Master and Commander

1.GETTING HIS SEA LEGS. Graves graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1987 and has been stationed on a destroyer, an aircraft carrier, a frigate, and a cruiser. His current two-year tour on the Constitution came when he earned selection for special mission command on the one-of-a-kind ship. “It’s not every day you get to be captain of a ship like this,” Graves says.

2. SAILSMAN. Despite plenty of naval training, Graves didn’t get a lot of schooling in old-school sail-powered frigates. “When you first get here, it’s a little bit more daunting because you don’t have any formal training in the art of sailing ships,” Graves says. “It’s kind of a steep learning curve.”

3. STAYING IN SHIP SHAPE. To help keep the Constitution wearing evenly as it floats in its berth, Graves takes it on “turnaround cruises” seven times a year. (The ship next sets sail on 8/25.) During the turnarounds, more than 600 people can pack onto a ship built to accommodate 500. The passengers usually include dignitaries who tag along and give speeches. Graves tries to keep the oratory brief: Visitors are on board, he realizes, to experience the old ship, not hot air.

4. SLOW GOING. It takes the Constitution two to three hours to sail to Castle Island and back. When the ship, with its five sails, reaches the island, Graves gives the command to fire a 21-gun salute. If you can get out there, Graves says, “Castle Island is really one of the best places to watch.”

5. SEA WORTHY. Half of the 60 or so sailors serving under Graves come out of the Navy’s Great Lakes boot camp in Illinois. The rest receive special duty assignment after being handpicked by Graves’s staff. “Kind of an exclusive group we have up here,” says Graves.

6. ALL ABOARD. The 208-year-old ship, built in Boston, saw almost 413,000 visitors last year. During the summer, as many as 4,000 people visit each day. “She’s a national icon,” Graves says of the boat, the oldest commissioned warship afloat.