Don’t Tell Babci But Jen Just Bought Another Boat
One Wooden Boat
There’s no doubt. I get it honestly. I was bit by the boat bug as a wee little one. Of course that was a costly insect to be bit by, but alas, I’m a mermaid at heart.
Still not sure why my dad thought it best to decapitate my first flounder before taking my photo but it’s one of those memories that will go down in history. And much like my father, and my father’s father, I never lost my love for being on the open water.
One of my fondest memories was being able to hear the sounds of the Coast Guard Station carry across the inlet and through my bedroom window at night.
Then as an adult I stepped foot onto the U.S.S. Sequoia and whew. The wooden boat bug really bit!
“A man is never lost at sea.” – Ernest Hemingway
There’s no doubt. I get it honestly. I was bit by the boat bug as a wee little one. Of course that was a costly insect to be bit by, but alas, I’m a mermaid at heart.
Still not sure why my dad thought it best to decapitate my first flounder before taking my photo but it’s one of those memories that will go down in history. And much like my father, and my father’s father, I never lost my love for being on the open water.
One of my fondest memories was being able to hear the sounds of the Coast Guard Station carry across the inlet and through my bedroom window at night.
Then as an adult I stepped foot onto the U.S.S. Sequoia and whew. The wooden boat bug really bit!
“A man is never lost at sea.” – Ernest Hemingway
My First Boat.
Yes, I Ran Aground.
But at least I was marinating steaks onboard before that happened. My first boat is a 2000 19′ Grady White Tournament. On this particular voyage, I ended up wishing two things…#1, that I had charged my bow spotlight before departure and #2, that I had a cabin. It was fine being beached until the tide came in, afterall, I got to cook dinner aft. But, the voyage home ended quite abrupty when the spotlight died right after the full moon decided to hide behind the clouds.
One wrong right turn later onto a literal serpentine shaped “creek” and I decided that anchoring for the remainder of the night was best. The mosquitos in that marsh thought it best too:(
My “New” Boat.
Just Not New.
I’ve been searching for some time now for a wooden boat like my dad and his dad once owned back in the 60’s. Pop’s old boat was a uni-body haul, with a mid-ship helm and my favorite part? A 18 HP Johnson Seashore in cherry red. I think this is probably the biggest reason I drift back to the past in my love of boats, cars and campers. There was just an amazing attention to aesthetic in everyday items.
My search recently came to an end when I found a lovely couple in Maryland, who were willing to give up their 1962 Lyman. While not a unibody haul like a Whirlwind or a Trojan, her white planks just make you smile. And of course how can I forget to talk about her vintage Evinrude. She was and will continue to be, a labor of love. If only she could talk. I hope to create blog posts about her and my new adventures:)
Nautical Love.
It Can Tackle All.
I love “antiques.” Obviously, you cannot tell that by my website at all. And I gave my friends at the Royal Port antiques mecca a good chuckle two Christmases ago when I found a use for that giant, vintage sailboat tackle I had bought from them many years earlier. I used it to prop up a Christmas tree that was entirely too big for its stand and most likely the room it was in. I had my mom all to myself and as we went trekking across the tree farm with saw in-hand, it started to snow. And there she was, the ultimate tribute to Oh Tannebaum, lol. Thankfully Mom was there, because she talked me out of it. I would have needed an entire sailboat to hold that one up!
This photo is from the Submarine Force Museum in Groton, Connecticut. Unfortunately these screws were a little too big to fit on my mantle, lol. But you can’t fault a girl for trying to load them into her car.