My name is Griffin Hayes, and I’m not exaggerating when I say I wouldn’t be the person I am today, both personally and professionally, were it not for Niagara.

I was born and raised here, in Erie. As a child I was always so excited to see our very own Flagship, out on the bay, her sails set, yellow and black hull gleaming on the water. I was a history enthusiast growing up, so when I got the chance to volunteer on board the ship, I jumped at it. I was 14 years old when my mother barged into my room over Christmas break and asked if I wanted to go work on Niagara. I immediately said yes and got dressed. At a volunteer meeting for the combined festival of Tall Ships Erie 2013 and the Bicentennial of the Battle of Lake Erie, my mother cornered Captain Wes Heersen, and his Chief Mate, Billy SabatiniFleet Captain William "Billy" Sabatini is the executive director and fleet captain of the Flagship Niagara League. Sabatini grew up in southeastern Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, and .... They told her that she could stop by anytime to fill out the paperwork to start volunteering.

The next week we went down to the ship, and Billy personally took time out of his busy day to show a woman and her shy 14-year-old the entirety of the rig shop, give them a tour of the ship, and make sure that we were welcomed and fully informed of what it meant to be a volunteer with Niagara. We started attending the winter sail training class every Saturday morning and doing maintenance in the afternoons. My father couldn’t believe that his son, who he couldn’t even get to run the vacuum every once in a while, was waking up at 7am to spend his Saturday doing manual labor for 8 hours.

By 18 I had two voyages, dozens of day sails, and countless hours of winter maintenance under my belt. As soon as I graduated high school, I was ready to join the crew as an apprentice. That summer I spent my time devouring any scrap of knowledge tossed my way, competing (sometimes a little too aggressively) in pinrail chases with the other apprentices and trainees, relentlessly pushing myself to be better, to strive higher, and to eventually become part of the paid crew. I learned what it meant to want something, and to earn it through hard work and aggressive determination. I was hired as an Ordinary Seafarer in August of that year.

When I say I grew up on Niagara, it’s not an exaggeration. I spent any spare time I had during high school learning whatever lessons she could teach me. Once I had realized this was my chosen career path I spent every summer working for the Flagship Niagara League, growing not only professionally as a mariner, but personally, into a young man that I hoped would make my ship mentors proud. I would not be the man I am today were it not for the mentorship and guidance of the men and women I sailed under. On board Niagara I learned discipline, respect, and most of all, self-confidence. I learned how to listen, and to make my voice heard, how to own up to and correct my mistakes, and the feeling of proud accomplishment a job well done can bring.

Onboard Niagara I found a mentor and a father figure who I can still turn to today for anything. I met my best friend, who has a chapbook of his own experience onboard, and how it changed his life. Most importantly, I met the woman who is now my wife. Niagara is a core part of how we came to be. We would likely have never met if it weren’t for the ship, and I’m grateful for every memory I have aboard with her. Niagara was the first time that I had ever felt at home, the first time I’d felt accepted, and that I had found a place where I not only belonged but was welcomed with open arms. Niagara is where I found my family.

Niagara started me on the path of the Merchant Mariner. I am now the Chief Mate on board a ship in California called the Mystic Whaler and am training to be the relief captain for her. I wouldn’t possibly be where I am without the training and guidance I received throughout my years onboard Niagara. Though I am grateful for the opportunity I have been given to work with the wonderful organization that currently employs me, it was never where I thought I would be.

In typical fashion, I had always imagined “getting out” of my hometown, of striking out on my own, and living large in some big city somewhere. Niagara changed that. For 12 years I dreamed of becoming Niagara’s first Erie native captain, and was on that path, going so far as uprooting my life in North Carolina to move back to Erie permanently. My wife and I often talked of starting sailing programs together, of investing in Erie, and most importantly, of giving back to the community that gave so much to me, to help other troubled or lost teens find their way the same way I did. I was Niagara’s Bosun last year when I was abruptly laid off due to PHMCThe Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is the state agency that stewards the U.S. Brig Niagara and Erie Maritime Museum. The PHMC is responsible for the collect... deciding to end their contract with FNL without warning. PHMC ended that dream.

Niagara means something. Not just because she represents the Commonwealth, or because she is a fantastic platform for producing some of the finest mariners in the country. Not just because she brings revenue to Erie, or because she looks good on a poster for the City. She means something because there are countless stories that are just like mine. Stories of people falling in love aboard her, of finding their careers, their family, their path. Stories that were born from something more than just a pile of sticks and timber and canvas.

Niagara is something that is precious, it is something rare, something singular that can’t be replicated. Something that deserves to be preserved, and not just “preserved” at a dock. She deserves to be shared with people beyond just the boundaries of her home lake. She deserves to do it with people at the helm of her who not only understand the mechanics and the intricacies of her as a vessel but understand that she is more than that. People that understand that Niagara is all of these things and more, that truly understand how special she is as not just a ship, but a place. As a home.

I understand that the likelihood of seeing Niagara operate again in the way that so many of us have come to know and love is slim to none. I keep telling myself that I have grieved that Niagara, but the truth is, I’m not sure I will ever be over that loss. Niagara has been linked so intricately throughout my life not only to my sense of self, but my family, my career, and my community. That is not something one can easily or quickly get over.

My goal in writing this is not necessarily to convince PHMC of any action, but instead to share my story in hopes that, should it be seen, it can give a small glimpse to why people care so deeply about something that others might see as just a boat. I want my story to inspire people to take care of this precious and rare thing. To not let bureaucrats who have never experienced the true majesty that is Niagara rob the people of not only Erie, but across the country of the world-altering experience that is the U.S. Brig Niagara.