Schooner MISTRESS Built 1960, wooden-hulled schooner in the Maine Windjammer trade. LOD 46', successful six-pack windjammer. Located Camden, ME. Asking $110,000

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molded East Indiaman replica, Friendship of Salem. This position will be posted on USAJOBS. The position is a permanent full-time federal job in the WS-10 pay series at approximately $35/hour and full federal benefits. Those interested are advised to go to USAJOBS and familiarize themselves with the application process for federal positions, prepare a preliminary resume, and be on the lookout for the official job posting.

Inquiries can be directed to Jeremy Bumagin, who will supervise and previously held this position, jeremy_bumagin@nps.gov, 978-360-2080. ★ Mystic Seaport Museum is set to receive $40,000 through the American Rescue Plan to preserve heritage skills, crafts, and trades at risk of being lost due to pandemic-related staffing and budget cuts.

“These funds will enable us to have our experts crosstrain current and new staff members in the arts and crafts of blacksmithing, coopering, wood carving, printing, open-

hearth cooking, and the maritime skills of the sailor,” said Peter Armstrong, president of Mystic Seaport Museum.

The program was authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act to address community needs created or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and in assisting with the recovery. Projects funded by the promay continue, enhance, or FRIENDSHIP gram expand existing programs and services, or launch new ones to address emergent or unexpected needs.

Through the grant, the Museum will provide extensive technical training, professional development, and independent research opportunities to increase the number of trained staff who can perform and teach maritime skills. The Museum will also hire and train frontline interpretation staff who can share authentic stories of America’s maritime heritage and enhance visitors’ experience to understand the nation’s relationship with the sea. b Do you have a newsworthy item for Boats, Bars & Beaches?

Contact us at Marlinspike1812@gmail.com.

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CEIBA JEREMY STARN / SAIL CARGO

From the Jungle Shipyard in Costa Rica, Jeremy Starn writes: “Ceiba is beginning to emerge as the cargo sailing ship that she was meant to be. The last year consisted of interior framing of the ‘tween cargo deck, the top deck and the forecastle and interior accommodation decks. Over 50 six-meter beams were installed, along with the cargo hatches and engine room framing.

“The team grew from just a handful of shipwrights to over a dozen skilled boatbuilders, with the pace picking up immensely in the last couple months.

“Fairing the exterior hull has begun, with planking due to begin in the new year.

“Our 45-meter cargo schooner is being built to sail sustainably produced goods between the Americas. A second ship has already been requested by investors with cargo interests and wood is being set aside for the second build.

“Ceiba is expected to launch in 2023.”

Learn more at SailCargo.inc.

H “We applied the second coat of bottom paint to Virginia and are going to try and replicate the color of tallow for the third coat,” reports Allison Hepler from Bath, Maine.

“We had our first Women’s Shipbuilding Day since the 38

pandemic, and we started laying the floorboards in the cargo hold.

“Also, we hired our first Executive Director, Kirstie Truluck [see page 28] who begins work on December 1.

“Finally, we received the first of our two rail guns and had our first safety lessons and ‘practice shots.’”

Maine’s First Ship, the pinnace Virginia, is scheduled to be launched in June.

H As reported in our last issue, Hawaiian Chieftain is under new ownership and undergoing a full restoration on the West Coast.

“Chieftain has been thoroughly cleaned and inspected, and repairs to the hull have begun in earnest,” writes new owner Aubrey Wilson.

“Appliances and machinery have been removed, and tanks are coming out next. Downrigging started this week, and should be finished before the holidays.

“We found a hidden staircase behind a watertight door behind a faux wall behind a refrigerator, so that was fun.”

Marlinspike reached out to Capt. Johann Steinke (whose name is visible in the photo of the hidden staircase) for comment, but had no reply as of press time.

H Capt. John Kraus called in from California to report on

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the Spirit of Dana Point and the three aspects of her ongoing restoration — new deck, new masts, and new rig.

As reported in the last issue, the rig has been lifted out of the boat and is lying in the Ocean Institute parking lot, where the masts are being overhauled and both the standing and running rigging replaced “with the help of 13 of the best-looking volunteers from Pilgrim.”

“Jamie White is doing some consulting with us on the rig, and he’s such an excellent teacher, it’s been great to have him around. With the masts, we’re getting some help from a wood butcher named Rick Brown; I worked with him long ago on Pilgrim’s deck.”

Kraus said the new rope was coming from R&W in New Bedford, “who are a pleasure to CEIBA work with.”

As to the masts, “we found some rot and some termites in the masts, so we’re scarfing some new wood in there.

Actually, some of the wood is coming from Pilgrim’s old rig, so that made the members of our community, our volunteers, happy — to be integrating some Pilgrim DNA into Spirit.”

Meanwhile the hull is at Marine Group Boatworks in Chula Vista.

“We’re still going on the deck project. At some point, they seem to have driven a bunch of extra nails into the deck. We ended up having to bring in a hydraulic nail-puller to extract them, and that took forever.

“Also, we had some difficulty acquiring wood, what with the forest fires and the supply-chain issues everyone is experiencing. But we have some Doug Fir, which is down here now, and we’ll start laying it next week. Later than we thought, but there are some things you can’t rush.

“I had told Ocean Institute that if everything went perfectly, we might be wrapping up these projects in February, but obviously that’s not how it’s panning out, so we hope to be done in March or April and be up and running.”

H According to Craig Dalton, Ernestina-Morrissey is on track for a spring launch and delivery to Mass Maritime.

“Under the Best Value Grant contract with the Massachusetts Dept. of Conservation and Recreation, the Shipyard at Boothbay Harbor is finishing up work on the two earlier phases of the restoration’s second stage, includ-

ing the installation of the Hundested controllable pitch propeller unit.

“Phase 3, which will start shortly, will focus on the exhaust system, engine room wiring, fire suppression systems for the engine room and galley, and the purchasing of watertight doors, standing and running rigging, lifelines and heads.

“Actual rigging should start very early spring.

“In addition to the BVG contract, funding for the yard’s work continues to be supported through donations from the Schooner Ernestina-Morrissey Association (SEMA), generous private donations and fundraising efforts.

“Although COVID supply issues continue to cause delays, we estimate an early spring launch date with delivery to the Academy by late spring or early summer.

“As mentioned in the last update, MMA plans to advertise for fulltime mate and engineer positions very soon. Captain Tiffany Krihwan anticipates filling out the remaining crew by spring 2022.”

H Up in Camden, the interior of the Swift, ex-Actress, ex-Oliver C. Wyant, is undergoing a complete redesign.

The original interior — the boat was originally intended for private use — had one big cabin with settees and pullman berths, without much privacy. The new layout will feature three private cabins, each with their own head, and another head off the salon with a hot-water shower.

Capt. Ray Williamson of Maine Windjammer Cruises plans to run the newly-acquired Swift as a six-pack overnight charter vessel.

The cabins are accessed through a hatch amidships, where there used to be a butterfly-hatch skylight.

“Wayne Breda is doing all the carpentry,” Williamson explains. “He’s been with me 15 years, maybe 20. He’s my go-to guy for everything.”

The interior is as functional as you’d expect from someone who has spent 35 years in the windjammer business. It is also full of custom touches. Capt. Ray has a sawmill and has used some unusually shaped pieces of pine as seats, or steps, in the cabins. There are also custom skylights.

A new 110-hosepower Yanmar has been installed, with

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sea trials upcoming.

“We’ll just call her Swift,” said Williamson. “It will say ‘Swift of Camden’ on the stern, we’re not going with the whole “Captain Frank Swift.”

Meanwhile, Capt. Ray has placed his three schooners on the market — Grace Bailey, Mercantile, and Mistress — but reports only tire-kickers only thus far.

“I’m thinking about listing them with Artisan Boatworks. He’s the one that got this boat for me. The whole transaction took about twenty minutes. I won’t say it was no hiccups, but that went relatively smooth.

“My first choice is to sell the Grace Bailey and the Mercantile, which are the only remaining vessels from the original windjammer fleet, sell them together, as a business. The Original Windjammer Cruises. Keep them in Camden, have one entity purchase both boats.

“You know how we raft up, the big schooners, in Camden? If I sold one of the boats, would the new owner be running off of me? That’s totally awkward. Other people have tried it, but the only way that can work is if the same person owns both boats.

Could be two different people, but they’d have to be partners.”

H “This summer we celebrated the tenyear anniversary of Ardelle’s launch, our 11-

VIRGINIA

HAWAIIAN CHIEFTAIN

ERNESTINA 40

ERNESTINA MarlinspikeMagazine.com

HAWAIIAN CHIEFTAIN

CEIBA

CEIBA

SWIFT

SWIFT MarlinspikeMagazine.com

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year partnership with Maritime Gloucester, and next year will be my 30th year in the commercial charter business,” writes Harold Burnham from Essex, MA. “While I have never made much money, I never needed to. As owner, operator, and captain I have never drawn a salary, and whenever the business did not make money, I chalked the experience up to education and entertainment.

“But when Mary Kay and I took on the Sylvina Beal, we knew that things were going to have to change. I cannot run two boats myself, and we cannot expect our employees to work for entertainment.

“This summer we started to take steps towards the eventuality of operating than one boat.

Our first step was to purchase the domain name “Maritime Heritage Charters” which (when we get around to switching the business name and website) will help encompass a fleet in a much better way than “Schooner Ardelle Inc.” “We also, along with our partners at Maritime Gloucester, started a Maritime Apprenticeship Program (see page 3) as we know that we will soon need more captains and crew.

Interestingly, the time we spent preparing to operate two boats turned out to be well spent. Over the winter of 2005-06 I designed and built the 39’ schooner Isabella for a 74-year-old man who wanted a boat in which he could take his 13 grandchildren sailing.

“Now 89, he had decided it was time to pass Isabella on, and we had been trying to help him find a good home for her. At the end of this summer, with no real offers, and wanting to see her in good hands, he made us an offer we could not refuse. Ten days later we were sailing her back to Gloucester.

“I now have my work cut out for me this winter, cleaning up the Isabella and doing what is necessary to get her 42

inspected. Commodore Kay will be busy preparing the website and business to accommodate more than one vessel next summer.

“We are continuing the planning process, gathering material, and making preparations for rebuilding the Beal.

Owning Isabella, and the work we are doing to her, will better prepare us for what we need to do to the Beal. But in the short term, it is taking time that we SPIRIT OF would otherwise DANA POINT have spent working on the Beal. And so we will be postponing our all-out effort on the Sylvina Beal for another year.”

H Los Angeles Maritime Institute is doubling down on John Deere.

“Shortly before the pandemic struck, we had received a grant award to replace the main engines on both ISABELLA (right) Irving Johnson and and ARDELLE Exy Johnson,” writes LAMI Executive Director Bruce Heyman.

“The grant was from California’s powerful South Coast Air Quality Management District. As we operate out of the busiest port complex in the nation, there PHIL STERNS is hyper focus on air quality, and it has really paid off over the last few decades.

“After the state shut down, the schools went to 100% virtual, so our book of educational programs also transitioned from underway to 100% virtual. This meant that we were able to tear into the repower projects, and keep our crews 100% employed.

“At this point we’ve completed the repowering of both Irving Johnson and Exy Johnson and have started the repower of American Pride.

“As we already installed a similar Tier III John Deere in Swift of Ipswich in 2015, we are now a 100% John Deere shop!” b Got an update for Boatyards? E-mail us!

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A select list of sailing opportunities open to the public.

WEST COAST Call of the Sea, Sausalito, CA (415) 331-3214 * CalloftheSea.org Ed programs aboard Seaward and Matthew Turner.

Grays Harbor Historic Seaport, Aberdeen, WA (800) 200-5239 * HistoricalSeaport.org Sailing aboard the brig Lady Washington.

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

Maritime Museum of San Diego, San Diego, CA (619) 234-9153 * SDMaritime.org Day sails on Californian; coastal cruises on galleon San Salvador.

Ocean Institute, Dana Point, CA (949) 496-2274 * OceanInstitute.org Marine science and ed programs; operators of Spirit of Dana Point.

SALTS, Victoria, BC (888) 383-6811 * Salts.ca Sail training for youth, day sails for all, on two large schooners Schooner Adventuress, Port Townsend, WA (360) 379-0438 * SoundExp.org Overnight programs for teens, adults, seniors, and families.

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

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

GREAT LAKES Appledore Tall Ships, Bay City, MI (989) 895-5193 * BaySailBayCity.org Day-sails, charters, ed programs, and overnight opportunities.

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

Traverse Tall Ship Co., Traverse Bay, MI (231) 941-2000 * TallShipSailing.com Education, day-sails, charters, and multi-day windjammer cruises.

US Brig Niagara, Erie, PA (814) 452-2744 ext. 214 * FlagshipNiagara.org A wide variety of programs aboard Niagara and Lettie Howard.

EAST COAST Barque Picton Castle, Lunenburg, NS (902) 634-9984 * Picton-Castle.com Special Bosun School session on sailmaking, Feb-April, 2022 Brilliant, Mystic, CT (860) 572-0711 * MysticSeaport.org Brilliant is an offshore classroom for Mystic Seaport’s ed programs.

Discovering Amistad, New Haven, CT (203) 498-8222 * DiscoveringAmistad.org

Dockside tours and ed opportunities aboard replica slaver.

Liberty Fleet of Tall Ships, Boston, MA (617) 742-0333 * LibertyFleet.com Windjammer-style Caribbean cruises; day sails from Boston.

Maine Windjammer Association, Midcoast Maine (800) 807-WIND * SailMaineCoast.com Nine, count ‘em, traditional sailing vessels on the Maine coast.

Maine Windjammer Cruises, Midcoast Maine (207) 236-2938 * MaineWindjammerCruises.com Three traditional sailing vessels offering multi-day cruises in midcoast Maine from mid-May into October.

Ocean Passages, Portland, ME (855) 212-0123 * Ocean-Passages.org Long-form sail-training aboard the schooner Harvey Gamage.

Oliver Hazard Perry, Newport, RI (401) 841-0080 * OHPRI.org Workforce development and other sailing and dockside programs.

Pride of Baltimore II, Baltimore, MD (410) 539-1151 * Pride2.org Paid crew opportunities, educational programs and dockside events.

Schooner A. J. Meerwald, Bivalve, NJ (856) 785-2060 * BayShoreCenter.org Day and overnight Maritime Camp programs for children 13-17.

Schooner Adventure, Gloucester, MA (978) 281-8079 * Schooner-Adventure.org Public sails, private charters, and educational programs.

Schooner Alliance, Yorktown, VA (757) 639-1233 * SailYorktown.com Public sails, private charters, and educational programs.

Schooner Ardelle, Gloucester, MA (978) 281-0470 * SchoonerArdelle.com Public sails, private charters, and educational programs.

Schooner Fame, Salem, MA (978) 729-7600 * SchoonerFame.com Public sails, private charters, ed programs, and sail training.

Sloop Clearwater, Kingston, NY (410) 539-1151 * Clearwater.org Day sails, youth & adult programs, environmental activism.

Schooner Sultana, Chesterton, MD (410) 778-5954 * SultanaProjects.org Week-long “Chesapeake Adventures” programs for ages 11-14.

World Ocean School, Boston, MA (340) 626-7877 * WorldOceanSchool.org Education programs in Boston Harbor on board Roseway.

Sea I mester, Sarasota, FL (941) 924-2900 * Seamester.com Semester-at-sea and gap-year programs for college students.

SEA Semester, Woods Hole, MA (508) 540-3954* Sea.edu Accredited semester-at-sea programs for college students.

Sylvina Beal, Essex, MA (978) 491-7666 * BurnhamBoatbuilding.com 1911 sardine carrier currently being restored by National Heritage Fellow Harold Burnham to offer a variety of sailing programs. ❂

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A popular feature on the Marlinspike facebook page is NAME THAT BOAT, where readers are asked to identify tall ships and sail-training vessels of the past & present.

MICHAEL CARSTAN

A

How many of these vessels can you name?

8/9 — Admiral of the Ocean Sea 7/9 — Commodore 6/9 — Captain 5/9 — Master & Commander 4/9 — First Mate 3/9 — Seaman, Able 2/9 — Seaman, Ordinary 1/9 — Swabbie 0/9 — Tourist ANSWERS: A) Virginia, B) Westward, C) Bailey Louise Todd, D) ‘HMS’ Surprise, ex ‘HMS’ Rose, E) Mayflower, F) Irving & Exy Johnson, G) Iskra, H) Blarney, I) Victory Chimes.

B

C

D

M. RUTSTEIN

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MAGGIE WALTON

MarlinspikeMagazine.com

NJEN

G

E

H

I F

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The small spike is Myerchin, the larger is from Mephisto Forge. Knife is a Burchtree Bladeworks Dao, sheath and lanyards by me. I am currently an engine cadet at Great Lakes Maritime Academy. I sailed on Picton Castle from 20142019, with a couple of short breaks. That’s why I've got the rig. Not much call for that sort of gear in commercial engine rooms! — Aaron Samet

Knives by Brusletto. I made the fid from Tigerwood. I also made the holder. A very simple design, requires no stitching and very effective.

I used them during the 2011 tall ships race where the carpenter on the Christian Radich, Peer, taught me how to splice. I use them for bushcraft adventures nowadays.

— Christopher Naisbitt

Two beautiful fids made by Lasse Carenvall. Sheaths made by me. I am a retired tall ship captain here in Norway, and spend most of my time working with ropes and wires. I also have a nice traditional Norwegian sailboat to care for. So these fids are in use more or less every day! — Gard Hansen

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MarlinspikeMagazine.com

About to embark on a round-the-world trip on a gaff cutter I’ve spent the last six years building. This tattoo shows the coast and Whitford Lighthouse a mile from my home, so I can always find my way back.

— Neil Williams

I was a Field Artillery officer in the US Army. In recent years, as a maritime reenactor (18th C., War of 1812), I’ve been a bow gunner — manning swivel guns on a number of period-type boats, including my own!

— Jack Floyd

I have plans of first finishing the tentacles of the octopus onto my lower leg. Then later (if my fiancee wills it) I’d like to continue up onto my hip.

The geographic style of the tattoo is closest to Marquesan/Tahitian, but it’s not traditional. It’s a specific art style made for foreigners. In New Zealand, this style is known as Kirituhi which is a Maori word for “skin drawings”. The tattoo has no “mana”, or power, unlike Moko which has ancestral and clan motifs (usually done on the face).

Done by Mara Palmquist, who is now at Keepsake Tattoos in Salisbury, MA. — Jake Peverada

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Visit the historic seaport of Salem, Mass for a cruise on our replica of the 1812 privateer schooner FAME! Sailing daily all summer from our downtown dock!

978.729.7600 * SchoonerFame.com