ROYALIST AGROUND -- HELP IS NEEDED

(posted Jan 28, 2007)

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[From Claire Warren, Royaliste crewmember]:

It is with great sorrow that we send news that the tall ship Royaliste (a historic gaff-rigged ketch) has gone aground. She was making an inland waterway voyage from Georgia to her new home with a maritime museum in North Carolina when the accident occurred.

They were preparing to dock for the night in Little River South Carolina, at a harbor they had visited before without difficulty. The charts indicated that the harbor had a 10' depth at low tide, so there should have been plenty of clearance for Royaliste's 6'-6" draft. Unbeknownst to the crew, the conditions underwater had changed dramatically in the harbor. As they made their approach, the depth dropped suddenly, from 14' to 4' and despite the best efforts of everyone aboard, they went aground in the soft sediment on the bottom.

Initial attempts to free her failed, and as the tide began to recede, the crew kept her balanced upright on her keel with their own body weight. A vessel came to their aid, hoping to free them, but as a member of the vessel's crew stepped aboard, the weight of that single footstep offset her precarious balance and she fell over on her starboard side, with all crew aboard.

The situation quickly went from bad to worse. Water flooded the interior of the Royaliste, submerging (and consequently damaging) her engines, electrical system and all of the personal possessions of the crew aboard. The crew all escaped safely, including the ship's two parrots and a dog, all of whom were rescued by vessel assist, as they perched on the port side of the ship watching the rising tide, with only the clothes they were wearing and one or two personal items that they were able to reach.

At the time of this writing, she is still aground and the captain and crew are still working to free her. Gary and Kathy Bergman, the owners/captains lived aboard full-time and have lost nearly everything that was aboard. Insurance coverage on a vessel of this type only covers liability, so as I understand it, absolutely none of this is to be covered by the ship's insurance. Gary and Kathy are faced with the tremendous financial burden. In addition to the initial recovery of the ship, they will be faced with haul-out costs, repair and replacement costs not to mention the costs of hotel rooms, clothing and personal care items.

The Royaliste operates as a non-profit and she desperately needs the assistance of everyone who can make a donation to help with her recovery. No donation would be too small or too large and every donation is greatly appreciated. Please spread the word of her difficulties to anyone who can help.

Donations can be made through the Privateer Inc website support page. The PayPal link is up and can be accessed here: http://www.privateerinc.org/support.cfm

News of the Royaliste is being kept up to date on the Tales of the Seven Seas website forum. My husband Bob was serving aboard as crew when she went aground and has the only surviving cell phone. He is keeping me updated with information and I'm posting it immediately on the website as it comes in. Up to the minute information can be viewed here: http://talesofthesevenseas.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=9911 Royaliste has long served the pirate community. Gary and Kathy have been extraordinarily generous with Royaliste for many years. They have made her easily accessible to anyone that expressed a desire to learn the art of sailing a tall ship. Now this beautiful ship needs our help. Please spread the word and share this information with anyone and everyone who can help her.

Sincerely,

Claire Warren aka Poison Quill

Royaliste's San Francisco crew Quartermaster, Helmsman and Foredeck Hand