HMAS WELCOME ARMED SLOOP WELCOME CREW TRAINING MANUAL Discovery Center ~ Great Lakes 13268 S. West Bayshore Drive Traverse City, Michigan 49684 231-946-2647 [email protected] (c) Maritime Heritage Alliance 2011 1 1770's WELCOME History of the 1770's British Armed Sloop, WELCOME About mid 1700’s John Askin came over from Ireland to fight for the British in the American Colonies during the French and Indian War (in Europe known as the Seven Years War). When the war ended he had an opportunity to go back to Ireland, but stayed here and set up his own business. He and a partner formed a trading company that eventually went bankrupt and Askin spent over 10 years paying off his debt. He then formed a new company called the Southwest Fur Trading Company; his territory was from Montreal on the east to Minnesota on the west including all of the Northern Great Lakes. He had three boats built: Welcome, Felicity and Archange. Welcome is believed to be the first vessel he had constructed for his fur trade. Felicity and Archange were named after his daughter and wife. The origin of Welcome’s name is not known. He had two wives, a European wife in Detroit and an Indian wife up in the Straits. His wife in Detroit knew about the Indian wife and had accepted this and in turn she also made sure that all the children of his Indian wife received schooling. Felicity married a man by the name of Brush (Brush Street in Detroit is named after him). John Askin eventually became the largest fur trader in North America. He sold his Southwest Fur Trade Company to John Jacob Astor. Astor renamed it the Northwest Fur Trading Company. The American Revolution profoundly affected life at Michilimackinac. Each year John Askin and his fellow traders struggled to import sufficient goods to meet Indian demands. Except for declines in 1776 and 1779, trade flourished throughout the war. In 1778 128 canoes brought over 2,100 kegs of rum and brandy; 1,500 muskets; 28 tons of gunpowder; 35 tons of shot ball and hundreds of bales of trade goods to be exchanged for furs. In addition Welcome, Felicity and Archange carried provisions from Detroit. Thousands of pelts were sent back to Montreal for export to Europe. Around 1778 Askin sold Welcome for 900 pounds to Major Arent Schuyler DePeyster who was the British governor of the area at the time. DePeyster converted Welcome from a cargo vessel into a Sloop of War and armed her with swivel guns and perhaps some small decks as well. During this time Welcome generally carried a crew of 12 soldiers and 12 sailors. Later she took part in the moving of Fort Michilimackinac to Mackinac Island. The British made this move in anticipation of better defending the fort during the wars with her American Colonies. Welcome was not known to have taken part in any battles on the lakes. During the American Revolution George Rogers Clarke, who had a company of approximately 400 men in Chicago, spread a rumor that he would attack Fort Detroit by way of St. Joseph, Michigan. DePeyster sent Welcome with her compliment of 24 men to intercept Clarke who would be coming by canoe from the area known as Chicago today. When Welcome arrived and did not find the invading force, she returned to the Straits. Welcome would bring supplies for Fort Michilimackinac up from Fort Detroit. She also transported furs from the Northern Lakes to Fort Detroit. When Patrick Sinclair relieved DePeyster in October of 1779, he had already decided to move the community to Mackinac Island. If George Rodgers Clarke launched a naval assault from Lake Michigan, the wooden stockade could not withstand cannon fire. Even more threatening, the Ottawa and Chippewa were showing contempt for the English and the memory of 1763 still lingered. Although the French inhabitants remained loyal to the British Crown, British officers worried the Indians might embrace the rebels because France in 1778 became an official ally of the fledgling United States. Mackinac Island possessed a fine natural harbor. On the mainland, ships had to drop anchor several hundred yards away from shore to unload passengers and cargo into a bateaux. In the winter of 1779-80, the residents of Michilimackinac dismantled their church, transported the logs over the ice and re-erected it on the Island. On the Island, the civilian community was separated from the fort. St. Anne’s church and all private houses were located along the shoreline beneath the bluff where the fort stood 150 feet above the water. For the next few years, the move continued. Welcome ferried over inhabitants and their possessions. Sinclair employed voyagers to assist his soldiers in constructing Fort Mackinac. Among the fort’s buildings were the barracks, guardhouse and provisions storehouse which were brought over from Michilimackinac. Welcome was seriously damaged in winter storms in 1781-1782 during her winter layup. By the summer of 1782 Welcome was declared unfit for further service and no longer appears in British maritime records. Her final resting place is not known, but her reincarnation lives on at the Maritime Heritage Alliance. 2 21st Century WELCOME Chronology of the Armed Sloop WELCOME A Michigan Tall Ship In preparing for the Bi-Centennial in 1976 the State of Michigan decided to build a reconstruction of WELCOME at the request of and under the leadership of Dr. David Armour, Deputy Director of Mackinac State Historic Parks. In 1971 a feasibility study was conducted which showed that construction of a working shipyard by the Mackinaw Bridge would be a major success. WELCOME was to be the shipyard’s first project. WELCOME was designed by naval architect Fredrick Ford of Detroit, Michigan and constructed by Ted McCutcheon of Charlevoix, Michigan. Ford in consultation with Howard Chappell and using research by David Armour determined a final design. David Armour is considered the father of the project. On July 3rd 1973 near the Mackinac Bridge and the restored Fort Michilimackinac located in Mackinaw City, Michigan the keel of the new WELCOME was laid. This is also the area in which the original WELCOME was built. The reconstructed WELCOME is 56 feet in length; a beam of 16 feet; a gross hull tonnage of 45 tons; depth of hull from deck to keel is 7 feet and she displaces approximately 60 tons. The boat’s frames were made of Douglas Fir from Washington State and Cedar planking from the Commonwealth of Virginia. WELCOME was constructed for the Mackinac Island State Park Commission to be a part of the 1976 Bi- Centennial celebrations. Though not finished, WELCOME was dedicated at Mackinaw City. Finally in 1980, Welcome was finished after seven years of construction and launched. Upon completion, Welcome was certified as a dockside attraction by the Coast Guard. The construction cost of $200,000.00 was far less than other comparable tall ships being built at the time. An estimated yearly visitor attendance at the construction site of 50,000/year, turned out to be on average 200,000/year during the seven years it took to finish her. The construction was entirely paid for by donations and visitors' fees. The State of Michigan operated WELCOME for ten years until the Coast Guard deemed her not sea worthy unless repaired. In 1990, she is dry-docked at Walstrom Marine, in Cheboygan, Michigan. In 1991 the Mackinac Island State Park Commission offered WELCOME to the Maritime Heritage Alliance to refurbish. WELCOME is trucked to Traverse City on Monday, December 7th via a flatbed trailer by Jonassen Trucking Co. In 1992 MHA started reconstruction of the vessel behind the Maritime Academy, thanks to the generosity of Commander John Tanner. As we got deeply involved in the project we found very serious problems, far more than anticipated. This necessitated nearly a complete rebuild of the vessel. Most of the Douglas Fir was replaced with Michigan White Oak. She was then triple framed rather than doubled framed as done by the builder McCucheon. Lag bolts replaced the trunnels that were used. Lead was used for ballast replacing the rocks that were there. Greater emphasis was given to crew comfort. In 2001 Welcome is moved to the Traverse City, Power and Light Harbor. In 2003 she is given a tree by the Menominee Indian tribe of Wisconsin for her mast, she is launched by MHA on June 25, 2005, her mast is stepped on June 28, 2006, and ownership transferred to MHA by the State of Michigan on September 22, 2006. Over 40,000 volunteer hours have been spent over the approximately years it took to refurbish Welcome. We would be amiss if we didn’t pay special gratitude to the hundreds of individuals, including school children who have donated to her reconstruction. Of special interest, we want to thank the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin for a donation of a 150-foot pine tree, from their reservation, for Welcome’s main mast and the Michigan Society, Children of the American Revolution, who donated a ship’s bell to Welcome. 3 WELCOME Deck Layout The Armed Sloop WELCOME Below Deck 1. Engines 7. Galley 2. Fuel Tanks 8. Great Cabin 3. Sewage Tank 9. Engine Room 4. AC Panel 10. Fo'c'sle 5. DC Panel 11. Collision Bulk Head 6. Head 12. Bunks (10 total) 1 5 3 6 Deck Layout 4 2 7 12 13 8 11 9 10 1. Cathead 8. Binnacle 2. Bow Sprit 9. Cannon 3. Crew Quarters Hatch 10. Fife Rail 4.