April 2011 Shakedown Voyage banner

ProLog: Friday, April 8th, 2011

The Replica Ship Half Moon has been docked at King Marine in Verplanck, NY since November of last year. The shakedown voyage isn't technically due to depart until early tomorrow morning, but of course "de-winterizing" a tall ship is no small amount of effort. Welcome to the "ProLog," our customary look into the work that goes on before the voyage begins.

Over the past few days, a small but growing number of diehard crew members, including Captain Reynolds, Kipp van Aken, Eduard van Breen, Pauli Dangerousli, Bob Hansen, John Mangrum, Frank Rodriques, and Woody Woodworth have convened on the ship to remove ice-eaters and protective tarps, re-activate the electrical and septic systems, reinflate the ship's tender boat, load fresh water, and more.

0800 hours

Starting Position: Docked at King Marine, Verplanck, NY.
Latitude: 41˚ 15.1' W
Longitude: 073˚ 58.0' W

The present crew rises and takes advantage of the flood tide to move the Half Moon down the dock, toward the mouth of the breakwater.

1000 hours

Maneuvering the ship back outside of the breakwater is actually the second item on our agenda. Silt, carried downriver on the current, continually fills in the marina (as it does anywhere else on the river shielded against the current), so the first thing we do each year (and the last) is to use the mass of the Half Moon itself to motor through and break up the new layers of silt, reversing the silt buildup.

1045 hours

It's a slow and steady process. Now at low tide, the Half Moon heels to port as it rests on the uneven bottom.

With the Half Moon idling in place for now, the crew turns to other matters, such as gathering up our shore power lines and other gear kept on the dock.

1100 hours

The first wave of shakedown crew members has arrived! Crew will continue to report for duty throughout the day, with the last handful due to arrive early tomorrow morning.

1115 hours

Captain Reynolds greets the new crew with a refresher briefing on the ship's safety policies and our plan for the day. At the moment, we still aren't certain whether we'll move the ship outside the breakwater this afternoon or early tomorrow morning; it's largely a matter of the current and winds.

The ship's new safety harnesses (one of which is being modeled by Frank Rodriques) provide a major focus for the captain's briefing. We've been experimenting with new styles of full-body harnesses since 2009, and this year we're switching over fully to the new system. Crew members are required to take refresher harness training each year as it is, but this year they'll need to grow accustomed to an entirely new setup.

1200 hours

The safety harnesses and lanyards we use on the Half Moon are now in full compliance with OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) standards. OSHA regulations don't actually apply to maritime use, but we've decided to upgrade anyway, literally, just to be safe.

As the afternoon begins, we dismantle the remaining tarps and start removing the wooden we constructed last fall to support them.

Greg Weiss heave a monkey's fist across the dock opening to Pauli Dangerousli.
Mouse over to heave the monkey's fist!

1215 hours

We have two windows of opportunity to move the ship outside the breakwater, both occuring at slack water as the flood tide turns to the ebb. The first opportunity is in just a few hours; the second chance is just before dawn tomorrow morning. For the moment, Captain Reynolds is considering waiting for morning, giving the ship more time to idle in place and break up the silt.

However, whether or not these periods of slack water actually prove opportune is largely a matter of the weather conditions at that time. At the moment, the skies are cool and cloudy, but calm. This is better than we were expecting (early forecasts predicted rain throughout the voyage), and is just the set of conditions we're hoping for. The captain has the crew reposition our docklines for the maneuver, just in case. To run Line One out to the far side of the breakwater's mouth, Greg Weiss hurls a monkeyfist (also known as a heaving line) out to the waiting Pauli Dangerousli.

1230 hours

The Captain has changed his mind; the weather now is ideal, so there's little to gain by hoping it'll be this calm at 0600 hours tomorrow morning. As Carolyn Niehaus and intern Sean Shoemaker fold the last of the tarps, the ever-growing crew spreads out for the elaborate task ahead.

As the flood tide turns slack, we'll use the remaining current to help us slide forward (upriver, in this case) along the inner dock. During slack water, we'll use the mooring lines to lever the ship around the end of the dock, finally using the strengthening ebb tide to help us slide back downriver alongside the outer dock. For this to work, we'll need teams of line handlers both on the ship and on the dock.

With the flood tide still coming in, we maneuver the ship forward to the mouth of the breakwater. Below decks, Doug Lyte works Line One at the bow.

1300 hours

Greg Weiss, serving as mate alongside Bob Hansen, steps down from the Quarter deck to take a shift at helm.

As we reach the end of the dock, Woody Woodworth and the rest of the dockside linehandlers secure the ship. Meanwhile, Jim and Roberta read have arrived to help out for the day; Jim starts out by cleaning the dock, a gesture of gratitude to King Marine.

1345 hours

Harness training continues during a pause in the action. Carolyn Niehaus leads a lesson in donning the new harnesses while Pauli Dangerousli shows a bit of leg.

From here, the harness refresher shifts into familiar territory for our experienced crew. We're making a few refinements to our climbing procedure alongside the new harnesses, but the basic principles of clipping in and maintaining three points of contact remain unchanged.

1400 hours

Once the crew pass their first hang test (or annual refresher), they're cleared to work aloft.

1500 hours

The tide is turning, so it's time to remove the Half Moon from its winter berth. All line handlers to positions!

1515 hours

Pauli Dangerousli and Doug Lyke take a break from resetting the running rigging to lend a hand. All in all, we're remarkably ahead of schedule.

1545 hours

As the Half Moon slowly, slowly eases out past the end of the dock, we see that it's a tight fit. The ship's red lion figurehead passes directly above the pilings on the end of the far dock.

Half of our gathered crew remains on the dock to handle lines. In fact, they're stuck on shore, since there's no easy way of boarding or leaving the ship until the procedure is complete.

Using the dock lines as anchor points to provide leverage, Captain Reynolds gradually pivots the ship around the end of the dock.

1600 hours

As the Half Moon pivots, its full weight may come to rest on a single point at the edge of the dock. A serious concern arising from this is preventing any of the "chains" (rigid metal chains beneath the channels, to which the shrouds are fastened) from snagging on the pilings. Greg Weiss and Woody Woodworth use their own form of leverage to gird the ship against any such damage.

As the ebb tide starts flowing, the Half Moon is perpendicular to the dock and ready to make its final turn.

1615 hours

We make any needed preparations for this final stage. Woody Woodworth bends more line onto Line Four to ensure it's long enough during this unusual circumstance.

Using Line Two as a spring line to control the arc of of our turn, the Half Moon glides out into the river and sidles back up to the dock.

Carolyn Niehaus handles Line Three from dockside, walking it up as the ship slides into place.

1630 hours

Doug Lyke is Ms. Niehaus' shipboard counterpart.

As the Half Moon reaches its intended destination, Jim Read and the rest of the line handlers on board haul their mooring lines home and make fast.

 

Ending Position: Docked at King Marine, Verplanck, NY.
Latitude: 41˚ 15.2' W
Longitude: 073˚ 58.0' W

The Half Moon is now back on the river and ready to kick off the spring season. By moving the ship now, our crew have also earned themselves an extra 1-1/2 hours of sleep tomorrow morning!

1645 hours

With the ship secure, our voyage cook, Bonnie Talluto, can finally load her provisions, with the help of the captain's mates.

Late afternoon marks another wave of new arrivals, including Voyage of Discovery alumna Evi Robinson.

1700 hours

The skeletal wooden framework we built last fall to support the winter tarps has served us well. With our hands free again, the crew move the framework's ridgeline (or "the skeleton's spine," if you prefer) on land and place it in summer storage. We'll reuse this frame when we return this winter.

1715 hours

Back on the ship, meanwhile, Captain Reynolds has recruited a band of sailors to raise the mizzen yard. For the moment, the goal is merely to get the lateen sail out of our way as we move along the weather and Quarter decks.

1730 hours

As the sunlight fades, Doug Lyke and Pauli Dangerousli have returned to the task of sorting out the ship's running rigging.

Carolyn Niehaus and Evi Robinson are nearby, coiling and storing "short stuff" lines that spent the winter fastening the tarps.

William Gordon coils the main yard lines as they find their homes on the pin rail.

1745 hours

Belowdecks, Bonnie Talluto is busy organizing the galley and stowing food. She predicts that dinner will be ready in an hour...

1915 hours

...and she's pretty close! By now, the sun has set and temperatures have dropped sharply, so the crew has retreated to the comparatively warm confines of the orlop deck. We've also received a visit from local longtime supporter Corey Cummings, here to wish us well.

1945 hours

With a contingent of crew members still on their way, we haven't yet established an official crew rotation. Until the duty roster is prepared, Carolyn Niehaus keeps the systems running by performing maintenance duty in the head.

2000 hours

After dinner, Ms. Niehaus and Captain Reynolds retreat to the great cabin to review assignments and prepare the crew roster that will carry us through to Athens.

2100 hours

Yet another wave of crew members arrive after dark, the last of our dockside assistants leaving in their wake. With just a few crew members still absent (and scheduled to arrive first thing tomorrow morning), Captain Reynolds convenes all hands on the weather deck for a welcome to the latecomers and a basic briefing for all.

2015 hours

Bosun Rachel Laufer introduces the crew to their watch leaders, Jason McLeod and Evi Robinson, and leads the group through their duties.

We conclude our evening by wrapping up a loose thread from 2010. Last year, we awarded our core volunteer base with embroidered "dress" crew shirts to thank them for their service. Sadly, Rachel Laufer, who served on board as bosun's mate throughout the 2009 season, was away at school, denying us the opportunity to present her with her shirt. Captain Reynolds is delighted to present it to her now that it's long overdue! You can see more of our senior crew receiving their dress shirts during this voyage on the Crew page.

With the ship ready for departure, our expected 0500 hours wake up has been bumped back to 0630 hours. Sleep tight, crew!

Next Time: Shakedown!

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