Where is IAZ P now Update from NYC!

Oh boy Intrepid Readers- welcome to a very special installment of GISAmateur Style where we have asked Capn Patrick Danger-Danger on an update and his version of events on acquiring and sailing The Most Famous Goat Island Skiff in the World-- IAZ,P. He has gladly obliged, and without further ado I present to you....

IAZ,P Moves to Brooklyn... NYC That Is

Oh man, where to begin!!?!? So I made up my mind to build a dang boat finally. Even decided what type: The famed Goat Island Skiff of story and song. I had begun to cast about for some decent building space. New York City is not a great place to seek shop space for a labor of love like a small sailboat, so my search was fruitless and plagued with daydreams of tents in the mother-in-laws yard or a temporary shop in a storefront in a rundown neighborhood...

Anybody got a shop I can borry part time for like the next 2 years or so? While I figure out how to build this boat as I build it...?

Well I am not a big fan of "The Universe Will Provide" but the way things go some times what else is there to say? You make your luck. So I hooked up with DaveL. who had recently completed his GIS and was looking for crew for BIG ADVENTURE TIME. I thought "well heres an opportunity to have a sail or two in my chosen vessel" kind of a try before you buy kinda thing. Suffice to say, I ended up aboard GIS "Chivita" bound for adventure on the Long Island Sound and most epic of all in NY Harbor!!?!

Pic from H. LaFontaine

 in very close proximity to Lady Liberty and all her attendant craft big and small. Amazing and wonderful to say the least. Capn Dave at the helm ( I got some too!) and we sailed to and fro near Liberty Island and then made our way up the Hudson to visit the Entrepid on Mahattans west side. What a day! This day became more sailing and aboard Daves brothers yacht Flor DLuna, a fine and comfortable Beneteau Oceanis 34.

Transit from Liberty Landing marina to her home port in Glen Cove at Brewer Yacht Yard was in the offing:

Brooklyn Manhattan and Williamsburg Bridges with deckshark.

Through the East River and Hell Gate out into the Long Island Sound... A sailing weekend that started at a public ramp in New Jersey aboard a tiny yet beautiful hand crafted wooden dinghy (GIS Chivita) and ended with a cool beverage aboard a swanky modern yacht (SV Flor DLuna) Whoa! how did that happen??!! You make yer luck.

So the Summertime rolled and I got to go aboard Flor DLuna a coupla more times, all the while dreaming of my GIS in waiting and my magical NYC Storefront boatyard...

Come the winter and Capn Rick of the good ship Flor D Luna made it known that he would be entering the lady Flor in the Around Long Island Regatta. For those ignorants, (few and far between of course) this regatta starts in the Atlantic Ocean off Rockaway Beach, Queens NY, heading East, leaves Montauk Light to port and finishes some time later in Glen Cove Long Island, Home port of the Seacliff Yacht Club, Regatta Sponsor, and Flors home slip as well. Would I crew? Heck yeah! Sailing day and night? Excellent! Multiple days aboard Flor DLuna? COOOOL!!! You make yer luck. Planning commenced and soon the crew manifest was full: a salty bunch of fools the lot! Ideas and Questions and Charts and What Goes Where and EPIRB and Harness etc. etc.and all the while looking at pictures and videos of various Goats, and the one in particular that is I Am Zinea, Pteradactylus. You know the one:

No question that Callsign has truly captured the essence of something very intense and special with his builder and sailor blog about boaty exploits along the rugged and spectacular Maine coast. At least since somewhere within 2012 I had been ogling the scenery and the sailing within GIS Amateur Style: this is exactly what I envisioned I just didnt know it till I saw it here:

Spring begins to crack open a bit in 2014, and I get a message from DaveL amongst the planning and dreaming and ogling... Callsign is selling his boat! IAZ,P is in need of a new skipper as Sea Pearl Scout becomes the Adventure Realization Engine Callsign needs to fulfill further Adventure Realizing! IAZ,P is for sale!!!!???!?! Hurriedly, breathlessly, I send an email and I join a woodenboat forum. Hey Dude! I want that boat!!! Emails are exchanged and a plan begins to formulate: we will meet to look over the boat, but where? Well, it turns out that about halfway between us is a little town in Connecticut where Callsigns ancestral manse is located, complete with ancestors (very charming folk indeed) white picket fences, a town dock, you get the picture. Very Boaty.

When I arrive IAZ,P is on a trailer behind Callsigns car. After lunch and a chat with the parental units, we look her over and turn her over and "...heres this ding and that scuff..." "...rig this tie that..." and like that. Stashed her bottoms up in the grass in front of the house keeping company with a slightly sagging Aquarius relaxing into her trailer bunks.  I am bursting with amazement at my luck. Imma buy this boat from this guy!  Came time to fork over the cash so I did. What came next? Well, Callsign gave me back some of my cash and handed over a really nice bottle of rum. The good stuff! What a Prince this fellow is! A real reverse haggler. What you might call potlatch I guess in the give better than you get vein. Afterwards, a stroll to the waterfront, a coffee, and good conversation about sailing, water, life, current and tide... yknow, the important stuff. We agreed that I would retrieve the boat from the parental yard within some small space of time, (Thanks Mama Callsign!)

Well now what? I bought a boat with no place to put her!!??

Of course I had some ideas and possibilities, and certainly there are yards and marinas and mother in laws... all storage potentials (some more dubious than others) and none quite right for a fine craft such as Ms. Zinea.

Well, I go to the internet one day (as we do) searchword "small boat storage NYC" or some stupidness like that and there on the glowing screen is the website of the Sebago Canoe Club. Cool. I went down to Canarsie, Which is on Jamaica Bay in South Brooklyn to check out the facilities. I met up with JimL and Beth E. and signed up for Conditional membership. Huh. That was easy. "Yeah bring the boat on down, well find a place over there for her. Buy yourself a dolly." Which I did. The Brothers LaFontaine and Capn Paulie, (Skipper of GIS Kathleen Marie) volunteered to help load and transport IAZ,P, and get this: we cartopped her from Connecticut to Canarsie on a Saturday in late May. Full on Beverly Hillbillies action.

Hilarious and wonderful. Capn Paulie saw us safely down I95 til we got to his exit and sent us on our way with some positive words about the state of our tied down to the roof of the ManVan boat. JimL was at the Club when we arrived and helped us get IAZ,P off the car and onto her dolly and ensconced in the yard.

Relaxing after a rinse.

From that point on, IAZ,P has plied the waters of Paerdegat Basin and Jamaica Bay with interest and abandon, beaching for lunch, running aground, dodging jet skis and fishing boats, sailing with her buds, capsizing a coupla times intentionally and not so intentionally, and teaching me volumes about sailing and my own self in the process. So great to spend the summer on the water with my family and new friends at Sebago.

Jake the Snake gets his wade on...

Crabulator Crabulon with Mouse in the background.

 Matinicus Peapod Mouse, handcrafted by JimL. 

IAZ,Ps new homie.

Lunch on the beach with the gang.

In time I crewed on Flor Dluna in the Around Long Island Regatta,

Read more »

BILTrek2012!

Ahoy Mateys!  

In the grand tradition of VisionQuest/ManQuest2010 (here and here), and BroVenture2011 (Days 1+2 and 3+4), I bring to you BIL(brother-in-law)Trek2012!

IAZ,P, myself, and my brother-in-law Count Gregoire de Frontenac boldly drove forth to the wonderful world of Blue Hill Bay, Maine.

Count Gregoire de Frontenac

We went to Brooklin, to be exact, to enjoy a leisurely circumnavigation of Swan Island with some potential exploring in the Deer Isle Thoroughfare.  I promised Gregoire bald eagles and starry nights, fast heart-pounding broad reaches, and leathery tanned skin!  I promised adventure and riches and a story to last a lifetime.  I promised a Goat Island Skiff experience, an IAZ,P adventure!

What I neglected to promise Count Gregoire de Frontenac, however, was the glories of a gigantic low pressure system that was going to park itself over Maine for two days.  Oops.  So much for my budding meteorological skills.

"Hi, my name is Mr. Twirly and Im going to rain on your parade, you buffoon."

A few disclaimers.  We spent our time on privately-owned islands along the Maine Island Trail that are available to MITA members and described in the guidebook.  It is requested to not publicly blather about such islands with respect to the islandowner.  I will honor this request.  As I have a done before and will do now, I highly encourage the intrepid reader who is interested in these waters to become a member at MITA.  It is not expensive and it pays for itself immediately.  It is a worthy organization for a worthy cause.

I present, with humbleness, BILTrek2012:

Peace.  Notice lack of houses anywhere.  Quiet.

Fickle winds started us off the public launch at Brooklin.  I carefully ghosted out of the harbor, and once out in the bay we started to scoot along-- just barely.  The boat was heavily laden with the two of us, gear, food, and water for five days and winds ere light.  We made good time, all things considered to our first island.  That was the last of the sun.  In came the fog.

15 minutes later after "peace."  No joke.

After dinner, we went to bed.  Around midnight, it started to rain.

And rain.

And rain.

Out came the WX radio.  Thunderstorms on their way.  Flashes through the tent.  2-3" of rain per hour.   Rumbles in the distance.  I struck IAZ,Ps mast/lightning rod.  Flash flood watches throughout Maine.  The wind came up and started folding over Count Gregoire de Frontenacs tent.  My tent was in the lee, so I thought it was quite peaceful.  We skippers need to stay well rested and dry to make good decisions.

Gregoires tent blowing in from the wind.  Wet.  Rain seeping through the seams.

IAZ,P with mast down

Stoic Captain...?  Feelings of foolishness lurking underneath stone cold face.

By the next morning Count Gregoire de Frontenac started to complain that his sleeping bag was sponging rain water that had finally started to work itself through the saturated seams of his tent.  The weather forecast was calling for continued heavy rain the entire second day.  There was going to be no hope of drying out for at least another 24 hours, and who knew what would come next.  We were exposed.  There were multiple factors to take into account, but most signs were pointing to an easy escape or a hard and cold and wet day.  With the fog lifted for a few minutes, I took a compass bearing towards Brooklin and we rapidly broke down the tent, and sailed back to the boat ramp.

We had a good wind pushing us along, and we passed some lobstermen who gave us energetic waves and smiles as we blew through some chop in the pouring rain.  To them we probably looked like we were off on an adventure as opposed to turning back around...  I waved back.  Lobstermen in Maine have always waved at IAZ,P.  Better keep up the impression that we are a salty bunch too.

Romantic second night camping location.  IAZ,P loved this. (sarcasm)  Count Gregoire de Frontenac observing.

Drying tents.  Why not?

Camping in a hotel room.  Talk about sand and wetness.  That chart book?  Pissing water.

On day three with improving skies, we drove back to Brooklin, to start again!

This is a historic picture for blatantly obvious reasons.  Take note.

We repeated the loading of IAZ,P for the second time in as many days, and sailed forth!

This is the "all-tides" gravel ramp at Brooklin.
My compact 2W sedan is not going to make it back up this at low tide.
Note fenders for rolling IAZ,P down to the water after pushing her off the trailer.
World-famous Eggomoggin Reach in the background.

Sailing out.  Cute Maine Island.  What dangers lurk around its waters?

Count Gregoire de Frontenac navigating and keeping us safe from said dangers.

I just like this island.

I had a plan, and that was to head to a supposed Island of Paradise and salvage what we could of our trip.  We didnt know what we were going to find.  We didnt know if it was going to work.  We didnt know if people would already be camped in its limited space.

And then, we turned to the corner into the small harbor.

Thats right.

Splashing into the crystal clear water on the beach, we decided that there was no further reason for exploration anywhere else.  Day three was henceforth spent relaxing in the sun warmed harbor, circumnavigating the island at low tide, and napping.

Camp.  Gregoire up on the hill, Im closer to the boat.

Count Gregoire de Frontenac posing with IAZ,P

View

Trees and what-was-once-tree communing

Count Gregoire de Frontenac bathing.  This aint no damp breezy castle no mores, this be real saltiness!

The beach/bathtub dries out

Further and further the water falls

Officially stuck for the night.  Were not going anywhere for another 6hrs at least.  And then it will be dark.

Legal fire below high-tide mark

The night went smooth.  A few showers passed, but nothing of any consequence.  The bioluminescence was spectacular. The next morning, however, dawned with calm/calm/calm winds and an overcast.  The tide was on the flood, and I wanted to be sure to meet it as soon as possible and make the most of it, because there would be no sailing that day, and it would be a long row back to the car.

Calm and mist.  Woe.

Waiting for the tide

It was a long row back to the car, and a longer ride back home.  BILTrek did not have booming reaches, midnight collisions with rocks, spirited discussions about spear-gun safety, anchors lost overboard, or encounters with sirens.  However, we had a decent relaxing time, saw WoodenBoat, and discovered an absolute gem of an island for future visitation.  Every trip with IAZ,P brings something different, why not some relax for once?

Fair winds, intrepid reader.