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The crew of Gazela were treated to a stellar day of strong winds and time travel.  As the ship headed down to Marcus Hook under fore and aft sail, the lookouts spotted a Viking craft making its way downriver.  The Norseman was part of the Ramble festivities.  Luckily for us, they didn't appear armed...

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Unfortunately, Gazela's Ramble ended prematurely.  After tacking north of Essington, a gust of wind caught the ship and the mizzen gaff snapped cleanly.  The head lashing of the sail kept the gaff from separating, so there was no apparent damage to the sail.  However, bringing the sail down was a challenge.  The peak halyard had to pick up the end of the gaff, so that the jaws would slide down the mast perpendicularly.  Once the jaws were down, the crew pulled hard on the leech of the sail to bend the vertical gaff back to horizontal.

 

Once the gaff was down and lashed into place, the crew turned to removing the broken pieces.  The after end was removed first and carted off by the assembled crew.  The throat (forward end) was lowered to the deck with the halyard.  The sail was then sausaged and carried below.

 

Shortly after the gaff broke, Ed Stemmler was on the phone with Jeff Huffenberger and Marcus Brandt.  Marcus, the prescient timber guy, had two douglas fir poles in waiting for such an event.  By Sunday night, Marcus picked up the broken gaff and carted it off to Allentown.  Jeff is willing to help install the irons and the jaws once the pole is shaped.

 

Our goal is to have the replaced gaff installed by October 6th at the latest.  Any interested persons will to help Marcus with this project on Saturday may contact him at mhbrandt@aol.com.

 

More pictures at 2007 Work Photos

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Every year, the Pilot's Association of the Bay and River Delaware have donated their time and service to guide Gazela from Philadelphia to ports of call beyond.  Their members have helped hundreds of our volunteers to learn helmsmanship in all manner of weather and conditions.

 

Captain Mike Linton, the president of the Association and a long-time member of our board of directors, has donated a new laptop computer to the Guild for use both as a navigation system and to help manage affairs on board our ships.  This laptop will be made available to either Guild vessel for journeys outside of Philadelphia. 

 

Captain Rob Rustchak is donating the Coastal Explorer navigation software for use on the laptop.

 

The Board of Directors of the Ship Guild wish to express their gratitude to these individuals for helping keep our vessels operating safely and preserving our crew.

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The strategic planning committee report was delivered, as was a brief update on the development committee.  The Haunted Ship group was awarded a budget of $1700. The hiring committee led by Chip Herr reported that there are 16 resumes for consideration as Director of Institutional Advancement.  Eric Lorgus reported on 5 bids for auditing the Guild's 2006 books, with final decision being delegated to the Executive Committee.

 

The board voted to hire Nat Wilson to build two new sails for Gazela, namely the upper topsail and the foretopmast staysail, for a cost of $8000.  The sails should be done by next sailing season and will be paid for by M. Smith's Gazela Maintenance Fund. 

 

Ed Stemmler will investigate naval architects to explore the feasibility of removing the sand ballast tank from Gazela's hold, with the goal of improving drainage to the bilge.  There was discussion on exploring the benefits or detriments of converting Gazela to either a Sailing School Vessel or a passenger vessel.  Preliminary work will be done to understand revenue benefits. 

 

The board also approved setting a minimum annual donation of $500 to the organization for each board member.  Their goal will be to either donate or generate this amount in cash to help the organization.  This is the first step towards moving our board towards accepting its role as fundraising entity.

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The Strategic Planning group met on Sunday Sep 16 at Nick Horvath's house.  We covered a lot of ground and will have a brief summary in the upcoming Small Stuff.

 

The Haunted Ship committee will meet on Gazela on Monday Sep 24 at 6:30 pm.  Publicity and preliminary scheduling will be on the agenda, as well as coming up with a plan for set up.  Also, we are going to give out forms so that people can sell ads for the ad book, and discuss how we will go about actually selling them.

 

The Development committee met on Sep 18 and covered the following items:  a new Guild sign for the landing which is being designed by Jon Gummere, PR for the Recruitment Day, Haunted Ship, and the Schooner Race, and a review of the Guild website.  The group will meet next on Oct 9 at 6:30 pm.

 

Jupiter General Crew Meeting on Sep 29 at 8 am.  The general crew meeting is intended to start an organization by which Jupiter will be cared for far into the future. Also, it is an organization of volunteers, run by those volunteers who give of their precious time, and sometimes, their precious money.

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Sep 22 - Line Handling on Gazela (9a-1p), Splicing Class on Jupiter (10-?)

Sep 23 - Gazela Tours

Sep 24 - Haunted Ship meeting, Gazela, 6:30 pm

Sep 27 - Strategic Planning meeting

Sep 30 - Tours

Oct 6 - Hang New Mizzen Gaff, Bend on Mizzen

Oct 7 - Tours

Oct 9 - Dev/PR Committee (6:30 p)

Oct 9 - Gazela departs for Schooner Race at 0400 hours

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