Schooner Captain BY PAUL MARGOLIS ON G By all logic, the skills needed to manage a in 1885, is used exten- large sailing vessel shouldn’t have any place in sively by the South Street contemporary New York City. The days when Seaport for harbor tours, the southern tip of Manhattan resembled a charters, and educational forest of masts and spars are long gone. Even sails. He is responsible though the commercial era of the Port of for the operation of the New York has waned, however, sails still have vessel, program outreach, a place in the waters around the city. A hand- and grant writing, as well ful of sailing vessels serve the purposes of as scheduling and making sightseeing and education; they still operate sure that the schooner under canvas and demand the same ancient has crew and provisions maritime skills that would have been required and is in good repair. 150 years ago. For several years, he STI LL G OIN ST R Captain Aaron Singh is one of the indi- was also the captain of viduals who maintain the sailing tradition the Lettie G. Howard— in New York Harbor. Skipper of the South the same vessel he once Street Seaport Museum’s schooner, Pioneer, served on as cook. The Singh didn’t come from a yachting or sailing Lettie G. Howard is an background. He is the son of immigrants 1890s-vintage fishing from Trinidad, and he grew up in the Stanley schooner that is used Isaacs housing projects in the East 90s of as a floating classroom Manhattan. As far as he knows, no one else for the Harbor School, in his family was ever a sailor. He got his first an innovative maritime- taste of sailing at the age of twelve, as a mem- themed New York City ber of a Sea Scout troop that met on City public school. It also Island in the Bronx. In high school, Singh’s takes passengers on edu- love of the sea led him to an internship at the cational and marine ecol- South Street Seaport Museum. During and ogy cruises of several days’ duration during chance to be around boats.” “If they become after high school, he also volunteered at the the warmer months. a bunch of sailors, that’s fine,” he said, “but seaport, then took on a succession of paying While he has been working at the South sail training is a great teaching tool. It teaches jobs there. Street Seaport Museum on a regular basis kids teamwork, cooperation, and leadership “I must have had at least twenty different since 1995, Singh has also spent time aboard skills, and they can transfer those skills to jobs at the seaport,” he recalled. These in- other sailing vessels. He has worked on more school and work.” cluded a stint as cook on the schooner Lettie modern vessels, including research and envi- The craft of running and maintaining a G. Howard, vessel repair and maintenance ronmental ships. He sees his role primarily as sailing vessel, of being responsible for its jobs, and in the education department, where that of an educator who provides students safe operation and the coordination of a crew he developed and coordinated maritime with nautical experiences that they might to keep the mechanism of canvas and rope programs for schoolchildren. While he was not otherwise get. South Street Seaport has safely under way, is kept alive in the twenty- still a teenager, Singh studied and put in the a number of grant-funded programs that first century by New York City skippers like required sea time, and got his mate’s license. enable students from New York City public Aaron Singh. He went on to get a master’s license for ves- schools to spend time on sailing vessels. sels of up to one hundred tons, with an auxil- Singh pointed out that, while private schools Paul Margolis is a pho- iary sail endorsement, at the age of nineteen. can afford to pay for sailing programs on tographer, writer, and Now twenty-nine, he has recently gotten his Pioneer and similar vessels, the opportuni- educator who lives in New York City. Examples five hundred–ton master’s license. ties are very limited for children from more of his work can be seen Singh has been the skipper of the 103-foot, modest backgrounds. Singh feels that his on his web site, forty-passenger Pioneer since April 2005. greatest contribution is to provide sail train- www.paulmargolis.com. Pioneer, a steel-hulled schooner that was built ing to “kids who wouldn’t normally have the

36 VOICES: The Journal of New York Folklore