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Baltimore update: Gazela at the 200th anniversary of the Star-Spangled Banner


From Lisa via the Guild Newsletter:

Gazela will be taking a trip to Baltimore in September as part of the Star-Spangled Spectacular, a huge, multi-day celebration to mark the 200th anniversary of the writing of the Star Spangled Banner. Gazela is going to be playing an important role in this event, as she will be serving as the backdrop/centerpiece of this event, so from now until early September we will be working hard to get her ready for her appearance in Baltimore, and we will need as many hands as we can get to help out with this, even those who do not intend to sail.

Right now the dates that we are working with are the 8th -18th of September; the ship would be leaving on the 9th, arriving on the 10th, staying in Baltimore until at least the morning of the 16th, and arriving back in Philadelphia on the 17th or 18th. Even though the ship is not projected to leave until the 9th, all crew who are sailing on the trip down will need to be on the ship on the evening the 8th to help ensure that both the ship and her crew are ready to get underway.

Please remember, in order to sail one must be a currently-paid member of the Guild and must have put in at least 50 hours of volunteer time since last year’s sailing season. In addition to this, those who are sailing must submit a medical form (will be sent out soon ) and will also need a marlinspike (optional) and a non-folding knife (mandatory), as well as a crew polo and khaki pants for in-port events.

While it is understood that not everyone will be able to be on the ship for the entire trip, it is required that anyone doing either the outbound or return portion of the trip must work at least two days of in-port events when the ship in in Baltimore, as it is not fair to the crew to have other crew members help get the ship to Baltimore then leave when the ship gets tied up or vice versa. This will be a very big event not only for Gazela, but for the city of Baltimore, and the more crew we have for the in-port events, the easier it will be for those on the crew. Also, anyone who will be doing the entire trip will be helping out with with the in-port events, and time off will be given during in-port events. Anyone who would like to help out in-port but is not able to sail is more than welcome to do so.

Please keep in mind that sailing and crewing Gazela is not a relaxing venture: all persons sailing will stand at least eight total hours of watch a day (two watches lasting four hours each), and will be doing ship’s work for a few hours a day at the discretion of the captain/mate; in addition, there will be drills (man overboard, fire, prepare to abandon ship), and at any given time there could be a need for all hands on the ship, whether on watch or off, to help out with something. In port we will be doing mostly deck tours, which requires talking to many people and standing for the majority of the day; normally the ship hosts receptions in various ports during the evenings, so crew should be prepared for that also. While in port, we will make sure that the crew does get some time off, and since there will be a lot of other ships there, there will be many opportunities for socializing with other crews.

To ask about opportunities to volunteer, email us at volunteer@gazela.org.

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