Waiting Out the Storm in St. Pete

St. Petersburg, FL

Thursday, November 10, 2022

While Florida is being rocked by Tropical Storm Nicole, we’re glad to report that our team and the Denis Sullivan are safe and sound in St. Petersburg. On Tuesday morning, they arrived in Port Manatee, Florida, where we had planned to step the Sullivan’s masts before crossing Tampa Bay to St. Pete. However, due to the winds that were already building at that time, our leadership decided to postpone the stepping of the masts until the storm had passed. Capt. Flansburg led the crew across the bay to St. Petersburg, where they hunkered down and are now past the worst of the storm.

In the meantime, our uprigging crew has assembled, and we are grateful to have a team of rockstar riggers joining us. Tom Ward and Capt. Kevin Wells will be leading the charge along with Capt. Flansburg. We are also joined by riggers Dinnie and Noah as well as summer deckhand Gabrielle, and longtime Denis Sullivan volunteer Dan will be staying on to provide support as well. World Ocean School Port Captain Jill Hughes is also on-site to participate in this key moment.

The team plans to return to Port Manatee and step Denis Sullivan’s masts tomorrow. Lower winds and calmer seas will make for a much smoother process. Once the masts are in, it’ll be full steam ahead until the Sullivan is fully rigged and ready for her transit to St. Croix!