Chula Vista’s tall ship the Bill of Rights was given a financial life raft.
Don Johnson, South Bay Front Sailing Association CEO, spearheaded fundraising efforts to pay for maintenance costs and storage that came from an in-depth Coast Guard inspection.
Johnson had initially set a $60,000 fundraising goal, but only managed to raise $21,000 through donations.
Although Johnson was short of his goal, he said the $60,000 he wanted to raise was in case the ship needed major repairs and upgrades.
“The (Coast Guard’s) inspection found the boat to be in very sound condition,” he said.
“They were very pleased so we didn’t have any major expenses, fortunately.
“What I was really afraid of was they would find something that they would tell us to replace that was very expensive and that didn’t happen. So we were able to make it work with the funds that we had raised which were short of my goal. But we did make that work with what we have raised.”
Johnson said the biggest donor wants to remain anonymous but that the person from Tennessee donated $10,000.
“The maritime community reaches quite a bit further than just the local area,” Johnson said about the out-of-state donation.
Johnson admits he was concerned that he would not be able to raise the money, which would have led the Bill of Rights to leave Chula Vista with new owners.
“It does look like at this particular point she’ll be here to stay,” he said. “But as always it is an ongoing need for support.”
The mandated Coast Guard inspection was a requirement in order for the Bill of Rights to keep its license from carrying passengers.
Johnson said the ship gets a routine inspection every year by the Coast Guard, but the recently completed inspection comes once every decade.
The in-depth inspection required the dissemble of the tall ship so the Coast Guard can inspect the ship’s structure. The Coast Guard’s regulation requires the lifting of the mast, cabling and rigging.
As of Monday, the ship was getting restored to a functioning condition. Johnson anticipates the boat to be fully assembled by the end of the week in time for their annual Fourth of July fundraiser.
Johnson said the Bill of Rights has one more Coast Guard inspection remaining, which is the annual operations inspection where they check for the required paperwork and have the crew run several drills such as abandon ship and man over board.
