Al8-Sunday News, March 30, 1980 FROM ae Meaawhile “the ‘criticism continued, The .old-timers, some of .them .who had helped in the building ofthe boat, said \that there was more than “the . vessel in- valved in. salé voyages. EXPERIENCE NEEDED The ‘gist of the argument “was. that, it tdok a lot of experience to stay out of trouble . with oil-powered vessels. “operating all year round -in the sometimes . fiercely violent storms off the east coast, in the area of Martha’s Vineyard and other such notorious destroyers of sailing ships — and many other ships too, for that matter. + Ackerman = sailed = as skipper from Quincy. While being loaded the vessel had been outfitted with SSB radio and some other elec- tronic gear was put aboard. The crew came aboard; hine people. Besides Ackerman were the first mate, aged 21, the second mate, 30; two deck-hands ages 27 and 21, a girl cook, 23, and the supercargo, 42, (an agent of the firm in- volved in the management of the cargo). Also on board were two movie people. Apparently the off-shore experience of the working crew, mates, deck-hand and cook, in ‘schooners was minimal though each had some experience in boats. December was not a good time to begin. Winds are strong, and gales frequent, usually flowing down the coast from north-east or north-west, and is rough. OVER LOADED? But the John F. Leavitt was reported to be over- loaded, (a photo of her shows her floating well below her marks) with what -appears to be three feet of freeboard at her waist, and it has been reported that she had about ai foot of freeboard at midships when she was being pushed out of the harbour by her yawl boat. A newspaper photograph © taken. at the time seems to ‘show her with her maintop- mast rigged. which ap-. parently is not. something . old-timers would do for .a* winter - Passage. Schooner : topsails are: light ‘weather . oie Leavitt was becalmed for the first few days, within sight of land, rolling in the swell. Her sails and spars, sliding back and _ forth, knocked out one of her two antennas. It was greatly missed later on. On Tuesday the 25th, the wind picked up and gradually increased through- out the day and into the evening. It was fresh the following morning and by Wednesday afternoon, according to WoodenBoat Magazine, the ship was “smoking right along” before a north-east breeze, carrying all her working canvas. Schooners have two masts and derive most of their sailing power from the mainsail and the foresail: squarish sails set in the gaff manner — that is with a boom on the top edge of the sail as well as the bottom. Of the two, the mainsail (the aft one) is larger, with a very long lower boom. Running before the wind, with the sheets (control ropes)slacked off, the big sail is almost perpendicular to the wind and drives the schooner along swiftly. NO INCIDENTS Later that afternoon the wind suddenly shifted from north-east to north-west, and the vessel jibed again — this time accidentally. The force of the jibe knocked one of the passengers out of his bunk and when he and another person got on deck they found that the four. seamen were having dif- ficulties getting the schooner back under control. The wind continued to build and a cross sea created by the new wind competed with the left-over waves from the old wind. Ackerman hove-to. The foresail hung up when dropped, with about four ~ feet of sail remaining in the wind, and part of the rest of the sail fell past the lazy jacks (ropes that are sup- posed to catch it) and ~ dragged in the sea. The. crew struggled to bring the sail i in _ but were unable to bring i ina pocket of loose sail at the end of the boom. The Leavitt would not round up into the wind as intended, but’ rather lay in the trough, more broadside to the wind and waves, and rolling heavily. As the Leavitt rolled, this pocket was alternately in and out of the water, throwing tremen- dous strains on the rigging. REASONS UNCLEAR She remained in that position for the next twenty four hours. Why Ackerman chose not to continue running downwind is un- clear. But they stayed hove-to overnight, and the Leavitt took every sea almost broadside. Probably her port rail disappeared under- water, on every roll as she wallowed in the trough. The vessel, to my knowledge, has not been seen since it was abandoned so there is no way to tell for sure. There are people in Quincy who say the lumber and chemicals were so tightly packed in that it would be virtually = im- possible for them to go any- where, and one of the people aboard has been quoted as saying that the schooner was rolling freely without the off- balance feeling one would fine in a vessel with a shifted cargo. The starboard and port rails were alternately going under as she rolled, and the portside went down deeper because of the pressure of the wind on the rigging and the small area of Sail still flying. In our next issue, we will look at what is supposed to have happened to this fine ship which led to her abandonment. SPECIAL NOTICE Open Thursday til 8:00 P.M. Because of the holiday weekend, all branches of the North Shore Community Credit Union will be open Thursday Apnl 3 until 8:00 P.M. All branches will be closed Good Friday, April 4 and Saturday April 5. On Tuesday April 8 North Shore Community Credit Union branches will resume regular working hours. Happy Easter North Shore Community Credit Union 5 Branches serving North Vancouver 0% Wee y yen eh ; “et ¥ Bes Keane i ppesncecaliog tent PET FROM THE WILDS is more at home in the city. Sasakuse the raccoon is 22- months-old and has been with owner Diana Henderson since it left its mother shortly after birth. (Terry Peters photo) Wed. April 2 9:30-9:00 Thur. April 3 9:30-9:00 Good Friday - Closed | Sat. April 5 9:30-6:00 Mon. April 7 9:30-6:00 At Capilano Mall 935 Marine Drive, North Vancouver Over 40 shops & services Free Parking for over 1700 cars including 500 in our covered Parkade Voz>r—wu> gw