CAREERS
Last year, Greg Bailey was hired as the new captain of the brig Niagara, an operational replica of the famous sailing ship that won the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813. Niagara is based out of Erie, Pennsylvania, on Lake Erie. Even though he’s been onboard as captain for less than a year, Greg has known this ship most of his life. He grew up in Erie, and when his father and older brother started volunteering on the tall ship down on the city’s waterfront on summer weekends, Greg tagged along. He was only 12, but soon he was a regular member of the volunteer crew. He loved learning from the professional crew, who he said were great teachers and were happy to pass along the skills of traditional seafaring. He also really loved listening to the stories of their adventures working on different ships and sailing all over the world. By the time he was graduating from high school, he had made up his mind and knew that sailing tall ships was something he wanted to do for a career.
Working aboard traditional sailing ships isn’t just a job, it’s a lifestyle. For those who get their experience coming “up through the hawse” vs. going to a maritime academy for formal training, there are many years where you live onboard ships full time, month after month, year after year. It’s not for everyone, but for some, it is precisely the life they want.
Greg’s years volunteering aboard Niagara taught him the way of a ship and the attitude he would need to pursue traditional seafaring as a career. You need to be able to handle working in all kinds of conditions, from high up in the rig in the cold wind and rain to down in the heat and stench of the engine room. Besides the physical work of running a ship, you have to be good with people. Most of the vessels Greg has worked in run educational programs or do public tours in ports when they visit.
“For the first several years of my career, I spent the majority of my time living and working in different ships, learning seamanship and vessel operations from different mates and captains.” This experience wasn’t just limited to sailing ships; he also served aboard powered vessels, such as tugboats and a break-bulk carrier. Greg continued: “I had very little time ashore in those early years, and I would not be in the position I am in today without the diverse experience that I was able to gain by sailing in so many ships with so many people.”
Working aboard a traditional sailing ship isn’t just learning how to operate a vessel, it also involves learning how to take care of it. Most of these ships are run by relatively small crews, and everyone onboard has to learn how to do everything the ship might need, from carpentry to plumbing, engineering, rigging, sail repair, painting, cooking, and cleaning. Lots and lots of cleaning.
As Greg became more experienced, he got jobs with more responsibility: senior deckhand, mate/officer, and eventually captain. Those higher-level jobs require a merchant marine license, which is issued by the US Coast Guard. “I currently hold a 1600-ton ocean master’s license, which is more than I need to command Niagara, but it is an indication of a long career with lots of experience.”
Niagara is owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, serving as a sailing ambassador for the state while interpreting the history of the Battle of Lake Erie and operating as a sail training ship for volunteers and crew. As a tourist attraction in Erie, the ship also contributes to the local economy. She is sailed in the spring, summer, and fall, and downrigged and winterized during the coldest months of the year. Rigging and downrigging the ship is a complicated process, especially because most of the work is done the old-fashioned way, without a lot of modern tools like cranes and hydraulics to do the heavy lifting. “All is accomplished with block and tackles, capstans, and muscle power,” he explains.
As captain, Greg is responsible for the ship itself and all who come aboard. His typical day looks different depending on the season. “In the summer months, when the ship is in active service, my day begins with a morning muster [meeting as a group] to discuss the day’s activities. I work closely with the mates, the bosun, and the engineer to determine what work needs to be done to keep the ship sailing safely and how to best divide the work among the crew so that as many people have the chance to learn as much as possible.”
When the ship is underway, the captain is in charge of everything and everyone: navigation, maneuvering, safety drills, lessons on seamanship, and even teaching the history of fighting sail. This is only achievable by delegating tasks to the ship’s officers and senior crewmembers. “An important aspect of leadership is communicating with your crew and trusting them to carry out the needs of the ship in the most efficient, safe, and professional way possible.”
In the winter months, Greg spends his time planning for maintenance projects big and small, speaking to local schools and community organizations to teach people about the ship and hopefully get them interested in signing onboard the next summer for a sailing program. This is also the time to scout out talent and hire people for the next sailing season. “It’s not all swashbuckling excitement,” Greg explains, “there is also a fair amount of boring administrative tasks that keep me in front of a computer, updating documents and paying bills—stuff like that.”
This year, Niagara will not be running her usual programs. Instead, Greg and his crew are taking the vessel to a shipyard on the East Coast for extensive restoration work, which will include, among other tasks, new engines and new generators, replacement of damaged and rotten wood in the ship’s hull, and upgrading the electrical and plumbing systems. The goal is to have the ship up and running in all her glory in time to be back in Erie for July 2026 to serve as a centerpiece for the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations.
Did You Know?
Today, shipyards have a number of ways to get a ship out of water, either by hauling it out or by floating it into a basin and the water pumped out.
Historically though, sea captains would careen their vessels in shallow water by either heaving it over on its side while it was still afloat or by anchoring in shallow water at high tide and then waiting for the tide to go out. The vessel would touch bottom, and, as the tide went out, lay over on its side.
How does one go about getting a ship, especially a big ship, high and dry out of the water today?