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ROYALISTE IS UNDERWATER


Iron Bess

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ALL ARE SAFE....

This is a message as posted by Poison Qill from Tales of the Seven seas...

Everyone,

Bob just called me. ALL ABOARD ARE SAFE, but the Royaliste, with Gary, Kathy, Bob and one other crew member were going down one of the narrow channels and their depth changed from 14' to 4' very suddenly. Even with the depth finder, they were not able to avoid hitting the bottom and ran aground despite everyone's best efforts.

Royaliste is underwater at this moment. Vessel assist rescued everyone including both parrots and the dog, but the ship is submerged to her scuppers at this time. (that means submerged to the openings in the deck rails that allow water to flow off the deck)

The tide will not come in until 5am EST tomorrow morning, so she all all the equipment aboard will have to remain submerged until at least that time.

Please do not call Bob's cell phone at this time. It is being used for emergency contact only. As I understand it, the other phones are submerged.

I will post updates here as soon as I have any word.

_________________

Well, you may not realize it but your looking at the remains of what was once a very handsome woman!

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Damnation....

Well, whomever happens to contact them, tell Gary & Co. that all of us at the Pub and then some are wishing them the best of luck with the Royaliste.

I've had the pleasure of visiting Gary and the Royaliste a handful of years ago. A grande Vessel she be...

Please keep all of us updated...

Truly,

D. Lasseter

Captain, The Lucy

Propria Virtute Audax --- In Hoc Signo Vinces

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Ni Feidir An Dubh A Chur Ina Bhan Air

"If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me." Deuteronomy 32:41

Envy and its evil twin - It crept in bed with slander - Idiots they gave advice - But Sloth it gave no answer - Anger kills the human soul - With butter tales of Lust - While Pavlov's Dogs keep chewin' - On the legs they never trust... The Seven Deadly Sins

http://www.colonialnavy.org

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Thank God all the folks are all well, but what terrible news about the ship. Hoping all works out for the very best.


"I being shot through the left cheek, the bullet striking away great part of my upper jaw, and several teeth which dropt down the deck where I fell... I was forced to write what I would say to prevent the loss of blood, and because of the pain I suffered by speaking."~ Woodes Rogers

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http://jcsterlingcptarchang.wix.com/creweofthearchangel#

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Thank God they are all safe! We had the pleasure of being aboard the Royaliste last summer when they were in Green Bay. Kathy saw us standing in a very long line, and whisked us aboard for a private tour. Finer folks you will never meet! Our hopes and prayers go out to them and for a successful floating of the ship.

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My prayers go out to them. Will hope the ship can be saved with a minimum of damage.

...schooners, islands, and maroons

and buccaneers and buried gold...

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You can do everything right, strictly according to procedure, on the ocean, and it'll still kill you. But if you're a good navigator, a least you'll know where you were when you died.......From The Ship Killer by Justin Scott.

"Well, that's just maddeningly unhelpful."....Captain Jack Sparrow

Found in the Ruins — Unique Jewelry

Found in the Ruins — Personal Blog

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Here's the latest info from Poison Quill of TO7S:

I just spoke on the phone to both Bob and Kathy, so I have a little more information on what happened.

They were pulling into Little River South Carolina and were within sight of where they were to dock for the night. The chart said that the depth of the water at low tide was 10' and the Royaliste only draws 6'-6", so there should have been plenty of room to spare. There was only 4' and they went aground.

The tide was going out and all aboard did their best to balance her upright as the water receded. They called to someone in the harbor to come help and when he came over and set his foot aboard, she went over on her side from that slight change in weight.

Then the tide began to come back in and it completely swamped her. She is submerged and laying on her side in the water. There is no hole in her hull.

The reality of this looks very grim. It will take a marine salvage crane and a crew of divers to upright her. Her entire electrical system will have to be replaced and the engines completely repaired or replaced and gas tanks flushed. Royaliste may or may not have to be de-masted to be righted. Bob and I are in agreement that he will stay with Gary and Kathy as long as he is needed.

The contents of the boat are all submerged of course, they had only a few moments to get anything from below before the tide came back in. Think of the damage to the homes flooded by Hurricane Katrina and I think you'll have a pretty good idea of what Gary and Kathy are faced with.

I have asked Kathy to provide a Paypal link for those of us who would like to make a donation to Privateer Inc (their non-profit foundation that supports the ship). Please wait until morning, Kathy is going to double check that everything is set up properly at Paypal. I will post a link as soon as possible.

RHJMap.jpg

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Thanking God they are all safe. Must have been both frightening and terribly dissapointing. I have been following their travels and hope the best for all and speedy recovery of the beautiful Royaliste.

Some days even my lucky rocketship underpants won't help....

Her reputation was her livelihood.

I'm a pirate, love. By nature and by choice!

My inner voice sometimes has an accent!

My wont? A delicious rip in time...

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Capt. Gary has done what none of us would or could do. He took his personel fortune and purchased a reproduction vessel. Now that the vessel is underwater, the problems are coming. If he is in salt water, the diesel engine is ruined along with the wiring.

The cost of repairing the vessel can easly be $100,000!

God bless Capt. Gary, the hands and the good ship Royaliste. I am proud to have served on board!

If every member of this forum could send just $10 I think we could help this true pyrate and this fyne ship!

Ed McGrath

Those destined to hang, shall not fear drowning

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Aye to that.

Royaliste will *really, really* need everyone's help. Ed is entirely right about the problems of being submerged. Nothing boat-related is cheap.

She's taught me some of the most important lessons in my life... literally changed it.

Most tall ships are not pirate friendly; Royaliste has built her image around them. She is truly the pirate ambassador to the maritime world.

Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers, and if/when a paypal link becomes available, *please* consider using it. Every single dollar will help.

Eric

sailor, S/V Royaliste.

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As a former crew member...

It is incredibly difficult to imagine our fine ship lying under water.

And the amount of damage and loss that has most probably occured.

I'm hoping that things like the deck guns are not at the bottom of the river now and that much may be salvagable.

But I am also very happy to know that everyone was safe including the feathered and furry ones.

I hope that everyone that can, does pitch in as it will be much needed.

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I think they will really appreciate any help folks here are willing to give them. I talked with Claire (Poison Quill) earlier today and apparently it doesn't look any better during the day. They were already operating on a shoestring (following your dream doesn't always lead to the big bucks...) so this is going to need more resources than they have right now. It's their home that is underwater...

RHJMap.jpg

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I hope the boat's alright and is able to be refloated soon. I'm just waiting on that paypal link. As for words of encouragement, I'll add this picture of the Irving Johnson aground. When I saw this, along with other pictures that looked far worse, I thought there was no realistic way that she'd survive. If my memory serves me correct, she was battered by the waves for three days before she was refloated. However, she's sailing again today. I hope Royaliste is another one of those survival stories.

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Coastie :lol:

She was bigger and faster when under full sail

With a gale on the beam and the seas o'er the rail

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http://www.pbase.com/brode2/irving_johnson

I should like very much to see pictures of the Royalist where she lays at present, with the expectation that we can look back on the same pictures a few weeks from now with a sigh of relief.

When the Pelican sank awhile back I was heartsick.

Are there Pub members in that area who can provide a place to sleep and meals for the temporary castaways?

 

image.jpeg.6e5f24495b9d06c08a6a4e051c2bcc99.jpeg

 

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Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2007 4:15 pm Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I just got off the phone with Bob. As he describes the situation to me, Royaliste is in an area with only about 20' on each side. Getting a crane in there apparently isn't possible. The good news is that she is not a navigational hazard to other boats. She was very close to the dock when she grounded.

The plan is to get a local tug boat of some sort to try to pull her free and upright her. At this time, she is fully over on her starboard side. The bottom she's sitting on is at least 2' of sediment, which although it's soft, she's also settling deeper into it. They are not sure what is under the sediment. They are hoping it's reasonably soft.

All clothes and personal items were ruined. They picked up a few things so that they could brush their teeth and change clothes today. But quite literally, the crew got off with just the clothes on their backs. Hotel bills will also be adding up very quickly. Even the smallest of donations in a situation like this will be helpful and very deeply appreciated.

Tomorrow, Bob will take Kathy and Samantha (the other crewman) to go pick up Gary's truck so that they can get tools to shore in the hope of working on her. So I may not have a lot to report tomorrow, but I will post any news.

I made one error in the previous posts/emailings, the depth went from 14' to 4', not 40' to 4'. I misunderstood him over the cell phone.

They've had their hands full of course and haven't been able to check on the PayPal link, but that will come soon. So please check back for that

Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2007 10:18 pm Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's some news for everyone at last:

Gary has located a local person with a tug or some type of boat that is helping him. What he's done is to back up to Royaliste's starboard side and let his prop wash (the turbulent water that is churned up by his boat's propellers) stir up the sediment under Royaliste. It is essentially digging her submerged side out of the muck. Tomorrow they are going to try to tug her out and up right her. If all goes well, they will try to pump her out and get her to a very near-by boat yard where she can be hauled out and begin repairs.

So send your good karma, prayers, wishes, hopes, good vibes to Royaliste and her crew!

_________________

Well, you may not realize it but your looking at the remains of what was once a very handsome woman!

IronBessSigBWIGT.gif

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Bess, this is such good news. My hearts been breaking for all of them. It must be no worse than your home being hit by a tornado or flood. Still standing by for the paypal link. I assume they may need clothes? Will there be an address folks can send goods to if needed? If so what?

Jenny

Some days even my lucky rocketship underpants won't help....

Her reputation was her livelihood.

I'm a pirate, love. By nature and by choice!

My inner voice sometimes has an accent!

My wont? A delicious rip in time...

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