Guest User

November 11, 2015

Still Training After All These Years

Guest User

November 11, 2015

Midshipmen aboard the TV KING'S POINTER from the United States Merchant Marine Academy navigated their way from New York to Baltimore for their fall break trip and tied up next to us on Pier 1 last week. Some crew members came out on Monday afternoon (11/2/15) to meet the TV (training vessel) and help them tie up. Originally they were going to berth with the NS SAVANNAH, but Pier 1 with it's proximity to shopping and food, was a better choice. Also, we had a prearranged Steam Class training so the plant was started on Tuesday afternoon, giving many more learning opportunities to those midshipmen who came over on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning.

{Pssst... This is Jack, here. I had to sneak in here and tell you about the tour of that 'kid ship'. My ship (the BROWN) smells like sailors...a lot of them are old (they smell like medicine and chocolate {and some have dog bones in their pockets for me}), a few are young and a lot are in the middle, but this ship had a LOT of kids. I LOVED it! They were happy to see me, and I couldn't smell any dog smells at ALL, which made me feel special. But then again, I'm pretty sure all ships and boats are mine, anyway. It smelled like young people and technology (and junk food, maybe). I waited for permission to board (even though I wanted to strut right on that TV (training vessel), but I was patient and well mannered. Hear that, Dad?! So, I got a really nice tour of this vessel, and I could tell that these kids missed their pets, because they just wanted to pet me (and sneak me food...you DIDN'T hear that, Dad!) Here is a picture of me with my friends... Oops... gotta get off the computer before I'm caught again. I'll catch up with you all soon. ~Jack)

Some more shots of the KING'S POINTER and the BROWN

The engineers especially were excited, any reason to fire up the boilers makes them happy. Mike Schneider starts by giving everyone an overview of engine room safety. He and the rest of the crew explain how the engine works and how to get the steam up.

We all get pretty excited about this part of starting up the engines. Three of the visiting midshipmen are studying to be engineers and they each had a turn at lighting up the burners.

While some of the midshipmen worked in the Engine Room others were taken on a deck tour. Time to see how it was done 70+ years ago! They learned just how much things have changed and just how much things have stayed the same.

And of course everyone enjoyed being greeted by Jack.

We bloggers find the BROWN irresistible to photograph. We're not the only ones...

We were very excited to host the midshipmen from King's Point. A huge part of our mission is to educate old and young alike. These men and women are part of the future, and deserve every second that is invested in that future. Hopefully we will be seeing the KING'S POINTER back in Baltimore in the future. Good Luck this year, Seniors!

Project Liberty Ship, Inc is a 501(c)3 non-profit, all volunteer organization engaged in the preservation and operation of the historic ship JOHN W. BROWN as a living memorial museum. Gifts to Project Liberty Ship are tax deductible.

Guest User

November 4, 2015

Online Store is open!

Guest User

November 4, 2015

We are very excited to have our Online Store up and running. Many of you have been asking over the last 4-5 years about why we didn't have an online store or a catalog. Once we created the new website, with a built in platform for the online store, we were able to take baby steps and keep pushing the idea of the online version of the ship store. So for those of you that have been asking, 'this is for YOU, baby!' You can find the online store here:
http://www.ssjohnwbrown.org/online-store/

This is the heart of the online store. Judy is one of our experts on packing & shipping. She handles most letters and requests that come in from our supporters.

Pulling together the online store is a perfect example of the team work that is the crew of the JWB. There are so many different things that are part of any store and and we're lucky to have talented people with expertise to share. Setting something like this up, is a part-time to full time job for many large companies, but since we're all volunteers with full time jobs in many cases, it's taken a bit of time and teamwork.

We are starting with a limited number of the items we have. We really wanted to have the store live and working through all the steps with fewer items was faster. Now that the store is running we will be adding inventory on a regular basis. One of the first things we'll add is the 2016 calendar! It's being printed as we write and as soon as we have copies in hand we'll list it for sale. We also have back copies; though you may not use them for the dates, they are still full of interesting information and fantastic photographs. We've already gotten some orders, and we are learning new things and setting up procedures for packing and sending orders. This is a great, fun learning experience.

The Ship's Store is open during our Living History Cruises and is opened whenever we have company on board. The ship is a busy place and you can read about the different groups that use it in our other blogs.

Since we are only open on Wednesdays and Saturdays, we want everyone to know that it could take a week or so, or it might take longer (like if we sell out of sizes and need to order more), so allow for 4-6 weeks for delivery. Also consider the fact that with winter coming, snowy days mean times when there might only be a handful of crew making it to the ship. We have over 30 regular weekly crew that drive to Baltimore from Pa, De and Va, so bad roads on top of a 90+minute drive to the ship = low numbers of crew members some weeks. Please enjoy this new addition to our organization, and let us know of other ways we can help get merchandise you want. Eventually, we will have more JWB merchandise and more merchant marine inventory online, including books, artwork and clothing (sweatshirts and collared shirts). Send us an email if there is something you are looking for specifically. Our first 25 orders will receive a free deck of JOHN W BROWN playing cards. Be excited with us!!

andrea horrocks

October 21, 2015

Current State of Affairs on the JWB

andrea horrocks

October 21, 2015

One might think that the cooler months of the year are the quiet time of the year on this Liberty Ship, and in some ways it IS a bit less chaotic. But in reality, once the last cruise of the season is over, our work season begins. This is the time of year when projects get finished, others get started and many, many others remain ongoing. Every Wednesday and Saturday is a work day and there are always projects to be done. We keep a small book where the Captain puts a list of ongoing one day 'jobs', for anyone who is looking, but the Engineers are always working, and the Bosun always has a list of things for the deckhands to work on. The electricians are constantly working on improvement projects , and the office staff are steadily opening mails, answering emails and phone calls and doing a million and one other things. There is never enough time or help to do all the things that need to be done on this historic museum ship.

Currently we are in week 2 of prepping the ship for painting. Baltimore's own, Ocean Painting, LLC is doing the work (for more specific info check out our July blog) and started on the stacks and have completed much of the bridge and are working their way down to the main deck. It's an impressive sight to see as well as being as noisy as you can imagine. This is a large endeavor thanks to donations by many friends of the BROWN. This has not been done to this extent in about 30 years and is a great way to level the playing field, so that our weekly crews can maintain them, instead of always trying to play catch-up against the elements and the rust.

On Tuesday 10/20 we had a Photography instructor from Johns Hopkins University bring 8 photography students to shoot the BROWN. Many had no idea of the history of the ship, or what they were going to see, but after 3 hours on the ship with cameras and tripods they all left with huge smiles and said they were excited to look at the shots they captured. It wont surprise you to hear that we love showing off the work of photographers. New and returning visitors to the ship are exciting and we can all see the ship through different eyes and understandings. A couple of shots from today, but there will most likely be a future blog showcasing their work.

On Wednesday, 10/21 we are participating in Portfest 2015 and will be having some visitors to the ship. As usual, we also have some upcoming Scout groups, other groups using this 72 year old ship as a training venue, meetings and planned visits. We've been getting some interest by groups wanting to use the ship for different functions, which is pretty exciting. Once the painting of the ship is done, we will have another blog to show our readers how wonderful our gal looks.

Stay in touch, keep reading the blog and feel free to ask questions. We also have some exciting news to share with you next week. {hint...if you look around the website, we've hidden a clue. If you don't find it, we will let the cat out of the bag next Wednesday.}

Until then...