captain carol's sleek dream ship

5/12/2018 Captain Carol's Sleek Dream Ship - slidepdf.com

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/captain-carols-sleek-dream-ship 1/5

68 | JULY – Mobile Bay Monthly

Captain Carol’s Sleek Dream Ship

As a child Carol Bramblett

dreamed of a sleek sailing ship,

named "Joshua," built as fleet as the

old schooners that once plied

Mobile Bay. After an uphill strug-

gle to launch it into reality, she

wonders if the true keel of her

dream wasn’t all the people who

came together in the process.

Cindy Frank (left) and Captain CarolBramblett (right) on the Joshua.Frank was one of the many peoplewho helped Bramblett live herdream of building a boat and is nowa partner in the Joshua.

Captain Carol Bramblett steering

the Joshua.With the help of family, friends

and fellow boat lovers, Bramblett never lost

sight of her lifelong dream of building a boat.

064-088_mbm_JUL05 6/13/05 5:37 PM Page 68



Mobile Bay Monthly – JULY |69

“I don’t think I own Joshua,”

Captain Carol Bramblett says.“Everybody else owns her and I’m

just the caretaker. It’s more about

Joshua than me. She’ll be here a

long time after I’m gone.”

ucked warmly in bed in Sheffield, Ala.,between nightfall and sunrise, Carol Bramblettspent her childhood nights dreaming of a boat.Some nights it bobbled gently as it waited in itsslip and other nights it stood like a magnificentcreature surrounded by only wind and water, itssails connecting sea and sky. In her dreams thedetails were clear and compelling on the two-masted wooden schooner, down to the namepainted on the transom: Joshua.

As she grew up, Bramblett was determined tofind the boat named Joshua that had frequentedher dreams as a child and began searching

through archived photographs. In her search shelearned that the Joshua was like the boats thatsailed up and down the bay between the 1880sand 1930s and were no longer in production.Bramblett said that when she realized the Joshuawas not recorded anywhere she stopped tellingherself, "One of these days I’m going to find thatboat." Instead she resolved, "Someday I’m going tobuild that boat."

That someday came in 1991 when Bramblettwas laid off from her job at the International PaperCompany and decided to take the opportunity topursue her captain’s license. After two years of working as a charter captain, she began construc-tion on the Joshua at Zirlott Boatyard, located inthe south Mobile County town of Coden—an oldfishing and shipbuilding community like neigh-boring Bayou La Batre. On November 14, 1993,Bramblett, along with friends and family, celebrat-ed the laying of the keel, the backbone of the ship,with a huge party complete with fried chicken andred beans and rice. Keeping with sailing tradition,Father Patrick Manning blessed the keel aftereveryone had signed it.

Bramblett wanted the Joshua to look just asshe had in her dreams, which meant building inthe style and with techniques from the turn of thetwentieth century. She enlisted the help of GeneEveret Zirlott, a friend and respected third-genera-tion boat-builder, to take charge of construction,and the Joshua began to take shape.

But in 1997, tragedy struck. Zirlott was killedin an accident and his boatyard went bankrupt. After mourning the loss of her friend, Bramblett

The Joshua sailed in the Tall Ship Parade for

Mobile’s Tricentennial, a paramount honor for

sailors. She sailed in the place of honor between

the Coast Guard Eagle and the Pride of

Baltimore. Because the Joshua is the only two-

masted wooden schooner in Alabama that can

carry 49 passengers, she has been named

Mobile’s Official Tall Ship.

T

Text and photosby Vicki Valosik ElZarrad

064-088_mbm_JUL05 6/13/05 5:38 PM Page 69




a second loan to cover the costs of thecranes and manpower. All the while,Bramblett never lost sight of her lifelongvision.

"She was like a dream," Bramblettsays. "There were a lot of obstacles. Ourboat builder passed away. I scratchedmy head and said I don’t know howthis is going to work, but I never said itisn’t going to work. Everybody was sopositive, I never thought for a minute itcouldn’t be done."

Bramblett makes no secret of thefact that she had a tremendous networkof support from friends and fellow boatlovers. One of many examples is agroup of college students who volun-teered their spring break painting andhammering alongside Bramblett and hercrew. On other occasions, Bramblettwould arrive at the boatyard to findpeople she had never met already hardat work on the Joshua.

Bramblett remembers, "All the peo-ple would say, ‘You’re living my dream.I always wanted to build a boat.’ Theywere living their dream through me.

They wanted the boat finished."Cindy Frank, who met Bramblettdoing charter assignments and is now apartner in the Joshua, was one of thosepeople. "We all have dreams," Franksays, "but Carol was able to carry onwith hers. That’s why so many people jumped on board, literally, to help.They were able to share the dream byhelping to build the boat. I’m like

TYSON REAL ESTATESales • Rentals Since 1991

tysonrealestate.com

email: [email protected]

1-800-865-8312514 LeMoyne Dr.,

Dauphin Island, Alabama

Sales Associate

Jim Delchamps(251) 751-0425

Sales Associate

Jim Delchamps(251) 751-0425

Broker

Grace Tyson(251)861-8312

Broker

Grace Tyson(251)861-8312

tysonrealestate.com • tysonrealestate.com • tysonrealestate.com

tysonrealestate.com • tysonrealestate.com • tysonrealestate.com

Sales Associate

Grace Bankston(251) 554-4592

Sales Associate

Grace Bankston(251) 554-4592

Performed under local anesthesia

Lane Scott Kannegieter, M.D.

Medical School: Columbia University

College of Physicians and Surgeons, NYC

Fellowship: Cornell University

New York Hospital/Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

where this procedure was developed

by Rob Minn, M.D.

Call 345-1868 to schedule an appointment.

Bay Area Vein Center

Same Day Laser

Varicose Vein Treatment

Log onto www.EVLT.com to view the procedureand television interviews with Dr. Minn.

Procedures performed at Infirmary-Eastern Shore across

from Jubilee Square

7101 Hwy 90 • Daphne

Most major insurance plans accepted.

Carol Bramblett, along with her friends

and family, celebrated the laying of the

keel—the backbone of the ship—in 1993.

In keeping with sailing tradition, Father

Patrick Manning blessed the keel after

everyone signed it. Photo by Carol

Bramblett.

064-088_mbm_JUL05 6/13/05 5:39 PM Page 70




everybody else. Her dream intriguedme. I wanted to see the boat get built. Itwas exciting."

After receiving an invitation to sailin the Tall Ship Parade for Mobile’sTricentennial in2002—a para-mount honor forsailors—Bramblett knewthat she must getthe Joshua sea-worthy in a shortamount of time,even if it meantrunning off anauxiliary tank inthe floor of thecabin. The gaft-rigged sails weresewn by expertsail maker Willie

Paulson, who came out of retirement just to see the Joshua completed. Adiver friend of Bramblett’s on one of hisdives found a buried helm estimated tobe over 100 years old. Along with thehelm, many of the doors and portholesinside the cabin came from ships of years gone by. An even older but hid-den treasure aboard the Joshua is an1800s Liberty Head, embedded underthe mast along with a Sacagawea dollarand a Susan B. Anthony dollar, as trib-ute to a time-honored sailing tradition.Bramblett explains, "The money is sup-posed to pay the way across the Stix

River. We joked that we should haveput an American Express card because Iwasn’t sure if three coins would do."

ith her schooner finished just in time for theparade, Bramblett cap-tained the 72-foot Joshuafor the first time on July

4, 2002, sailing in a place of honorbetween the Coast Guard Eagle and thePride of Baltimore. Even though it wasthe first, she still considers the Tall ShipParade the best trip she and the Joshuahave taken.

Because the Joshua was built in a

style reminiscent of the ships thatbrought cargo into Mobile Bay a centu-ry ago, and because she is the only two-masted wooden schooner in Alabamathat can carry 49 passengers, the Joshuahas been named Mobile’s Official TallShip. As part of that honor, Joshuaserves as an escort to Navy ships when-ever they pass through or dock inMobile.

Rayford & Associates2701 Dauphin Street • Mobile, Alabama

(251) 476-1460

RESTROOM Redefined

W

064-088_mbm_JUL05 6/13/05 5:40 PM Page 72



Mobile Bay Monthly – JULY |73

Despite the fact that Joshua is amale name, Bramblett says, "Boats arealways ‘hers.’ They’re like our mothers,but guys say like our mistresses: They’lltake care of you if you take care of

them. She is justnamed after a male.‘Anything of graceand beauty is alwaysfeminine gender.’That’s what Alfalfafrom ‘The LittleRascals’ said." Sheadds that anyonewith the name Joshua can sail withher for free.

Now that the Joshua is complete,

Captain Carol spends her days doingwhat she loves. She leads tours (moststarting at the Grand Hotel in PointClear) and fishing expeditions andhosts get-togethers of all sorts on the Joshua, including weddings, birthdaysand memorials. She says, "Any reasonyou can think to have a party, you cando it on a boat."

Although some excursions go out

to the Middle Bay Lighthouse,Bramblett says the trips she likes bestdon’t have a destination. "Sailing is allabout sailing. It’s not about going. Onceyou get out there and put the sails up,you’re there. You don’t have to have adestination."

As for her childhood dreams,Bramblett says, "I don’t know why Idreamed it. I’m just glad I did. I know Ishould research it, but I’m too busy liv-ing life." She sometimes wonders if thedreams were really about a boat to bebuilt or about all the people who wouldcome together in the process.

"The camaraderie of the peoplewho helped was the most wonderfulthing," Bramblett says. "It’s just good-ness. I don’t think I own Joshua.Everybody else owns her and I’m justthe caretaker. It’s more about Joshuathan me. She’ll be here a long time afterI’m gone."

Vicki Valosik ElZarrad is a freelancecontributor to Mobile Bay Monthly.

"Boats are always ‘hers,’" Captain Carol

Bramblett says. "They’ll take care of youif you take care of them. She is just

named after a male." She adds that any-

one with the name Joshua can sail with

her for free.

064-088_mbm_JUL05 6/13/05 5:41 PM Page 73

captain carol's sleek dream ship

Documents