SCHELLENGERS LANDING — The Schooner Wolf arrived at South Jersey Marina flying a number of flags including one from the Conch Republic Navy, a Jolly Roger and a U.S. Flag.
The 74-foot schooner was open for tours Wed., June 27 during a stopover here.
Admiral Finbar Gittleman, also known as the Supreme Military Commander of the Conch Republic Navy, answered visitor’s questions about the ship.
“One of our missions is to defend the honor and territory of the Conch Republic against any enemies,” he said. “That’s a very easy job because we don’t have enemies.”
The Wolf’s journey started in Key West with port visits scheduled at tall ship festivals along the east coast. Gittleman said the ship ran into heavy weather en route to Beaufort, S.C. which blew out a seam in the mainsail.
“The best thing about her is how she deals with bad weather,” he said.
The Wolf is a topsail schooner, built in 1983 with a cargo capacity of 20 tons. Speed under sail is 12 knots. The ship also carries a 216 horsepower Detroit Diesel engine.
With a light load, the Wolf’s draft is 6.5 feet or about 7.5 feet with a full load of cargo, said Gittleman.
Capt. Joe Holz, of the Conch Republic Navy, said he was taught to steer by using celestial tools and a magnetic compass by Gittleman. The ship is equipped with GPS but no radar.
Gittleman said all 50,000 or so citizens of Florida’s Monroe County are considered to be citizens of the Conch Republic which was established in 1982. He said the Conch Republic has an air force, an army and a navy.
Gittleman is the senior surviving Conch Republic Navy officer of the “Great Battle.” He said the battle began in 1983 when the U.S. Border Patrol decided to set up a roadblock between the mainland and the Florida Keys.
“There is only one road coming down and they had traffic backed up for countless miles,” said Gittleman.
While the border patrol claimed to be searching for illegal aliens, he said they were searching luggage, under car seats, in glove compartments and “especially in ashtrays.”
“They literally searched every ashtray in every car,” said Gittleman.
He said the border patrol was obviously not looking for illegal aliens but “contraband substances some folks like to smoke.”
Gittleman said the roadblock was keeping tourists away from the Florida Keys. A plea from the mayor of Key West and the state’s governor to cease the roadblock fell on deaf ears, he said.
The city fathers and mayor of Key West sent a proclamation to Washington D.C. noting the border patrol was designed to patrol borders between the U.S. and foreign countries, so the roadblock between the mainland and the Keys indicated the government deemed residents of the Florida Keys as foreigners.
“Therefore we hereby secede and declare ourselves to be a sovereign, independent nation which shall be known as the Conch Republic,” Gittleman quoted from the proclamation.
He said a Conch Republic flag was raised over city hall.
“We went forth into the harbor looking for trouble and quickly found it,” said Gittleman. A U.S. Coast Guard cutter was coming into port.
“We sailed up along side the Coast Guard cutter and attacked it with water balloons, conch fritters and stale Cuban bread,” he said. “The Coasties did the best they could, they broke out their fire hoses and fought back.”
Gittleman said the battle raged for “minutes.” The conch nation ship then quickly sailed away.
“After that battle was concluded, we immediately surrendered to the United States and applied for $1 billion in foreign aid and war reparations which we are still waiting for,” he said.
The battle and secession made headlines across the nation and the border checkpoint quietly disappeared “thus proving the most affective of all weapons is humor.”
The battle is reenacted each year with a Coast Guard Cutter on Conch Nation Independence Day, April 23.
“The Conch Republic Navy is a farce to be reckoned with,” said Gittleman.
Along with defending the Conch Nation, the Wolf has delivered hundreds of tons of donated relief supplies to small island communities, including Port Antonio, Jamaica after Hurricane Gilbert; Guanaja, Honduras after Hurricane Mitch; Hope Town, Abacos, Bahamas after Hurricane Floyd; to West End, Grand Bahama after Hurricanes Jeanne & Ivan and to La Gonave, Haiti after their recent devastating earthquake.
“It’s not a yacht, it doesn’t pretend to be a yacht in any fashion,” said Gittleman. “It’s a simple old fashioned working schooner.”
The Wolfe stops next in New London, Conn.
