A Week Aboard the Sloop Providence

By Matthew Maples, ASTA 2007 Summer Intern



Last week, Heather and I had the opportunity to sail with the Sloop Providence to assist with the ASTA Tall Ships® Youth Adventure summer cadet program. While I was definitely excited to know I’d be spending time on the Providence. I didn’t know what to expect or what the kids we would be working with would be like.

We arrived at the sloop Monday, with little time to spare before the kids arrived in their big yellow bus. Walking down the dock, they looked like a motley and diverse bunch. They were pretty excited initially as they came up the gangplank and congregated in a gibbering mass on the maindeck. That excitement promptly deflated when they were treated to a history lesson of the historical ship. Looking at their downcast faces and twitchy arms, it was evident that they didn’t come onboard to get schooled. Following that was some initial knot-tying and belaying tutorials - skills they would become familiar with in the days to come. After lunch they all had a tour of Ft. Adams. When they finally came back several hours later they were all complaints - pleas of hunger and misgivings about the sun as they crowded in whatever little shade was available. They were, in general, relieved when the bus came to pick them up. I was not really worried about them continuing to be apathetic throughout the week. I couldn’t really blame them - I know I would want to be out in the bay sailing, not getting orientations and tours. I felt pretty confident that they would perk up once we got out on the water.

The next day we didn’t waste much time before making preparations to head out into the bay. The kids had been split into two watches: Port and Starboard. The watch that won the “challenge” of the previous day chose between picking the course the ship would follow for the day or giving the ship a deckwash. Much to my surprise, the winning watch opted to do the deckwork over navigation! I don’t think I’d have so willingly taken deckwash/domestics over navigation, but whatever the kids wanted is what they got. I have a feeling that they wanted the fun involved with using the fire hose.

In quick time we were steaming out into the bay. When we made some distance out from our berth we quieted the engine and raised the mainsail and headsails. Little did I know just how much sailhandling our cadet crew was in for that day and I doubt they had any more of a clue than I had. Apparently, the watch who got to choose the course decided to tack upwind and against the current. Needless to say, there was no real headway made. But that didn’t matter because the kids got a lot of practice using the lines. It was interesting to watch them work, some of the kids were active and brought themselves up to the bow again and again to ease and haul the sheets as we tacked. Others were more timid. I believe that they were still getting over the new surroundings and the new world they found themselves in. A tall ship setting can be intimidating, not only because it is unfamiliar and complex in appearance, but also because of the sudden yelling of orders. I could tell they learned a lot but there was a bit of a gap between the kids who could be more easily engaged to sail the ship and the others who hung back.

Over the next two days I noticed a substantial improvement. The cadets got a lot of sailhandling practice in because of the constant tacking throughout our days of sail. There were a couple of days where we got a good sail in. On Wednesday however, despite a frenzy of tacking we were unable to beat the sloop upwind and against the current and ended up drifting backwards under the Pell Bridge with sail set. The cadets were not discouraged however, they were happy to have gone under the bridge. By the end of Thursday, when it came time to tack, the kids needed little to no encouragement to come forward to handle the lines. Sheet lines that used to flog wildly were now under better control, lines were not made fast counterclockwise and coils not hung over the pin. They were also not as shy to come forward to participate and some of them even waited nearby in anticipation.

I was talking to one of the quieter cadets on Wednesday and he told me that he was having a great time. When I asked him what his favorite part was he said it was doing the heavy work at line handling. When I asked him what his least favorite part was, he said it was lunch, because when he was at lunch he was not handling sail. At the end of Thursday the challenge for the cadets was a pin-rail chase. While they were a bit stumped by some lines, they knew the lines that they had used to tack all week.

One cadet made very impressive progress. On the first day he was unenthusiastic and he could not be motivated to do anything besides tie a slipknot, which was the knot he decided to tie after giving up on tying a bowline. I would not have guessed that he would have been an enthusiastic watch leader midway through the week. I couldn’t help but notice that he knew the lines during the pin-rail chase better than anyone else. He did very well when he applied himself. Another cadet on Thursday was allowed to steer the ship into the dock - I can imagine how proud she must have felt after that.

Then Friday arrived - the day that the kids were going to do as much of the sailing of the ship as possible - all done in front of the eyes of their parents. Even though it was a short sail, the kids did remarkably well and the professional crew did not have to lend much help at all. Compared to the first day when they could barely coil a line, the cadets were now easing and hauling and not hesitating to put their lines on the pins. I remember how demure, unenthusiastic and timid they were on their first day. By the end of Friday they were all smiles as they moved confidently about the deck to attend to their duties. A very different reaction from day one when I could see, by their bewildered and confused faces, that they were universally second-guessing their decision to come aboard.

As they received their graduation certificates, I could see that the kids felt that they had done something really cool. The program did a lot to raise their confidence in themselves and more than a few of them said that they would like to do it again.