For those not on Facebook, here is my report of my day sail on the Niagara last year.
Sailing on a historic ship has long been on my bucket list, and since the Flagship Niagara League has public day sails, I bought a ticket and made plans.
These day sails are not a pleasure cruise, as the website makes clear. The Niagara is certified by the Coast Guard as a teaching vessel, and those who sail aboard her are considered students. It is certainly a learning experience. The crew is about half paid professionals and half volunteers, mostly young people. The "students" (guests) can lend a hand at setting and getting in the sails, but you don't have to (they do try to guilt you into it somewhat... "We can really use a couple more hands!")
For those unfamiliar with her history, the Brig
Niagara was one of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's fleet at the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812.
Niagara and Perry's flagship, the
Lawrence, were newly built. The
Lawrence had been named for Captain James Lawrence of the
Chesapeake, who was fatally wounded during the
Chesapeake's battle against the British ship
Shannon. As he died, he said, "Don't give up the ship!" He died, and they did. (They didn't really have a choice.) Perry had the words "Don't Give Up The Ship" emblazoned on a flag that was his personal battle standard. In the early part of the battle against a British squadron,
Niagara did not enter the line of battle--it is not clear why. The
Lawrence was shot apart, so Perry had himself rowed over to the
Niagara, raised his battle flag, got the weather gauge, and was able to defeat the British. The present
Niagara has been rebuilt several times, and very little of her is original, though the captain said her original keel has been encased within the present keel, so she's still partly original.
We had spectacular sailing weather--a brisk breeze and sunshine. As
Niagara motored out of Presque Isle Bay with her sails furled, we passed through a veritable flotilla of small sailboats, fishing boats, and even a couple of speedboats. Many of them maneuvered to get closer to the
Niagara, and we could see people taking photos. Along the embracing arm of Presque Isle, other people enjoying the sunny day at the park waved from the shore.
We moved out of the bay and into the lake, and the crew began to set the sails. Everything was explained, including how the sails were set and moved to use the wind to get the brig moving in the proper direction. First the crew members climbed up to the masts and untied the sails. Back on deck, the sails were raised or lowered, depending on the type of sail and its location, and then secured into place. (Yes, I lent a hand on the lines!) After a few of the sails were set, the motors were cut, and the whole movement of the brig changed. She tootled along pretty briskly under motor, and there wasn't much movement. When the motors were cut, she was a living thing, heaving and falling with the water, which was a little choppy due to the very brisk wind. It was the most glorious experience. I could feel her heartbeat under my feet.
When the brig tacked or came about, the crew went into a well-choreographed procedure. First the lower edges of the sails were raised slightly, and then at the command "Haul away!" the masts--two or three of them at once--swung around to face the other direction. It was a thrilling moment, just everyone working together and all the preparation paying off. The tiller moved at the same time (
Niagara doesn't have a wheel) to move the brig in the proper direction. I got to spend a little time helping to steer the tiller. The captain gives the direction--they use the actual compass numbers, not just "nor'west by west a quarter west" as in the Hornblower movies. We were steering at 332, which was between north and northwest--we were basically heading across the lake towards Canada, but tacking (moving in a zig-zag) as the wind was not in the proper direction to blow us northwest across the lake. Two helmsman are required, one to move the tiller to keep her on course (that wasn't me) and the other to help brace the tiller using opposing tension (that was me). Sadly, I was relieved by another "student" before all the fun began, but the helmsman explained how it all worked, how the commands were given, that a command to move "right" means move the tiller to the left, and where to move the tiller for the different commands, such as amidship, a touch left/right, a quarter left/right, half left/right, full left/right.
The crew was great, even the very young volunteers. All questions were patiently answered, everything we did was explained, and they let us try things and fail (nothing important, of course) and then explained how to do it right. The captain also gave a little lecture on the Battle of Lake Erie.
I did lend a hand for several of the maneuvers, but mostly I stood in the bow, stepping up so I could see over her side and just enjoy the movement of the brig through the water. We had a spectacular day with barely a cloud in the sky, and the lake was a beautiful shade of clear bluish green, becoming deeper and bluer as we moved further out into the lake. There were almost no boats out so far. We were always in sight of land, but I think we did go out pretty far.
Some fun things happened out on the lake--the crew fired one of the two cannons remaining on the brig--just powder, no ball, obviously, but it was still pretty cool. The gun drill was done slowly and each part explained, but they said it would have been a lot faster during battle.
Safety is always a concern--we had a demonstration before she left port on how to put on a lifejacket if necessary as well as an exposure suit. There are fire extinguishers (real ones, not buckets!) everywhere. Certain places were off-limits to the students, particularly the bridge--a narrow passage across the back of the brig. Only the captain, or whichever officer has the conn, is allowed there.
We also had a nice meal, cooked on
Niagara's wood-burning stove. Chicken stew with veggies over biscuit (not a ship's biscuit!), lemonade and iced tea and some kind of blue juice, and mojito cupcakes for dessert. No scurvy on Niagara!
Overall, I have one word for my experience sailing on the Niagara: perfect. Perfect weather, perfect experience, everything I hoped for and more. I hope some of my friends who love historic ships as I do get the opportunity to sail on her.
Also,
I've made my photo album public. You get to see The Kettle, for those who heard that story in Baltimore.