Saving the Grace -Pirate Ship sunk

"Saving the Grace"
Two weeks ago the Grace O'Malley started taking on water from a worn out bolt that  had corroded  . Water poured in fast enough to have her sinking within minutes.
As good fortunes would have it , two fisherman whom frequent the Grace saw this and moved her into shallow water.  It is much easier to effect  a rescue in 10 ' of water than it is in 25' of water.  She was placed near shore and her keel rested on a sand bottom where she remained until I could get to her.

The Grace O'Malley is a 50 year old Mariner 40 wooden ketch built by Far East Yachts in 1965  for William Conrad , a great actor from the 60's era who starred in many western  movies with John Wayne,   had a TV series called " Cannon" amd appeared in " Jake and the Fat Man" .  Some of you may be old enough to remember him :)....  

I am the seventh owner of this beautiful vessel and have been her Captain and steward for over ten years. The primary purpose of this fine ship has always been to bring the sailing experience to everyone free of charge.  She is not a working boat  and has never been self supporting.  All the funds  necessary to keep her in the water and maintained have always come from my personal resources.

We have an emergency situation that is going to require significantly more funds than I can muster up by myself  and I am asking for help  in Saving the Grace. The goal of this  campaign is  to  salvage the ship and restore her to the condition she was in before she went down.. The interior is a mess and we lost a lot of gear . The entire interior will need refinishing  and of course the electrical system is a do-over. The Perkins 4-107 engine alone will require a rebuild , but I am confident we can save this expensive part.

Why I think this is worth doing...
My purpose for this vessel has always been to provide pleasure for my extended family... which to those who know me well is" everyone I know and everyone I don't". Though the Grace has taken donations along the way there has never been a charge for anyone who wanted to go sailing. We do this for free so that others can have the pleasure of feeling what its like to sail a  black "Pirate Ship ".. to hoist  sails and steer her course and feel the wind drafting thru her rigging..   I feel that it is my responsibility to keep this  very old wooden boat in the water for as long as I can.  Her Hollywood history and the very nature of her lines and age  reveal an image that is a joy to those who  see her coming into port as well as those who thrill at trimming her sails.

The Grace O'Malley is the prettiest girl at the dance and we need all the help we can get to bring her back from this unexpected tragedy.

Thank you one and all for the donations to this worthy cause. The initial funding will be used to bring her off the bottom , have her towed to a yard and hauled out.  Continued donations will be used exclusively for the materials required to put her back together.  I am a highly skilled individual with an arsenal of tools and know how to rebuild her and it has always been a pleasure for me to maintain this gorgeous vessel. Your generous contributiuons will allow her to get back into the water before the hull dries out... a critical point in this call for help.

As always... Welcome Aboard.