Fall 2023
ERNESTINA-MORRISSEY returns to Gloucester
$7.95 (about the cost of a Dark & Stormy)
Number 40
TUPELO HONEY for sale ‰ 31’ Jarvis Newman Friendship Sloop (1981) Current COI for 17 guests + Captain & Crew Business assets & Boston Harbor location negotiable
$135,000 * (617) 828-9250
MICHAEL RUTSTEIN
COVID Boaters COVID was good news for the boatbuilding industry. Lots of folks bought boats, driving up prices for both new and used vessels. Demand far outstripped supply. A deep backlog of orders developed as builders struggled to stay open, hire workers, and cope with the supply-chain silliness that is just now subsiding. But I’m not sure this was good news for those organizing and participating in Tall Ships events. Because those new COVID boaters, some of whom have zero idea what they’re doing, are swelling spectator fleets to record numbers. Their lack of boating experience, combined with the general mindless selfishness of our times, creates ridiculous and often dangerous situations every time there’s a major event. Anyone with a VHF radio knows what I am talking about. Each weekend, Channel 16 comes alive with angry amateurs yelling and swearing at each other (without identifying caller, recipient, or location), goofing around on the hailing channel, leaving mics open, and using 25 watts of power to chat with their friends at the other end of the marina. Our amazing modern electronics usually keep these clowns from running aground, but they don’t help them dock their boats and they certainly don’t remind the credit-card captains of these ludicrously overpowered sportfishing boats of the impact their wake is having. More boaters can lead to more interest in sail training, marine studies, and in environmental protection. But inexperienced boaters are a hazard to themselves and others. At a minimum, can the Coast Guard work with all states to develop recreational boating licenses? Let’s seize this particular product of the recent pandemic, and turn it into a positive watershed for recreational boating!
MARLINSPIKE MAGAZINE Fall 2023 • Number 40 Michael Rutstein, Publisher Marlinspike is published quarterly for $29 by Pennant Publications, Inc., 98 Washington Square #1 Salem, MA 01970 Cover Photo: M. Rutstein Postmaster: send address changes to Marlinspike 98 Washington Square #1, Salem, MA 01970 Copyright 2023 by Pennant Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.
Phone (978) 594-6510 E-Mail Marlinspike1812@gmail.com
Fair Winds,
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Michael Rutstein, Publisher
4 b Up to Speed
32 b Boatyards
Ernestina (and her mainsail) return to Gloucester
Feat. Ceiba, the Chieftain, and Sylvina W. Beal
14 b Day Break
38 b Boats, Bars & Beaches
Another Maine windjammer seeks new owners
Feat. Captain Dan Moreland’s South Seas log
18 b Christmas Vacation
44 b Name That Boat
SEA’s Cory Cramer is slated for some downtime
Are you an Admiral or a Tourist?
28 b Flags of Our Fathers
47 b Show Us Your Spike / Your Tattoo
Or, how a good story can trump actual history
Feat. tools and ink from readers worldwide
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ERNESTINA-MORRISSEY heads out to the starting line for the Mayor’s Cup Race at the Gloucester Schooner Festival held over Labor Day weekend
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Up to Speed In the last 12 months, Capt. Tiffany Krihwan has broken ERNESTINA-MORRISSEY out of the yard, toured the Gulf Coast, set that giant mainsail for the first time in years, and brought the old girl back to Cape Ann Marlinspike: We’ve all had busy summer seasons, but I don’t think anyone has been busier than you since you accepted this job as master of the ErnestinaMorrissey. Tiffany Krihwan: I’ve definitely been busy! I wish it was busy sailing; a lot of it has been office work, sitting at the desk a lot, reviewing drawings and plans and making sure stuff ’s submitted to the Coast Guard. You can have a lot of things on paper, but then once you start putting ‘em in actual use, finding out what works, what needs to change a little bit… it’s been a lot of that as well. MS: Can you tell us a little bit about your decision to move east and take this job after so many years in the Midwest with the Denis Sullivan? TK: When I got furloughed from the Denis Sullivan, they had told me that they were going to bring me back in the New Year, but during that time period, nobody really knew what was going to happen. So when they advertised for this position, I applied for it and was one of the finalists. When they offered the job to me in January, I sat on it for a little bit, which they were fine with, waiting for me to give them an answer, and I waited to see if I was going to be called back to the Sullivan. I wasn’t. So I decided to take the position. It was bittersweet. Coming out here to this vessel was really wonderful and a whole new experience. But leaving the Sullivan… I put a lot of my heart and soul into that vessel, keeping it going over all those years. This was not the way I wanted to end my career with Sullivan.
the boat was still up in the shed up at Boothbay Harbor. Can you tell us a little bit about seeing her for the first time and the process of breaking her out of the yard? TK: I had seen her in New Bedford many years ago, just alongside, but never had been down below, or even on deck. When I saw her in the shipyard, I was really impressed at how big the vessel was. A vessel always looks bigger out of the water, when you’re standing underneath it, but I was just in awe of how big this vessel is and slightly intimidated, too, by her size! I was also impressed with her shape. When you see a boat out of water, at least for me, I can kind of tell how it’s going to sail and I could tell she was going to sail really well. MS: How does she compare with the Denis Sullivan in that respect? TK: [Laughs] They’re definitely apple and oranges. They’re not the same beast. To give you an example, when I was captain of Roseway and we were sailing in Boston Harbor. I would say, ‘Please, could I just do six knots today?’ Because she was always wanting to go eight knots, 10 knots, short tacking in Boston Harbor. When I was on the Sullivan, I would always think, ‘Can I please just get up to six knots today?’ Getting back onto a Grand Banks fishing schooner, they’re just such good sailing vessels. They’re very different. The Sullivan’s a really steady boat in heavy winds and heavy seas, with those smaller sails, because of the three masts. But on this vessel, you have a giant mainsail, something to really always consider when you’re doing sail settings and how much you’re going to set.
MS: When you took the Ernestina-Morrissey job, MarlinspikeMagazine.com
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MS: Speaking of the mainsail, we know that Dan Moreland did a lot of work on the new rig — we actually interviewed him about it in a previous issue. Did you have much interaction with Dan about the rig, or was most of that stuff done before you arrived? TK: Most of the design that Dan did was done already. I think he was finishing up with David Short and Nat Wilson, the last little bit, when I started. So it was all really well established by the time I got here. MS: Launching the boat after this long, long rebuild was a huge milestone for a lot of folks. What do you remember about the process of actually getting the boat into the water? TK: It was all in Bristol’s hands. I was just standing by if they needed anything. The individuals in that organization that had more of the stressful side of the event, and when they started taking her down the rail, it was all going really well. And then I believe one of the blocks for the rail shifted, and so they had to stop. They worked throughout the night to get it done, and then the next day they finished bringing her down the rail. I just stood by and watched. There wasn’t much I could do.
Captain Krihwan at the helm earlier this summer and (inset) with daughter Carson. Krihwan came east to Massachusetts Maritime Academy and ERNESTINA-MORRISSEY after being furloughed from her role as Senior Captain of the three-masted DENIS SULLIVAN, also now on the East Coast
MS: Did a lot of people turn up for the launch? TK: There were probably three or four hundred people that showed up when they started the launch.
TK: I should say. MS: And then not so many the next day? TK: Yeah, it was about 30! MS: Well, they say if a ship experiences difficulty launching, it’s good luck. Ever heard that one? TK: Is what they say? Okay… MS: USS Constitution had a terrible time getting launched, and she’s been a pretty lucky ship. 6
MS: And on a much smaller scale, our schooner Fame. She didn’t want to get wet. But so far, so good. Anyway… after the launch, you needed to work with the Coast Guard to get the boat certified. I know you did sea trials before you left Maine. How did that all go? TK: Good. We had the technicians for the engines, the transmission, all on board and they certified everything. All of that equipment performed just as planned. That gave me confidence that the boat was mechanically
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ready to go. MS: I had not thought even to ask you about the propulsion! How’s that Hundested system compared to what you’ve worked with in the past? How do you feel about it now that you’ve spent a season with it? TK: I’m still learning it. The idea of the variable pitch prop is a new one for me, but I am learning the inner workings of it, such as changing the pitch for different settings. We motorsailed up yesterday in a calm and we were able to do nine, nine and a half knots between getting the pitch just right and the sails trimmed. So that was pretty impressive. And then when it comes to docking, pitching it way down, so you’re kind of just creeping into the dock. You do have to keep in the mindset that if you do need a lot of thrust, you have to change that pitch. So I’m still developing those mental muscles. MS: That’s a separate control? TK: Yeah. You have to pull it back into neutral and change the pitch and then put it back to whatever RPMs that you want.
Bedford at the State Pier is well protected. Even in those big weather events, I’m not terribly concerned about the vessel. Her dock at MMA, on the other hand, is pretty exposed to Buzzards Bay. In fact, sometimes big events, we get whitecaps over our dock, so… MS: All that time, your departure date to participate in those spring tall ships events in the Gulf of Mexico was getting closer and closer. Did you feel pressure to get the boat ready? TK: Well, pressure to get the boat ready in a safe manner. Pressure to meet our obligations to Tall Ships America. We had been in talks with them since August of last year, many months before the Gulf Coast tour, and signed contracts with them. I didn’t want to disappoint the port cities or Tall Ships America, and the Academy was really excited about this trip. So we did our best to do it as safely as possible and to get down there. There was a lot to do. We were uprigging in February, that’s not ideal, but we took it easy, gave ourselves lots of time, and as it turned out we didn’t quite finish rigging her. We worked on it on the way down and throughout the whole tour.
MS: That’s way over my head. MS: Tell us about the trip down south. How did TK: Yeah, it’s been a slow process for me. I’m not somebody who just hits buttons and sees what happens. I like to do it nice and controlled. MS: So there was still a lot of work to do on the boat after you guys left Maine. Did you go directly to Mass Maritime, or did you go down to New Bedford when you left Maine? TK: When we left Maine, we went to Mass Maritime and were there two-three weeks, and then we went to New Bedford. MS: I know people are excited about the boat in New Bedford and wanted see you, but is that also an easier place to get work done? TK: New Bedford? Yeah, for multitude of reasons. We’re closer to resources because of the rich maritime history in New Bedford. All the suppliers that I need are close to hand there. Our dock in New MarlinspikeMagazine.com
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