Battered galleon towed into harbor again in Rockland

ROCKLAND – A wind-battered galleon called RawFaith was being towed into the harbor Wednesday after the 100-foot homespun sailing vessel lost all three masts in gale conditions off Mount Desert Rock, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

RawFaith is no stranger here.

On Thanksgiving Day 2004, the ship, constructed in the style of a 16th century English race-built galleon, was damaged by stormy seas some 80 miles off the Maine coast. It was towed to Rockland then, too.

In both cases, nobody was seriously injured.

In the latest incident, on Tuesday, there were five people on board, including its captain, George McKay of Addison, according to Coast Guard Petty Officer Joshua Ryan. Other than the crew being seasick, McKay got his head bumped by rigging, but did not require medical attention, said Ryan, who is based in Southwest Harbor.

Both times, McKay was trying to sail south to Cape May, N.J., where he figured on raising enough money to complete his dream of taking disabled youths on sailing adventures on RawFaith.

After the first failed trip, RawFaith remained at anchor in Rockland for nine months under a Coast Guard captain-of-the-port order prohibiting the ship from moving until satisfactory repairs and improvements were completed.

In August, the ship was given permission to sail to Jonesport for mast work.

After an inspection on April 26, the captain-of-the-port order was lifted, Lt. Daniel McLean of the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Detachment in Belfast said Wednesday. McLean said McKay had been told to sail only in reasonable operating conditions.

According to RawFaith’s Web site, the wooden ship set sail sometime Tuesday headed for Cape May. At 5:50 p.m. Tuesday, the Coast Guard got a marine radio call from McKay reporting the ship had lost one of its masts, Ryan said, adding, RawFaith “got underway in a gale.”

By 7 p.m., McKay reported all three masts had fallen and the ship was adrift, Ryan said.

The Coast Guard determined RawFaith is too heavy for any of its available vessels, he said, so the 270-foot Seneca, homeported in Boston, responded to the disabled ship. When Seneca located RawFaith at 3 a.m. Wednesday, the on-scene conditions included winds of 40-plus knots and seas 9 to 12 feet, Ryan said.

The 175-foot cutter Abbie Burgess was to rendezvous with the Seneca late Wednesday to take over the tow and bring RawFaith into the harbor.

McLean planned to board RawFaith this morning for an inspection.

“We will issue another captain of the port order,” McLean said. “It will be a lot firmer than it has been in the past.”

Normally, the Coast Guard regulates commercial ships only in terms of construction and equipment, he said, noting RawFaith is a recreational vessel. Neither Ryan nor McLean knew yet whether the ship had the safety equipment on board required of recreational vessels when boarded by the Seneca crew.

If a recreational vessel is determined to be unsafe, the Coast Guard is authorized to terminate its operation and establish specific requirements, McLean said. In certain cases, the Coast Guard and the state can charge a person for the cost of a rescue, he added.

The ship was inspected April 26, he said, noting “they had made substantial improvements.”

There were no leaks in the hull, the rudder was repaired and the ship had more safety and communications equipment on board than before, he said. McKay intended to go to Delaware and return to Maine in the fall for new masts.

“It was well-known the masts were undersized,” McLean said, but the owner-operator took measures to improve the strength of the masts. Although “unconventional repairs,” McLean said, “there was strengthening. Obviously, it was not strong enough,” he said.