Winter 2026 WorkParty from Friday 16 Jan 2026 through Monday 26 January 2026 Summary:
The Winter WorkParty will kick off with an arrival day of Friday, 16 January. Organized work will begin on Saturday, 17 Oct and end on Monday, 26 Jan. The final departure day is Monday, 26 Jan.
I am extending this workparty so that it will include full weekends on both ends. This will give our traditional workers some scheduling flexibility and will also allow us to capitalize on a group of new local Charleston volunteers who began supporting us during our Fall25 workparty. We now have a number of Bosch employees (from Bosch’s largest plant in America where they make fuel injection systems and ESP/ABS brake systems) who have begun giving us their time and efforts. As always, all of you are welcome to come for as much, or as little, as you can during this 11 day period. However, to help me with the logistics, I am asking that you do your best to let me know by Monday, 12 January, which dates that you plan to attend.
Each work day will begin with coffee ready at 7AM, then breakfast will begin around 7:30 – 7:45. At 8AM, as we are finishing up breakfast, we will have a short briefing to lay out the plan for the day. At the end of the day, at 5PM-ish, we will have a “hotwash” debrief- reviewing what was done that day and letting us know what you need for the following day. We will do this each day, so please do your best to be present for these so we can all communicate most effectively.
Safety, comfort, and fun are our priorities at our workparties. While we have expanded the timeframe opportunities to live and work on the ship, by no means should anyone feel like they have to be present for an entire week, nor to work for the entire time you are present. On a daily basis, you should definitely limit yourself to what you are comfortable doing and not push your limits- feel free to take a day off. I always have a number of light duty options available if you want to contribute, but are not up to being on your feet, carrying things, or being out in the heat: administrative paperwork, computer work, meal prep, running errands, etc. Joining a docent at Gun Mount 53 is a great option, or just finding a comfortable place on the ship to talk with folks as the tourists walk through are both great ways to help folks to enjoy the work our shipmates have done over the years.
Meals for all workers are paid for by the Association. Males over 18 may stay overnight on board the Laffey. We do have limits on bunking aboard the Laffey, but, with some prior notice we can sometimes house excess men on the Yorktown. If we have at least two women that would like to sleep on the Yorktown for synchronized dates, I can likely make that available. Ladies- Please let me know ASAP if you are interested in this since this takes extra coordination with the Patriots Point staff.
If you are going to attend any workparty, please make sure that your Laffey membership is paid-up. You can now join (or donate) completely online: https://laffey.org/wordpress/index.php/2025/09/29/payments/
If you have questions or problems, contact Joyce Hanau, Laffey Association Membership Chairperson: membership@laffey.org 347-439-2452
If you’d like to contribute via our New Amazon Wishlist, click here:
If you would like to participate in this workparty, contact me ASAP for additional parking, ID, and other details.
Thank you,
Mike Honsinger
President, USS Laffey Association
President@Laffey.org
MikeHonsinger@SBCGlobal.net
281-923-4969