36 years after work began to rebuild brig Niagara, state's flagship in need of repair

Wesley Heerssen, who served as captain of the Flagship Niagara from 2003 to 2014, was home in Erie recently when he decided to stop and say hello at the Erie Maritime Museum.

Heerssen, who makes his living as a deck officer on an ocean-going car carrier, arrived to find the vessel he once loved to sail at a turning point.

James Hall, site administrator for the Erie Maritime Museum, which owns and sails the Niagara as part of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, was looking for a captain. He was also making plans for the Niagara to be sailed to a dry dock on the Great Lakes, most likely Cleveland, and then on to an East Coast dock for structural repairs.

But first, Hall said, he needed an assessment of the work that needed to be done.

PHMC, which sailed the Niagara from the time it was completed in the early 1990s until 2009, announced last year that it would again take on the task of sailing and maintaining the ship on Jan. 1, relieving the Flagship Niagara League of those duties.

Heerssen didn't volunteer to serve as captain. But he did offer to size up the needs of Oliver Hazard Perry's reconstructed warship.

Heerssen worked to enlist volunteers to help remove the ship's winter cover.

He has also climbed and crawled over the ship and has been able to provide some guidance about the work that's needed. That will include the installation of new propellers and the replacement of two diesel engines with smaller but more powerful turbocharged engines.

Hall said money that was allocated for repairs a number of years ago should be sufficient to make mechanical repairs and for what could be extensive structural work to be done at another dry dock, most likely on the East Coast.

Heerssen pointed out what needs attention during a recent tour of the Niagara's deck. The ravages of time seemed to be readily apparent, including extensive areas of rot. In other areas, repairs were begun but not finished.

Hall estimates that 30% to 40% of the planks will need to be pulled up to get a complete idea of what repairs are required.

As a captain who has sailed the Niagara — a vessel he likens to a glamorous James Bond girl — Heerssen is convinced the Niagara is worth the effort.

"When you love a ship, you have to take care of it," he said.

Moving the ship to dock

By agreement with the U.S. Coast Guard, the status of the Niagara has been classified as inactive, meaning that it can't be sailed and that onboard tours can't be given to the public.

An exception can be made for it to be taken for repairs, Hall said. All that's needed is a letter allowing it to proceed to the shipyard.

He hopes to have mechanical repairs made in August and structural repairs complete by early next summer, putting it on track to be ready to participate in Tall Ships Erie 2025.

More: Lettie G. Howard's captain hopeful ship remains in Erie, Tall Ships gets more support

The search for a captain and crew

Skeptics, including the authors of an online petition and a blog called Protect Brig Niagara, have questioned how the ship can be sailed for repairs without a captain and crew.

A recent blog entry also calls into question PHMC's process for hiring a captain.

Hall said Thursday that the next captain has been identified and will be hired, pending some paperwork, within the next week or so.

Heersen is enthusiastic about the choice, saying the Niagara's incoming captain could be the best thing that ever happened to the floating museum.

"I am awaiting official paperwork, but I feel great about it," Hall said, describing the prospective captain as someone with a good education and extensive experience on tall ships. "It is serendipitous that they were available."

Hall said the focus for now will be on naming a captain. A temporary crew, probably of nine people, will be hired to sail the Niagara for repairs.

More: Out-of-town attendance soared during Tall Ships Erie 2022, but ticket sales declined

Putting rumors to rest

Hall said he's heard all the theories, including that the Niagara will be put up on blocks and placed on permanent display, be repurposed as a restaurant or docked permanently in Philadelphia.

None of them are true, he said.

"There's a lot of misinformation out there," Hall said.

"I want to have the ship in Erie as much as possible. We are going to do sail training, but we are not going to be doing it for weeks and weeks at a time," Hall said. "We don't need to go to Lake Michigan to teach people to sail."

Heersen shares that priority.

In a letter to prospective volunteers, he wrote of the Niagara: "The experience of sailing her to distant ports is a priceless gift, but only a small number of people can enjoy that experience. Preserving the experience of thousands of Pennsylvanians to see her at home in Erie and allowing thousands to see and sail on her there should be a primary endeavor of ours."

PHMC has promised that the Niagara will be available for the nation's 250th anniversary in 2026.

More: Three PA governors encourage Erie to celebrate history as nation's 250th birthday nears

For his part, Hall promises to expand public access to the Niagara and be accountable to the public.

"This ship is going to sail again," Hall said. "There is going to be more access to this ship than there ever has been in this past. I want this ship in the hands of the people who it belongs to."

Correction: The date of the 250th celebration of U.S. independence was incorrect in earlier versions of this article.

Contact Jim Martin at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: New captain will be named soon for Erie-based Flagship Niagara