Vessel Delivery Log

August 30, 2005

Schooner “Seaward” is in the Bay! After the successful passage from Boston to San Francisco, Call of the Sea’s new schooner is ready to provide Bay area residents with many sailing opportunities. There’s nothing like getting out on the water to appreciate our unique resources here in San Francisco Bay! Check out our Public Sails page and make your reservations today. Your Boat – Your Bay!

August 3, 2005

The voyage continues and Seaward is now in the Pacific!

Our Schooner Seaward passed through the Panama Canal and in to the Pacific yesterday! For this second part of her voyage from Boston to San Francisco, Seaward is being carried on the deck of a cargo ship named Beluga Elegance from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to Ensenada, Mexico. Why is she aboard a ship rather than coming in the water herself? The answer is simple: hurricanes in the Caribbean and Central America at this time of year. We want Seaward here in the Bay for fall programs and not waiting out the hurricane season in Florida.

Once Beluga Elegance reaches Ensenada , Call of the Sea 's crew, led by Capt. Ken Neal-Boyd , will board her as soon as the crane lifts her from the ship's deck and puts her back in the water. We expect that to happen on August 11. After clearing customs and other formalities, the last part of her voyage to San Francisco begins as we beat up the coast for arrival in San Francisco Bay about 10 days later.

July 6, 2005

Call of the Sea's new schooner SEAWARD arrives in Ft. Lauderdale July 6 th on her first leg to San Francisco Bay.

I boarded our new ship in Boston Harbor at the historic Long Warf where many famous clipper ships set sail bound for San Francisco . Times have changed but the sea hasn't and we needed to prepare our crew and schooner for the 1400 mile voyage to Ft. Lauderdale.

Seaward is a well founded stay-sail schooner with all the basic equipment and safety gear needed for a safe and comfortable passage. Yet, there much to do learning about and checking out the systems, sails, lines and stowing gear, plus supplying for the 12 days it would take to arrive in Ft Lauderdale.

The crew of six was a great combination of enthusiasm and experience. Nate Darling, 24, the mate who has been with Call of the Sea since April and his sister Florence , 17, who just graduated from high school represented those newly called to the sea. The rest of us aging boomers represented much sailing and sea time. Brooks Townes from the Bay Area was well acquainted with all manner of sail boats, deliveries and all things nautical. Fred and Kathe Hodgson from San Francisco are very active sailors and racers in SF Bay and were hankering for a sea voyage. Angie Lackey, my wife and sailing partner who has crossed oceans and maintains a relentless summer racing schedule, joined us in Charleston . All the crew was delightful and stood their watches with diligence which made my job easy and the trip a pleasure.

Our first destination Charleston , SC was a 1000 miles by sea as we used the South West Trades to make due South. Seaward was amazingly fast and easily moved into the wind and waves on a close reach. We often were seeing 9 and 10 knots speed over ground on the GPS and averaged 170 miles per day. I never felt safer on a boat at sea. About 400 miles south the wind veered some to the SW and we came about to a port tack and made a course directly for Charleston . Making landfall is always a welcome and exciting time and Charleston was no exception. It is a beautiful and very friendly port with many good marinas; however the heat was a bit much for us northerners. A crew change was scheduled here with Brooks, Kathe and Fred leaving and Angie coming on. The next leg to Ft. Lauderdale was a motor trip with light head winds. It was an easy three days traveling between the Gulf Stream and the coast as we enjoyed tropical days and starry nights with one squall replete with thunder and lightening.

While the whole trip was great fun in itself the larger future for this adventure was the real excitement. Call of the Sea now has a top notch schooner, a ‘tall ship', to carry out our mission and serve the Bay with valuable hands on life changing sailing programs.

Fair Winds
Capt. Alan Olson

June 24, 2005

Our vessel has started her voyage from Boston to San Francisco! Our schooner was making 11 knots under sail on a close reach this afternoon as she rounded the northern tip of Cape Cod, bound for Florida. Captain Alan Olson, who is leading the first part of the delivery with a crew of five others, was very happy with her speed and seakindly motion. The next planned port stop will be Charleston, South Carolina, as she heads south to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she will be loaded on to a ship for passage to Ensenada, Mexico.

The departure from Boston followed a flurry of activity the previous weeks. After a haul-out in Gloucester, a full survey, Coast Guard drydock exam, final closing procedures, provisioning, and crew training, she was ready for sea. When she slipped the docklines in Boston, so began a new and exciting voyage for the both our schooner and Call of the Sea.