May 11, 2005

Boat crew welcomes public

Maritime Heritage Alliance seeks to launch reproduction British sloop in June

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer

       Almost ready to ply the Great Lakes again, the sloop Welcome will be a living history lesson when launched next month by the Maritime Heritage Alliance.
      The real Welcome began life as a trading vessel in 1774, built in Fort Michilimackinac by a fur trader. Two years later the British Navy bought it for use as an armed sloop, installing carriage guns on the deck and swivel guns on the sides. During the Revolutionary War, the sloop also carried supplies for the British forces. The Welcome sank in a storm in 1781.
      Fast forward to 1976, when a reproduction of the Welcome was dedicated on July 4 in Mackinaw City, three years after construction began. Until 1990, the sloop, which had been commissioned and was owned by the Mackinac Island State Park Commission, visited boat shows around the Great Lakes. Declared unseaworthy in 1990, two years later the Welcome came to the Maritime Heritage Alliance in Traverse City. There, a crew of eager volunteers were determined to sail her again.
      Thirteen years and innumerable volunteer hours later, the Welcome is set to re-launch on June 25 at the Heritage Harbor in Elmwood Township.
      Volunteers with the Maritime Heritage Alliance gave a sneak preview of the Welcome and the attendant launch party Saturday at the Heritage Harbor. They gave tours of the boat, still on land with finishing touches underway, explaining the life and times of the sloop 200 years ago.
      "There were 12 sailors and 12 soldiers on it, sharing 12 bunks in two shifts," noted Liz Radlicki of the Maritime Heritage Alliance.
      Also on hand were members of the King's 8th Regiment, a reenactment group from the Detroit area who portray British soldiers in the Great Lakes area during the late 18th Century. They marched, presented arms and flew the Union Jack, luring passerby on busy M-22 to stop and check out the event.
      "It was a good opportunity for the different reenactment organizations to talk and figure out what's going to happen for the actual launch," said Kelly Curtis, operations manager of the Maritime Heritage Alliance, of the open house. "The people working on the boats are always thrilled to show off their work because lots of volunteer hours go into it."
      A few other re-enactors were on hand Saturday, bringing samples of Revolutionary-era weapons, dress, tools and food - a hard-as-nails portion of hardtack.
      "It's kind of like a really stale biscuit so it doesn't taste really good," said Elena Rothney, 9, of her hardtack sample, adding about the Welcome. "The boat was pretty interesting."
      Maritime Heritage Alliance members were also busy this week learning the intricacies of rigging the Welcome, thanks to the expert instruction of Bob Dollar. The Vermont resident is a member of the International Guild of Knot Tyers, a retired Navy veteran and a student and teacher of all things knot for the past 15 years.
      In town for nearly a week, Dollar showed Welcome volunteers how to outfit the rigging needed to sail the sloop. He had them worming, parceling and serving while learning the basics of splicing eyes and stropping blocks.
      "It's like a lot of those old things, there's tricks to the trade," noted Bob Core, a longtime volunteer with the Maritime Heritage Alliance. "He was teaching us tricks and shortcuts. We've done a lot of rigging on the Madeline [the Alliance's historical schooner] but this was an earlier era and a different approach."
      Dollar also conducted two basic knot-tying seminars last week and an advanced one on Saturday; all were held at the Grand Traverse Heritage Center.
      In addition to studying and mastering myriad knots, Dollar has delved into the history and culture behind this basic activity. Knots, which date back to earliest man, are found across cultures - from China to England, the Incas to the Inuit.
      "The knots that were developed depended on the usage and what materials were available because different knots will hold different materials," he noted.
      Although he typically works with seniors in his seminars and demonstrations, Dollar hopes that interest in knots will catch on among young people. This would help ensure that the skills and lore pass on to a new generation.
      "What we need to do is get more young people into this," he said.