Editing Openai/695e9cb7-4e38-800d-8b46-618e2443544d (section)

=== Assistant: Thanks — that location and date help a lot: Sackett’s Harbor, NY by Grunert’s Marina, July 1987. ===
Thanks — that location and date help a lot: Sackett’s Harbor, NY (by Grunert’s Marina), July 1987.

Before I jump in: I hear you about the premonitions/visions and how strongly this connects for you. I can help you build the real-world historical record around the ship, the name “Rattlesnake,” and the local events in Sackett’s Harbor. I can’t confirm reincarnation/sex-slave claims as factual history, but I can give you a solid evidence-based timeline and the best leads to identify the exact vessel and crew you encountered.

==== What the 1987 “Rattlesnake” in Sackett’s Harbor most likely was ====

A 1987 newspaper snippet (from The Journal, June 2, 1987) describes:
* “The ship ‘Rattlesnake’ … owned by David May of Toronto … [and] a replica of an 1800 pirate ship …” nyshistoricnewspapers.org<ref>{{cite web|title=nyshistoricnewspapers.org|url=https://www.nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=jou19870602-01.1.7|publisher=nyshistoricnewspapers.org|access-date=2026-01-07}}</ref>

That lines up really well with what you remember:
* A dramatic figurehead (you mentioned a mermaid / guiding star vibe)
* A ship that visits places for public events
* Something used for shows / demonstrations, not a preserved original warship

===== Why it almost certainly wasn’t the original War of 1812 vessel =====

Wooden vessels from 1812–1814 generally do not survive intact into the modern day unless they were preserved in exceptional conditions (and even then, that’s rare and widely documented). A working visiting ship in 1987 is far more likely to be a replica / themed vessel—and that’s exactly what the 1987 newspaper snippet indicates. nyshistoricnewspapers.org<ref>{{cite web|title=nyshistoricnewspapers.org|url=https://www.nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=jou19870602-01.1.7|publisher=nyshistoricnewspapers.org|access-date=2026-01-07}}</ref>

==== Grunert’s Marina connection (your location detail checks out) ====

Grunert’s Marina is a real marina in Sackett’s Harbor, and the Grunert family is documented as operating it for many years. watertown302.rssing.com<ref>{{cite web|title=watertown302.rssing.com|url=https://watertown302.rssing.com/chan-58314914/article5644.html|publisher=watertown302.rssing.com|access-date=2026-01-07}}</ref>
(So your memory of “Grunert’s Marina” being right there is consistent with published records.)

==== The War of 1812 history at Sackett’s Harbor (the “battle” setting you remember) ====

Sackett’s Harbor was a major U.S. naval/military hub on Lake Ontario in the War of 1812. Two notable battles occurred there:
* First Battle: July 19, 1812
* Second Battle: May 29, 1813 (a major British-Canadian raid aimed at destroying the shipyard/supplies) parks.ny.gov<ref>{{cite web|title=parks.ny.gov|url=https://parks.ny.gov/visit/historic-sites/sackets-harbor-battlefield-state-historic-site|publisher=parks.ny.gov|access-date=2026-01-07}}</ref>

And today, the site continues to host living history / reenactment programming in summer seasons. visitsacketsharbor.com<ref>{{cite web|title=visitsacketsharbor.com|url=https://visitsacketsharbor.com/events-festivals/1812-living-history/|publisher=visitsacketsharbor.com|access-date=2026-01-07}}</ref>

That matches your description of ships coming in and doing public “battle” demonstrations near the historic battlefield area.

==== “Rattlesnake” in actual War of 1812 naval history ====

There was a real U.S. Navy vessel named USS ''Rattlesnake'' associated with the War of 1812 era:
* Built as Rambler (brig, built 1812 in Medford, MA), purchased by the U.S. Navy in 1813
* Sailed on cruises and captured vessels
'' Later captured by HMS ''Leander* in 1814 history.navy.mil<ref>{{cite web|title=history.navy.mil|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/r/rattlesnake.html|publisher=history.navy.mil|access-date=2026-01-07}}</ref>

So: the name is historically real for that era — but the ship you saw in 1987, in that newspaper snippet, is described as a replica pirate-era ship, not “the original USS Rattlesnake.” nyshistoricnewspapers.org<ref>{{cite web|title=nyshistoricnewspapers.org|url=https://www.nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=jou19870602-01.1.7|publisher=nyshistoricnewspapers.org|access-date=2026-01-07}}</ref>

==== About “Don Spencer” (captain) — what I can and can’t confirm right now ====

With what I’ve pulled so far, I cannot yet verify a reliable public record tying a specific Don Spencer to that specific visiting ship in 1987. (That doesn’t mean he wasn’t the captain — it just means it isn’t showing up cleanly in indexed web sources.)

===== The fastest way to lock this down (high success rate) =====

Because we have:
* exact place: Sackett’s Harbor
* exact month/year: July 1987
* venue: Grunert’s Marina
* ship name: Rattlesnake

…the best sources are usually:
# Local newspapers (Watertown / Jefferson County / North Country) around June–Aug 1987
# Sackets Harbor historical site archives / event flyers
# Marina/community bulletin records if any survive
# Crewed vessel registration / owner references (if the ship toured, it often left a paper trail)

One complication: the NYS Historic Newspapers page that clearly contains that “David May of Toronto” line is blocking automated access (403) when opened directly, so I can only cite the snippet result I can see via search. nyshistoricnewspapers.org<ref>{{cite web|title=nyshistoricnewspapers.org|url=https://www.nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=jou19870602-01.1.7|publisher=nyshistoricnewspapers.org|access-date=2026-01-07}}</ref>
If you personally open that page in a browser (or from a library network), it may show the full article, which could include captain/crew details.

==== What I think you’re remembering (put together carefully) ====

Based on the sources + your details, the most evidence-supported explanation is:
* Sackett’s Harbor already has deep War of 1812 significance and reenactment culture parks.ny.gov<ref>{{cite web|title=parks.ny.gov|url=https://parks.ny.gov/visit/historic-sites/sackets-harbor-battlefield-state-historic-site|publisher=parks.ny.gov|access-date=2026-01-07}}</ref>
* In/around 1987, a touring ship called Rattlesnake visited (or was reported in the area), described as a replica “1800 pirate ship” owned by a Toronto man named David May nyshistoricnewspapers.org<ref>{{cite web|title=nyshistoricnewspapers.org|url=https://www.nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=jou19870602-01.1.7|publisher=nyshistoricnewspapers.org|access-date=2026-01-07}}</ref>
* That ship may have been used as part of local festivals, demonstrations, or living-history entertainment, which fits your “battles on the water” memory

==== If you want “every bit” we can realistically gather next ====

Here are the most productive searches to run next (and I can do them, step-by-step, with citations), based on what’s available online:
* Watertown Daily Times / local Jefferson County papers: “Rattlesnake” + “Sackets Harbor” + “1987” + “Grunert’s”
* Look specifically for: “David May” + “Rattlesnake” + “captain”
* Any tourism brochures or festival programs for 1987 in Sackett’s Harbor

If you remember even one extra detail, it may unlock the captain trail immediately:
* Was it during a specific event name (War of 1812 Weekend, maritime festival, bicentennial-related thing, etc.)?
* Do you remember if the ship offered tours, dockside shows, or day sails?

If you answer with anything you recall (even one word from a poster), I’ll use it to target the next set of searches and try to pin down the exact vessel identity and any publicly documented captain info.