August Work Weekend Shenanigans

Normally the Alumni (when we say Alumni, we refer to those that attended the BROWN when she was a Maritime High School in NYC for about 36 years) organize about 2 work weekends a year which are typically in the spring and fall.  With the painting of the ship and the looming trip to New York, there was (and still is) tons of work that needed to be done, so a work party weekend was organized and happened last weekend.  About 8 people drove down from NY and one came from Ohio.  They came down on Friday and worked hard from Friday through Sunday. On Saturday we had a good turnout, despite the heat, of regular Saturday crew members.  We even had the painters come to do some final touching up, and there was an afternoon general meeting for members at 12:30pm. 

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They almost had to lube him up to get him into position to get this painting done!

The morning started out with bringing in the wire and putting out the mooring line on the stern of the ship.  A bit of organization that needed to be done (a ship's version of putting everything back in place, where it belongs) thanks to the months of painting.  

Engineers are always greasing things up..we had to stop them from greasing up that painter in the picture at the beginning of the blog!  But that's how a basically 74 year old Liberty ship still operates...lots and lots of diligent maintenance. 

Another thing that was done was to use the boom to bring on some equipment, which included a freezer and a new industrial grade 'sanitizer' which annoys certain long term crew who say "It's NOT a sanitizer, it's just a diswasher!!!"  We have to get our jabs in when we can, lol.  We also brought on plenty of dry stores for the trip north. 

Due to the heat and the amount of work that crew were busy working on, the 9am general meeting was moved to 12:30pm. Lots of info about the New York trip was discussed, as well as our October cruise. The Captain also talked about the many things that needed to be done in the remaining 2 1/2 weeks before we hit the high seas.  We ended the meeting with some 1000 Volunteer Hours awards to Chuck and Dan.  Congrats guys!  

Project Liberty Ship, Inc is a 501(c)3 non-profit, all volunteer organization engaged in the preservation and operation of the historic ship JOHN W. BROWN as a living memorial museum. Gifts to Project Liberty Ship are tax deductible.

Maritime Day Expo at Pier 13

Volunteers from the JOHN W BROWN were at this year's Maritime Day Expo. This annual event hosted by NS SAVANNAH and other maritime organizations is held at Pier 13 in Canton.  Armed Forces Day and National Maritime Day  fall in the month of May and it is a great way to celebrate those days. There were several ships to visit including the NS SAVANNAH, an Army Tugboat, an Army Corps of Engineers vessel, a Coast Guard vessel, a fire boat and a NOAA survey boat. The crews on each were happy to talk about their ships and to listen to us talk about ours! There were lots of other fun things to see and do and some good food to eat too.

The JOHN W BROWN has a table at the Maritime Expo and we're happy to explain to visitors what we're about.

Mindy helps a visitor become a member of our wonderful crew.

Phil brought several items from the BROWN and was showing off some of our treasure.

This is set of ship models to help train sailors so they would know which ships were on their side and which ships they should aim at.

We  love to say hello and had lots of people stop by to enjoy the day with us. Here are some pictures of some of the BROWN's volunteers working and enjoying the day.

The NS Savannah dedicated the #2 lifeboat as an Armed Forces memorial.   Each Armed Forces branch was honored and a representative from each branch carried their service flags up to the lifeboat.  The BROWN's crew represented two branches in the ceremony.  Mike carried the flag for the Navy and Liam carried the flag for the Merchant Marines.

Baltimore has a long history as a working port.  Many different companies and organizations were represented at the event.  Some companies were offering jobs, some represented the history of the port and others  were educating the public.  An incredible amount of goods and people move through Baltimore each year. For more info about commodities in Baltimore, click here.  Whether you're curious about working in the industry or interested in services offered by the industry you'll find it here.

A special pool is filled with water for model enthusiasts to race their vessels. These radio controlled boats are fun to watch. If you've never seen one or would like to know more this is the place to ask questions. If you ask nicely you may even get a turn at the controls.

The TEACH FLEET was built by Commodore Wilbert McKinley to promote careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). The TEACH FLEET consists of almost 200 Lego ship models of every type from tugboats to aircraft carriers. This display is a crowd favorite! The BROWN also has a STEM program and this year 3 students finished the program in May.

There are vessels of all types at the Expo. Diesel powered, nuclear powered, radio powered and steam powered. The crews of each ship welcomed visitors and patiently answered all kinds of questions.

We enjoyed all the Maritime Expo had to offer and are already looking forward to next year.

Project Liberty Ship, Inc is a 501(c)3 non-profit, all volunteer organization engaged in the preservation and operation of the historic ship JOHN W. BROWN as a living memorial museum. Gifts to Project Liberty Ship are tax deductible.