Mission Possible
So we did it. We set out for 6 days in Greenport, Long Island and we successfully completed all the lofty goals we set for freshening up the schooner, Deliverance. Of course it rained! Of course we missed the bowls of clam chowder in Greenport Proper, but a warm shower was a hot commodity through out the course of getting her back in the water. So let’s just give a shout out all the staff at Brewer Yacht Sales and Safe Harbor for their kindness and generosity. It is a sweet place to get the job done, even when you are not looking so sweet yourself.
We painted the decks, cockpit, and interior cabin for starters, and I won’t go into every minute detail, but splash day was fast approaching and we needed to move. On Friday, May 31st she went in the water (jumping up and down). We performed a sea trial an hour later, docked her on E dock, then drove 2 1/2 hours back to Rockaway, NY to play a Stell & Snuggs show at Rockaway Brewing Company that night. The owner of the brewery, Marcus had just bought a sloop a couple of weeks ago and was anxious to do some ocean sailing, so we took him and his partner, Rebecca back with us that night (toothpicks keeping eyes open) to Greenport to deliver the schooner to Jamaica Bay, Rockaway NY. CREW SCORE!
Saturday, May 1: We switched on the diesel motor at about 4am and set sail for Rockaway, and at approximately 8 a.m a dense fog rolled in and the visibility was SQUAT. Thankfully, it cleared partially whilst sailing around Montauk Point, as there were loads of local fisherman landing stripers onto their boats for their “catch of the day.” We were pea green with envy. We didn’t even think about fishing gear through the course of painting, sanding, scraping, taping…. On our other vessel, Catherine, (which we live on, in the Caribbean) we always have a line out for mahi or wahoo or whatever will bite the line for dinner while sailing offshore. No matter though, because our crew mates, Marcus and Rebecca had brought some slamming curry leftovers that they heated up in the galley to warm our bones. You guys rock, thank you.
Through the course of the night while on passage, we alternated watches every two hours, and periodically blew the “Caribbean cell phone” aka conch shell to alert other mariners of our position amongst “pea soup.” All in all, it was 24 hours of something that resembled a Whistler painting, still epic none the less.
But how was the sail? We had 5 knots coming from the NE for most of the time. We raised 4 sails maybe 5 times?… Just not enough, but we had to get to Rockaway for our upcoming charter the next day! Sure enough, we made port into Jamaica Bay at 8am on Sunday. Crew mate, Rebecca was at the helm and brought us in, and seeing her face grinning ear to ear was priceless. Gotta love getting the job done. Who-hoot!!!
Lofty goals? Yes. But did we do it, you bet we did. Our first charter on Jamaica Bay went smooth like butter, and we actually got some wind which made it even sweeter. You know that word “doubt” that can shake at your head from time to time? Well, stop doing that, because you actually can.
Happy sailing and enjoy your life,
Christel Astin