The South Carolina Maritime Foundation was founded in August 2000 by a group with passionate maritime interests who held a keen interest in reviving awareness of South Carolina’s rich maritime heritage. The vessel serves as an icon for the organization, animating the historical nature of its work and providing a platform for educational programs.
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2000: Cofounders of the South Carolina Maritime Foundation, Charlie Sneed and Mark Bayne develop a vision of recreating a working vessel from 1879 and find old plans of the Frances Elizabeth at the Smithsonian Institute. In the process they discover the Frances Elizabeth was originally built at the Samuel J. Pregnall Shipyard, which sat a mere hundred yards from the construction sight of the Spirit of South Carolina. |
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2001-2003: The keel is laid and Live Oak frames are installed to form the hull of the ship. Volunteers rally to support the effort to build awareness of South Carolina’s maritime history and construct an educational platform for South Carolina youth. |
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2003 – 2004: Construction is halted for a brief time due to lack of funds and restructuring. |
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2004: Brad and Meaghan Van Liew are brought in as codirectors to spearhead the project’s funding and execution. A capital campaign to complete construction is launched with a devoted Board of Directors committing to more than 25% of the budget. A detailed business plan is developed and various fundraising events are incorporated into the strategy. |
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March 2005: Construction resumes on the ship as funds are continually sought. |
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March 4, 2007: The ship is launched in the Charleston Harbor as a student from Chapin, South Carolina christens the ship after winning a statewide essay contest conducted by The Post & Courier. |
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May 20, 2007: During the South Carolina Maritime Foundation’s tall ship festival, the sails are hoisted for the very first time aboard the Spirit of South Carolina surrounded by visiting ships from India, Colombia, Bermuda and Canada. The Spirit sails! |
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2007-2008: During the first year of programming, the Spirit of South Carolina serves a diverse population of more than 2,200 students with highly successful hands-on experiential education. Programs included Sea Spray Scouts daysails, the first custom overnight program, and the first summer of Spirit Ocean Adventure. More than 54% of students served are from economically disadvantaged schools (with more than half the student body on free or reduced lunch programs). |
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2008-2009: The fall season includes 23 Sea Spray Scouts daysails and two custom overnight programs. During custom programs in the winter, the ship travels to the Dominican Republic where students assist with the installation of a water purification system and help train the local community residents on its use. |
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Summer 2009: The South Carolina Maritime Foundation expands the scope of its educational programming to include 21st Century Spirit Ocean Adventure, a six-week dropout-prevention program which served 40 disadvantaged Charleston students through five weeks in Charleston and one week aboard the Spirit of South Carolina in New York City. |
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2009-2010: The South Carolina Maritime Foundation continues its programming. In the spring of 2010, the number of schools participating in custom overnight programming doubles and the number of students served passes 6,000. |
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Fall 2010: In an effort to continue serving Charleston’s disadvantaged populations, the South Carolina Maritime Foundation launches Horizons, an afterschool program for fourth through sixth grade students at Sanders-Clyde Elementary/Middle School. |
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