Flagship Brig Niagara will sail again in Erie. But when?

The Flagship Niagara won't be sailing or inviting guests aboard until at least the latter part of the 2025 sailing season as plans move ahead for the vessel to be sent out of town for repairs.

But the Niagara — which has been under new management since Jan. 1 — will remain an Erie-based asset of the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission and it will continue to sail and participate in Tall Ships events.

Those are assurances offered by PHMC, which sailed the reconstructed U.S. Brig Niagara from the time it was completed in 1992 until 2009 when the Erie-based Flagship Niagara League was contracted to sail and maintain the ship.

That arrangement ended Jan. 1, when PHMC again took over those roles and invited the Flagship Niagara League to serve instead as a support or an affiliate organization for both the Niagara and the Erie Maritime Museum.

That transition did not proceed as planned.

In April, eight of the League's 13 board members resigned. Together, PHMC and the Flagship Niagara League concluded they would not move ahead with a partnership.

The Flagship League continues to offer daily sails on the Lettie G. Howard, a historic fishing schooner, launched in 1893, that has operated in Erie since 2018 under agreement with its owner, New York City's South Street Seaport Museum.

Questions still remain

It's the sailing future of the Niagara that has some concerned.

Despite assurances from PHMC, questions continue to swirl about the future of the Niagara, which is expected this summer to be moved to dry dock in Cleveland for repairs and to return to dock again next year for structural repairs.

Some of those questions have been raised by local supporters of the flagship, including the authors of an online petition and a blog called Protect Brig Niagara.

The group, whose members include former Flagship volunteers Ginny Sivak and Steven Perry, describes its mission as "to ensure that the Brig Niagara is in the hands of people who can maintain her and operate her safely, successfully, and transparently as an actively sailing vessel in her role as ambassador for the people and history of Pennsylvania."

Concerns about the two-masted warship, which Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry used as a relief flagship during the Battle of Lake Erie, were fueled earlier this year when the U.S. Coast Guard placed Niagara on inactive status.

PHMC said that's a normal procedure for a ship being readied for repairs.

But inactive status comes with limitations. Until it's returned to active status, the Niagara can't be used for normal sailing or to host tours. The Protect Brig Niagara website has questioned how the ship can be moved to port without a captain and crew and has suggested the process of hiring a crew has not even begun.

The blog's authors raised other questions, including concerns about PHMC's treatment of volunteers, readiness to operate the ship and the absence of a nonprofit organization to raise money on its behalf.

Saying no to the Navy's invite

The blog's authors also want to know why the Brig Niagara, which played a pivotal role in the Battle of Lake Erie and the War of 1812, won't be in Philadelphia next fall when the U.S. Navy marks its 250th anniversary.

One blog entry suggests that PHMC is bound by Title 37 of the PA Consolidated Statutes and that PHMC "may have a legal duty to take Niagara to the 250th anniversary celebration of the US Navy."

The Erie Maritime Museum addressed those and other issues in a series of questions and answers posted on its website.

PHMC confirmed that the ship would undergo extensive repairs over the next two years and would not be able to attend the celebration in Philadelphia.

According to the museum's post: "PHMC could not responsibly commit to participating in Homecoming 250 Navy-Marine Corps in 2025. Furthermore, factoring in the cost of approximately $1.5 million, or 6.7 percent of PHMC’s total annual budget, for transporting Niagara to Philadelphia made participation even more unfeasible."

Commission member weighs in

Cal Pifer, who is executive director of the Hagen History Center and was appointed by Gov. Josh Shapiro in August to serve as a member of the Commission, said it's important to remember that PHMC has sailed the Niagara before.

"Erie should keep in mind that PHMC safely and effectively operated the ship from 1991 until 2010," said Pifer, who previously served as vice chairman of Tall Ships America.

The process of making repairs and returning the Niagara to service will take time, Pifer said. The process is expected to begin this summer when the ship is taken to Cleveland for propeller repairs. Later, he said, the ship will be evaluated to determine what structural repairs are needed and where best to have that work done.

PHMC is working to hire a captain and crew, according to the Erie Maritime Museum website.

"These hiring processes are progressing," PHMC reported. "Once positions have been filled, we will make a public announcement introducing our new team members."

The pace of the process has been called into question, Pifer said.

"I think there are some folks who are taking the delay of hiring a captain as a signal that PHMC is being (deceptive)." he said. "That is simply not the case. These things take time. They don't happen overnight. There is a process that has to play out."

The timetable

No one expects the Niagara to resume deck tours or sail training in 2024. PHMC is hoping however, that the ship might be available for the Tall Ships Erie 2025 in the latter part of the summer.

While PHMC is committed to sailing for the nation's 250th anniversary in 2026, the organization says it's being careful what to promise when it comes to the 2025 sailing calendar.

'People are paying attention'

Pifer said he wants to shoot down what he called the most outlandish rumor, the unfounded idea that the Niagara will be moved to Philadelphia.

PHMC addressed those concerns in an emailed statement to the Erie Times-News.

According to that statement, "PHMC appreciates the significance of Erie and its maritime history in the Pennsylvania story and is enthusiastic about positioning the Erie Maritime Museum as a premier maritime history center.  To realize this vision, PHMC is making a substantial investment in the Erie Maritime Museum Complex, including the U.S. Brig Niagara."

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

On balance, though, Pifer said he has no problem with all the questions that have been raised

"I see it as a positive," he said. "People are paying attention. That shows how beloved the ship is to the people of Erie. I am glad people are watching this like a hawk."

Billy Sabatini, the longtime executive director and fleet captain of the Flagship Niagara League, claims no special insights into either the current or future operations of the Niagara.

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

"I don't know what is going to happen next in terms of the Niagara," said Sabatini, who was named sail trainer of the year at the 2023 Tall Ships America conference. "I have had no part in it since Jan. 1."

But Sabatini, who is sailing the Lettie G. Howard, does know what he hopes.

"I want the Niagara to sail again," he said. "It's such an important part of who we are as a community. My hope is that PHMC gets the ship sailing as they have said they would. Just because I am not the captain doesn't mean I don't want it to sail."

'It's not going to be mothballed'

State Rep. Pat Harkins, of Erie, D-1st Dist., said that along with several of his fellow stage legislators, he's been in regular contact with PHMC and others concerning the future of the flagship.

"I's almost a daily thing for me," he said. "It's like a side job. We are trying to bring everyone together for the sake of the legacy of this ship."

Harkins said he's emerged from those conversations with a sense of confidence.

"It's not going to leave and go to Philadelphia and be stored there. It's not going to be mothballed," he said. "It's going to be back here and we are going to get a structured group of people who make sure it stays vital for years to come. It's our state flagship and we are not going to give it up."

Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: The Flagship Niagara needs repairs, captain and crew