12/08/2008 Sorry for the delay regarding this entry. My last entry left off while we were still in the Cleveland shipyard. The dry-dock period went well. Highlander Sea went back in the water as scheduled with three new planks back aft and two up forward on the port bow. In addition to the new planking, all of the old leaky caulking was replaced with new cotton and oakum.
For the trip back to Port Huron, we could not have asked for better weather. We left Cleveland around noon on Tuesday, November 4th, under a cloudless, blue sky with a temperature somewhere in the 50s (maybe even 60s). Since we were motoring, we were all grateful for the lack of wind and glassy surface out on Lake Erie.
Due to our late departure from Cleveland, we were not going to make it up the Detroit River before dark so we planned our voyage to include a night anchored at Put-in Bay (sparing us a tiring transit back to Port Huron). The weather was favorable so why hurry? We dropped anchor just after dark and decided to go ashore. Our objective? Find a local establishment with a television. Some of us were anxious to see how the election was progressing...and, of course, hoping to enjoy a malty beverage before retiring to our bunks. Objectives met.
The following day we enjoyed the same weather conditions as the day before thereby allowing an uneventful, yet pleasant, ride back to Port Huron. The anchor was up before daybreak and we were moored at the Bean Dock by 7 p.m.
Our move to the Black River a couple of weeks later went very well. By planning ahead we were able to perform the task unassisted (other than our own rescue boat) without a single scratch to Highlander. The whole operation took about two hours from the time we left the Bean Dock until we were secure in Port Huron Yacht Club's basin.
Due to the weather, the shrink wrap cover was postponed until the week after Thanksgiving. It was either too windy or too slushy. Finally an opportunity presented itself towards the end of the week and two solid days were spent securing and shrinking the cover. With the cover securely in place we are now able to begin our long list of winter projects.
Happy Holidays!!
Captain Benjamin Hale
SV Highlander Sea
10/27/2008 Our trip to Cleveland was rather uneventful since it was merely a motor boat ride. We arrived early Saturday morning, but waited outside the harbor until we had sufficient daylight.
Due to weather and scheduling, we were not hauled out until Wednesday, which gave us plenty of time for settling in and preparing what would be needed for the job. We got hotel rooms a short distance away and figured out ways we would transport the crew to and from the shipyard. Caulkers and carpenters started showing up throughout the next two days. All were familiar faces from the rebuild in the Soo.
Early Wednesday morning we departed the dock into Cleveland's old river to position the vessel over Great Lake Towing Company's floating dry-dock. Great care was taken to ensure Highlander Sea would be properly positioned so as to minimize any stress or strain on her hull as she is floated out of the water. The entire dry-docking took six hours from the time we left the dock until she was high and dry with all of the shoring in place.
Work began immediately. Seams were reefed for caulking, five planks above the water line which contained rot were removed and through-hull valves were disassembled for inspection. The yardmen began cleaning the growth off the hull and started preparing for new coats of anti-fowling paint.
Presently our new planks are on and fastened, ready for new caulking and paint. The caulkers are about a third of the way through and continuing while the crew cleans out any seams with old caulking. The crew also is repainting shot length markings on the anchor chains.
This morning the Coast Guard preformed a hull exam without encountering any major concerns, but the "letter" still needs signing. A test of our bilge pump is pending for the exam to be complete, but that will have to wait until she is back in the water. All in all, I expect the remainder of the exam to pass smoothly.
So far, we are on schedule to return to Port Huron and we are all looking forward to getting Highlander Sea safely home into her winter berth. The crew is all looking forward to some down time as well.
Happy Halloween!!
Captain Benjamin Hale
SV Highlander Sea
The following journals were written (in June of 2004) by two HIghlander Sea volunteers, Gary Beauchamp and Eric Wright.
From Gary Beauchamp:
I am writing a thank you note for Acheson Ventures and the Highlander Sea crew -especially Scott and Ben - for inviting me to help crew up to Mackinac Island for the 80th Anniversary of the Port Huron to Mackinac Island Sailboat Race, plus the 80th Anniversary of Highlander Sea.
I have been a volunteer crew member for two years now. This was my first overnight trip on Highlander Sea, so I was anxious about getting caught in a storm on Lake Huron. I can't swim, so I wear my Stern's life jacket on the whole time, except when sleeping.
07/17/04 (Saturday): About 6 p.m. we start sailing to Mackinac. When we started setting the sails out in Lake Huron, we lined up to set the main sail and Greg, our captain on the trip, lined up next to me and said, "Am I missing something, Gary? Why are you wearing a life jacket? Are we supposed to be wearing one?" I said, "No, I can't swim and I don't like heights." And we both started laughing and I said, "And I'm sailing on a tall ship."
We broke up our crew into two night watches. I was assigned to Ben's crew and we had the midnight to 4 a.m. watch. We went to sleep around 8 p.m. and got up about 11:30 for our midnight watch. When I came up the steps from the galley, I couldn't believe how beautiful the sky was. The stars were awesome! The crew members were telling me how nice it is to work the night watch. Ben let me take the helm and steer the ship for about an hour. I really enjoyed the experience.
07/18/04 (Sunday): After we woke up, we came up on deck and had a wonderful sunrise. I took quite a few pictures, and you also have the video tape that I took - beautiful scenery.
07/19/04 (Monday): We caught the sailboats up near Alpena. It was a foggy Monday, so we had a difficult time spotting them. We went to Cheboygan Monday afternoon to pump out and then sailed to Mackinac Island. We got to Mackinac Island in the late evening and moored out in the bay.
07/20/04 (Tuesday): We went on the island for a couple of hours and then we went back to the ship to move it to Arnold Transit Dock for mooring. Acheson Ventures took us out to dinner at the Yankee Rebel. The whole crew thanks you all very much for your generosity and caring for the crew and the volunteers.
07/21/04 (Wednesday): Ben said, "Let's go for a barbeque somewhere." So we went to Saint Helena Island over on Lake Michigan. We pulled up and dropped anchor and a group of scouts from the island came up to us in a dingy and invited us over to the island for our barbeque.
We didn't have a grill and Ben was wondering how we were going to do our barbeque. They said they just built a brand new barbeque pit. So they said they would go back to the island and start up the fire for us while we got our picnic together. We had to use our dingy to get back and forth to the island. We did hour watches, so everybody could enjoy the island. We had a wonderful time. They restored a lighthouse and the scout leaders let us go up in the lighthouse and view the scenery of Lake Michigan. It was beautiful up there.
07/22/04 (Thursday): We had tremendous winds, so we set sail and headed back towards the Mackinac Bridge. You saw the video, so you can see how Highlander Sea handled the winds. It was awesome. This was the first time I was on Highlander Sea when it tipped that much. I hung on tight to whatever I could hold on to of course, my life jacket was on snug.
In ending, I just want to let Acheson Ventures know that you have an excellent, professional crew right now -Ben, Scott, Chris, Katie, Andrew, Jennifer, Kara, and Ivan. The volunteers who sailed to Mackinac Island with us were awesome. We were on that ship for eight days and never once had an argument, fight, or whatever. Every single one of us did our job, worked together as a team, and helped each other out. This is an experience I will never forget - and I have the video tape that I made to remind me of it. I am sure all the other members of our crew that sailed with us echo my thoughts.
Your Windy Volunteer Crew Member
Gary Beauchamp
From Eric Wright:
Two Weeks on one of the most beautiful ships afloat. What a great experience! I have been volunteering on the Highlander since last September, participating in many day sails, public dockside tours, sail training days and maintenance activities, but this was my first chance to sail on an extended voyage.
We started off by having the best seat in the house for the start of the Port Huron to Mackinac Race. As the race committee boat, we were one of the starting line boats and I got to watch much of the start of the bigger boats, such as Genuine Risk and Earth Voyager, from up in the cross trees at 90+ feet above the water.
Following the start of the race we weighed anchor and returned to Port Huron to let off the race committee members and pick up our remaining crew. Our trip up to Mackinac was done with a mixture of sailing, motoring, and motor sailing due to the very light winds and the schedule we had to meet. There were some great experiences on the sail up there including an opportunity, at one point, to get out on the dinghy taking pictures of Highlander under full sail. The incredible display of stars during night watch was breath taking. The camaraderie of the crew during watch and even the little bit of competitiveness between the two watches was a lot of fun. "Port Watch Rules!!!!!!!"
After arriving at Mackinac we had many varied days such as shore leave on Mackinac Island, sailing to St Helena and Beaver Island for barbeques and Bon Fires, and some incredible days of raw sailing. We had a great sail with Mary Ryba and several other Mackinac Island business owners.
Thank You, Mary, for your hospitality towards the crew and a great evening in your Bistro after the sail. Mackinac Island is a very unique and interesting place that everyone should experience at least once. Once having experienced it, you'll probably want to go back again though.
I had a great time sailing under two very different but equally impressive Captains. Lt. Commander Greg Wisener and Captain Ivan Luke, both from the U.S. Coast Guard. I learned so much off of both of these men and off of First Mate Ben Hale and the rest of the crew. Several events stick out in my mind like sailing off the dock at St. Ignace, sailing both off of and onto the hook (that means sailing into anchor position and sailing off of the anchor without engines) at St Helena and Beaver Island (at least off the hook here), detailed navigation instruction and sail theory training, operating the helm for hours under all kinds of maneuvers under full sail, and just a whole lot of fun.
My wife at one point stated she thought that, by the excitement in my voice every time we talked, that if I didn’t have a mortgage and a family depending on me I might not even want to come back. I don't think she was that far off the mark.
I hope that anyone reading this, someday, gets the opportunity of a lifetime like I just had. I am looking forward to many more years of participation with this incredible ship and I wish to thank Acheson Ventures and the crew of the Highlander Sea for providing this unique opportunity.
Eric B. Wright
Systems Analyst - Canada
Cleanharbors Canada Inc. - I.T.
12/08/2008 Sorry for the delay regarding this entry. My last entry left off while we were still in the Cleveland shipyard. The dry-dock period went well. Highlander Sea went back in the water as scheduled with three new planks back aft and two up forward on the port bow. In addition to the new planking, all of the old leaky caulking was replaced with new cotton and oakum.
For the trip back to Port Huron, we could not have asked for better weather. We left Cleveland around noon on Tuesday, November 4th, under a cloudless, blue sky with a temperature somewhere in the 50s (maybe even 60s). Since we were motoring, we were all grateful for the lack of wind and glassy surface out on Lake Erie.
Due to our late departure from Cleveland, we were not going to make it up the Detroit River before dark so we planned our voyage to include a night anchored at Put-in Bay (sparing us a tiring transit back to Port Huron). The weather was favorable so why hurry? We dropped anchor just after dark and decided to go ashore. Our objective? Find a local establishment with a television. Some of us were anxious to see how the election was progressing...and, of course, hoping to enjoy a malty beverage before retiring to our bunks. Objectives met.
The following day we enjoyed the same weather conditions as the day before thereby allowing an uneventful, yet pleasant, ride back to Port Huron. The anchor was up before daybreak and we were moored at the Bean Dock by 7 p.m.
Our move to the Black River a couple of weeks later went very well. By planning ahead we were able to perform the task unassisted (other than our own rescue boat) without a single scratch to Highlander. The whole operation took about two hours from the time we left the Bean Dock until we were secure in Port Huron Yacht Club's basin.
Due to the weather, the shrink wrap cover was postponed until the week after Thanksgiving. It was either too windy or too slushy. Finally an opportunity presented itself towards the end of the week and two solid days were spent securing and shrinking the cover. With the cover securely in place we are now able to begin our long list of winter projects.
Happy Holidays!!
Captain Benjamin Hale
SV Highlander Sea
10/27/2008 Our trip to Cleveland was rather uneventful since it was merely a motor boat ride. We arrived early Saturday morning, but waited outside the harbor until we had sufficient daylight.
Due to weather and scheduling, we were not hauled out until Wednesday, which gave us plenty of time for settling in and preparing what would be needed for the job. We got hotel rooms a short distance away and figured out ways we would transport the crew to and from the shipyard. Caulkers and carpenters started showing up throughout the next two days. All were familiar faces from the rebuild in the Soo.
Early Wednesday morning we departed the dock into Cleveland's old river to position the vessel over Great Lake Towing Company's floating dry-dock. Great care was taken to ensure Highlander Sea would be properly positioned so as to minimize any stress or strain on her hull as she is floated out of the water. The entire dry-docking took six hours from the time we left the dock until she was high and dry with all of the shoring in place.
Work began immediately. Seams were reefed for caulking, five planks above the water line which contained rot were removed and through-hull valves were disassembled for inspection. The yardmen began cleaning the growth off the hull and started preparing for new coats of anti-fowling paint.
Presently our new planks are on and fastened, ready for new caulking and paint. The caulkers are about a third of the way through and continuing while the crew cleans out any seams with old caulking. The crew also is repainting shot length markings on the anchor chains.
This morning the Coast Guard preformed a hull exam without encountering any major concerns, but the "letter" still needs signing. A test of our bilge pump is pending for the exam to be complete, but that will have to wait until she is back in the water. All in all, I expect the remainder of the exam to pass smoothly.
So far, we are on schedule to return to Port Huron and we are all looking forward to getting Highlander Sea safely home into her winter berth. The crew is all looking forward to some down time as well.
Happy Halloween!!
Captain Benjamin Hale
SV Highlander Sea
The following journals were written (in June of 2004) by two HIghlander Sea volunteers, Gary Beauchamp and Eric Wright.
From Gary Beauchamp:
I am writing a thank you note for Acheson Ventures and the Highlander Sea crew -especially Scott and Ben - for inviting me to help crew up to Mackinac Island for the 80th Anniversary of the Port Huron to Mackinac Island Sailboat Race, plus the 80th Anniversary of Highlander Sea.
I have been a volunteer crew member for two years now. This was my first overnight trip on Highlander Sea, so I was anxious about getting caught in a storm on Lake Huron. I can't swim, so I wear my Stern's life jacket on the whole time, except when sleeping.
07/17/04 (Saturday): About 6 p.m. we start sailing to Mackinac. When we started setting the sails out in Lake Huron, we lined up to set the main sail and Greg, our captain on the trip, lined up next to me and said, "Am I missing something, Gary? Why are you wearing a life jacket? Are we supposed to be wearing one?" I said, "No, I can't swim and I don't like heights." And we both started laughing and I said, "And I'm sailing on a tall ship."
We broke up our crew into two night watches. I was assigned to Ben's crew and we had the midnight to 4 a.m. watch. We went to sleep around 8 p.m. and got up about 11:30 for our midnight watch. When I came up the steps from the galley, I couldn't believe how beautiful the sky was. The stars were awesome! The crew members were telling me how nice it is to work the night watch. Ben let me take the helm and steer the ship for about an hour. I really enjoyed the experience.
07/18/04 (Sunday): After we woke up, we came up on deck and had a wonderful sunrise. I took quite a few pictures, and you also have the video tape that I took - beautiful scenery.
07/19/04 (Monday): We caught the sailboats up near Alpena. It was a foggy Monday, so we had a difficult time spotting them. We went to Cheboygan Monday afternoon to pump out and then sailed to Mackinac Island. We got to Mackinac Island in the late evening and moored out in the bay.
07/20/04 (Tuesday): We went on the island for a couple of hours and then we went back to the ship to move it to Arnold Transit Dock for mooring. Acheson Ventures took us out to dinner at the Yankee Rebel. The whole crew thanks you all very much for your generosity and caring for the crew and the volunteers.
07/21/04 (Wednesday): Ben said, "Let's go for a barbeque somewhere." So we went to Saint Helena Island over on Lake Michigan. We pulled up and dropped anchor and a group of scouts from the island came up to us in a dingy and invited us over to the island for our barbeque.
We didn't have a grill and Ben was wondering how we were going to do our barbeque. They said they just built a brand new barbeque pit. So they said they would go back to the island and start up the fire for us while we got our picnic together. We had to use our dingy to get back and forth to the island. We did hour watches, so everybody could enjoy the island. We had a wonderful time. They restored a lighthouse and the scout leaders let us go up in the lighthouse and view the scenery of Lake Michigan. It was beautiful up there.
07/22/04 (Thursday): We had tremendous winds, so we set sail and headed back towards the Mackinac Bridge. You saw the video, so you can see how Highlander Sea handled the winds. It was awesome. This was the first time I was on Highlander Sea when it tipped that much. I hung on tight to whatever I could hold on to of course, my life jacket was on snug.
In ending, I just want to let Acheson Ventures know that you have an excellent, professional crew right now -Ben, Scott, Chris, Katie, Andrew, Jennifer, Kara, and Ivan. The volunteers who sailed to Mackinac Island with us were awesome. We were on that ship for eight days and never once had an argument, fight, or whatever. Every single one of us did our job, worked together as a team, and helped each other out. This is an experience I will never forget - and I have the video tape that I made to remind me of it. I am sure all the other members of our crew that sailed with us echo my thoughts.
Your Windy Volunteer Crew Member
Gary Beauchamp
From Eric Wright:
Two Weeks on one of the most beautiful ships afloat. What a great experience! I have been volunteering on the Highlander since last September, participating in many day sails, public dockside tours, sail training days and maintenance activities, but this was my first chance to sail on an extended voyage.
We started off by having the best seat in the house for the start of the Port Huron to Mackinac Race. As the race committee boat, we were one of the starting line boats and I got to watch much of the start of the bigger boats, such as Genuine Risk and Earth Voyager, from up in the cross trees at 90+ feet above the water.
Following the start of the race we weighed anchor and returned to Port Huron to let off the race committee members and pick up our remaining crew. Our trip up to Mackinac was done with a mixture of sailing, motoring, and motor sailing due to the very light winds and the schedule we had to meet. There were some great experiences on the sail up there including an opportunity, at one point, to get out on the dinghy taking pictures of Highlander under full sail. The incredible display of stars during night watch was breath taking. The camaraderie of the crew during watch and even the little bit of competitiveness between the two watches was a lot of fun. "Port Watch Rules!!!!!!!"
After arriving at Mackinac we had many varied days such as shore leave on Mackinac Island, sailing to St Helena and Beaver Island for barbeques and Bon Fires, and some incredible days of raw sailing. We had a great sail with Mary Ryba and several other Mackinac Island business owners.
Thank You, Mary, for your hospitality towards the crew and a great evening in your Bistro after the sail. Mackinac Island is a very unique and interesting place that everyone should experience at least once. Once having experienced it, you'll probably want to go back again though.
I had a great time sailing under two very different but equally impressive Captains. Lt. Commander Greg Wisener and Captain Ivan Luke, both from the U.S. Coast Guard. I learned so much off of both of these men and off of First Mate Ben Hale and the rest of the crew. Several events stick out in my mind like sailing off the dock at St. Ignace, sailing both off of and onto the hook (that means sailing into anchor position and sailing off of the anchor without engines) at St Helena and Beaver Island (at least off the hook here), detailed navigation instruction and sail theory training, operating the helm for hours under all kinds of maneuvers under full sail, and just a whole lot of fun.
My wife at one point stated she thought that, by the excitement in my voice every time we talked, that if I didn’t have a mortgage and a family depending on me I might not even want to come back. I don't think she was that far off the mark.
I hope that anyone reading this, someday, gets the opportunity of a lifetime like I just had. I am looking forward to many more years of participation with this incredible ship and I wish to thank Acheson Ventures and the crew of the Highlander Sea for providing this unique opportunity.
Eric B. Wright
Systems Analyst - Canada
Cleanharbors Canada Inc. - I.T.