"Do What's Best for the Ship" by Barclay H. Warburton IV
The handsome 51/t brigantine Black Pearl was built in 1951 by C. Lincoln Vaughn at his yard in W ickford, Rhode Island. His intention was to sail the little square-rigger around the world, but this was not to be. The voyage was begun, but had to be abandoned due to the owner-builder's health. Barclay H. Warburton 111 sailed her into history, founding the American Sail Training Association following her participation in the Tall Ships Regatta in Europe in 1972. How this came to pass is recounted here by one who experienced it. I am a product of sail training. In the early years I sailed aboard Black Pearl in a variety of capacities, starting first as cabin boy polishing brass everyday, sanding various odds and ends, kicking over paint cans, learning to remove paint from both myself and the teak. I progressed up to ordinary seaman and onto able-bodied seaman. At age twelve I sailed from Nassau to Florida and up the intercoastal waterway in early April. Climbing aloft, learning my way among the yards was a glorious feeling. By 1964 I had made boatswain and sailed from Nassau to New York in six days, arriving in time to see the great square riggers of the world arrive for Operation Sail. Aboard that summer we had five cadets and two officers, and from New York we sailed to Newport and on to Maine where I had the opportunity to learn dead reckoning as only the dense Maine fog can teach it; rules of the road , shutting down the engines to hear bell buoys, standing a sharp watch forward for anything that could harm our safety. At the top of the log each night my father would write, "Eternal vigilance is the price of safety at sea." In the spring of 1971 the invitation to participate in OpSail 1972 arrived. After several long family councils we decided to accept the invitation , though Black Pearl would require rebuilding. In September of 1971 we gutted her, put in all new wiring, added bunks to increase accommodations from seven to twelve persons and installed a new Chrysler/ Nissan diesel engine. Masts and yards were refinished, a new mainsail cut along with several new squares. We sailed out of Newport on our shakedown cruise in early March , with spray freezing on the fore shrouds as we headed down Long Island Sound for the \ Virgin Islands. Black Pearl felt strong and safe. We stayed in the inland waterway until Charleston and then shot over to St. Thomas, in time for the two week charter. At the end of April we departed SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1989
from St. Thomas and went straight to Newport. A strong tropical storm hit us with winds up to 80 knots off Bermuda. Strapped in with a triple reefed main and foresail, we ran the storm for all it was worth making time for Newport. Never had I felt safer. Two weeks later, with a crew of eight trainees and four officers , Black Pearl left for Cowes, where we rendezvoused with the great tall ships of Europe. That summer as we sailed through the North Sea, all of us had the great opportunity to work and play with friends that we met in each of the various ports we visitedMalmo, Kiel, Travemunde, Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Our crew had all worked together, known fear and success and, most of all, we had learned our strengths and weaknesses. At the heart of sail training is the force of nature. When the wind blows and the sea kicks up, everyone involved has no choice but to do what' s best for the ship. Personal problems are put aside. The following summer I sailed Black Pearl back from Europe by the southern route. We followed Christopher Columbus's exact route leaving from Vigo, Spain in late July . On board we had a copy of Professor Morison 'sAdmiral of the Ocean Sea, which contained Columbus's log of his first trip across the Atlantic. The Black Pearl is approximately the same size as the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria and we went at approximately the same speed. When Columbus spotted birds, so did we, some 480 years later, in the same place. When the Atlantic grey turned to Caribbean blue in Columbus's time, so it did in ours. That summer, the long hours on watch at two or three knots provided ample time for reflection and historical perspective. Until 1980, Black Pearl continued in various sail training activities including OpSail 1976. Camaraderie at sea can only be found by going to sea. Following my father ' s death in 1983 , Black Pearl was given to the American Sail Training Association who in tum sold her to the National Maritime Historical Society. She was put in the hands of Jakob Isbrandtsen, who has given of himself to breathe new life and spirit into Black Pearl, so that she may once again provide unique opportunities for young men and women to grow and learn and experience the bonds that can '1> be created at sea.
Known as Tim, Mr. Warburton is president of WIMCO, a resort firm headquartered in Newport , Rhode Island.
A Heritage at the Service of Youth The schooner Ernestina, born 95 years ago as the Gloucester fi sherman Effie M. Morrissey, set sai I from her home port of New Bedford on May 16, bound to the westward in company with the Mystic Seaport Museum schooner Brilliant, with Connecticut students in crew. So she began a voyage that is slated to bring her to New York City's Harlem River in early June. As recounted in our last (SH 49, p. 21 ), Ernestina sails today in a program skipper Dan Moreland calls "mantenhas"-bringing new life to the varied, multicultural heritage of the seafaring communities she has served in her long, productive lifetime- from the Cape Verde Republic, off the West Coast of Africa, to Newfoundland in Canada ' s Maritime Provinces. The purpose of the visit to the Harlem River is to conduct a two-day cruise with students of the East Harlem Maritime Junior High School , an effort coordinated by Paul Pennoyer, who teaches marine biology at the school. Pennoyer, an experienced deepwater sailor, served as mate of the barkentine Regina Maris on her whale-watching cruises offshore, under the command of the late George Nichols . The visit, sponsored by the National Friends of Ernestina/Morrissey and the National Maritime Historical Society, who worked together in the Cape Verde government's project to restore the schooner and return her to the United States, is supported by the Edwin Gould Foundation for Children. Sister Maryann Hedaa, Gould Foundation Associate in charge of maritime education , has characterized the undertaking as " bringing a heritage home to people, and putting it atthe service of the young people who can benefit by it in developing their lives. " It is hoped to do smaller, more advanced sea cruises from the East Harlem school aboard the brigantine Black Pear! later thi s year. Sail training doesn't come any better than this, bringing the experience right into an urban backyard where it is needed most-and doing so with a husky I 06ft schooner manned by a sympathetic and able crew. The smaller, more complexly rigged brigantine Black Pearl will soon be available to serve as a special platform for an advanced experience shared among a smaller number who have distinguished themselves at sea- an idea NMHS is eager to explore further with the Wavertree Gang who sail Black Pearl. PS 31