CLEVELAND — Matthew Gibas is the captain of a special boat.

“This is the Appledore IV,” Gibas said.

He said the ship was built in 1989 for a specific reason.

 “To be [an] icebreaker in Antarctica. So she’s a reinforced, steel hull. She can handle just about anything,” Gibas said.

Now, the ship’s strength and beauty are on display in Ohio as one of the seven boats appearing at the 2022 Cleveland Tall Ship Festival.

“So, tall ship is more of a general term,” Gibas said. “I would say for my schooners and brigs. It implies that it’s more of a traditionally run ship. So there aren’t any winches or powered anything—everything is done manually on the tall ships.”

Gibas said it’s his second time in Cleveland for the festival, but it’s his first season as the ship’s captain.

“I’ve been a relief captain for the past three years,” Gibas said.

He said he worked with a crew of five to get the vessel from Michigan to Ohio.

“We’re doing tours up in St. Ignace, Michigan and Mackinac Island. So we came all the way down Lake Huron, through Lake St. Clair, through [the] Detroit River, down across [Lake] Erie, and now we’re here,” Gibas said.

Gibas said the trip can be tough on the crew.

“It’s interesting. It’s, we do watch changes. So we do four hours on, four hours off. So every eight hours feels like it’s another day. So you lose all track of time and what day it is,” Gibas said.

Chief Mate Taylor Lantz, who is second in command, said structure and routine help ease the journey.

“We get the crew up to where we muster and have breakfast at 8 a.m. every morning,” Lantz said. “Then, when we’re sailing, we have the crew, we raise all the sails, tend the sheets, we get back to dock. We always scrub the deck and get everything tidied away.”

As Lantz preps his ship for the show, he said he’s excited to learn about all the other vessels that are docking in Cleveland.

“Every ship does things differently,” Lantz said. “It’s nice to meet the crew and get involved with all the other ships, and it’s just a really enjoyable experience for everyone who is a sailor.”

Those interested in learning more about this vessel, Lantz said his ship will do sail aways during the festival into Lake Erie. Each trip lasts around an hour and 15 minutes.

The festival is July 7-10.