Bits of Wood Boats in Old Mystic, CT

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American Dream: Working as a Ferry Pilot?

By Norma Jaeger Hopcraft

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As a lovely ferry boat approaches you on the dock on the Jersey side of the Hudson River, you wonder if it wouldn't be a far better life if you were a ferry boat captain...

I've thought it! How about you?

I found a place in Old Mystic, CT that repairs wooden boats. There are also parts of wooden boats scatter all over.

The Bobby D must have served Watch Hill, Rhode Island, or maybe Watch Hill, Fire Island, both waterside communities. It must have been a handsome boat.

Here's another pilot house from a grand old ferry that used to give people who couldn't own a boat the pleasure of being on the water.

The pilot house of the Anne.

There's a few other wooden structures around the place, this one a bath house...

And this one just for fun. Imagine a wooden gazebo in your own yard! How about you? Do you feel nostalgia for a grand time in American history, when wooden ferry boats plied the Long Island Sound? Maybe a time that never was? Comment below! 

American Dreams of a Wooden Boat -- or part of one?

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Bits of Boats Would Make Interesting Backyard Follies

By Norma Jaeger Hopcraft

At a boatyard in Old Mystic, CT that I stumbled upon purely by serendipity, I found not only interesting wooden boats but also interesting wooden structures, some made out of bits of boats (see previous posts). 

Wouldn't one of these be cool in your backyard?

What is it? Take a guess in the comments section!

This is the pilot house of a former ferry named the Anne.

The insides of another pilot house -- guarded by an owl.

Cute isn't it? But what's it for?

Here's another relic of the boatyard, though it's mostly metal.

Here it is, like an owl, guarding two wooden hulls.

How about you? Any serendipitous discoveries in your neck of the woods? Comment below!

Dreams in Old Mystic, CT: Wooden Boats Part II

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American Dream: To Wander into a Mysterious Place

By Norma Jaeger Hopcraft

Here's that mysterious boatyard again, a place that I found just by making the effort to get out for a walk while I lived in Mystic, CT. To recap: this boatyard is dedicated to rebuilding wooden boats. 

Here are the two main buildings. As I said in my last post, I especially like the writing room at the top of the tower. I also approve of the second-floor porch.

I took a look inside one of the windows. A chair fit for Morticia Addams!

The place seemed deserted, but when I peered in this window, I saw a complete pantry.

Here's one of the wooden boats, which might someday get worked on.

Another sleek hull, up on chocks.

See the sign, "Uncle's Annex"? I'd like to be an uncle so I could live there :) How about you? Have you stumbled upon a mysterious place? Comment below!

American Dream: Own a Wooden Boat

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Or Dreams of Owning Your Own Boatyard!

By Norma Jaeger Hopcraft

In Old Mystic, CT, there's a mysterious place that reconditions old wooden boats.

Here's the main building of the boatyard. I love the upstairs balcony and the writing room at the top!

This is an outhouse made from the bow of a boat.

View from the side: you can see the original portholes, the red keel...

It's not made of wood, but it's a boat, so it belongs.

In a shed is this boat with a lovely hull. More next week!

American Dreams: Tall Ships and Ocean Crossings

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American Dream: Sailing in a Wind-Powered Ship

By Norma Jaeger Hopcraft

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One of my dreams is to cross the Atlantic on a sailing vessel, to listen to the rigging creak and strain as the wind pushes us through the water.

I'd do it in the summer, for the warmth, but then there's always the danger of a hurricane. How did the early settlers of America do it? They braved storms, shipwrecks, being lost at sea.

The tall ship Eagle. Two of its three masts are 147 feet tall. It carries 22,200 feet of sail.

A shot of the communications systems in the wheelhouse. The ship motors at 10 knots but can sail much faster, at 17 knots.

A lifeboat.

The ship's wheel(s). It might take three men to hold the course steady in a storm.

A view of downtown New London over the rail.

A place in the stern for sailors to sit and relax, except I doubt they ever get the chance.

Notice the wood deck. Lots of maintenance needed there constantly.

How about you?

Would you like to cross the ocean in a sailing vessel? Comment below!

American Dream: Travel the World on a Tall Ship

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American Dream of Wind in Your Sails

By Norma Jaeger Hopcraft

The Coast Guard's barque Eagle is America's tall ship, and it's still sailing to tall ship events around the world. It's often tied up in New London, CT, just down the Thames River from the Coast Guard Academy.

Its complete length is 295 feet, and its keel requires 16 feet of water.

The Coast Guard uses it for training, but sometimes it opens the ship to the public, for free. I saw it at the municipal pier in New London.

The Eagle is a three-master, but the limits of my zoom lens only allowed me to get two of them in the next picture. 

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This is the bowsprit - a gilded eagle. The ship has four jibs furled at the foot of forestays lined up along the bowsprit.

Lots of line (rope) needed to furl and unfurl the sails.

All the lines are ship-shape, as you'd expect on a Coast Guard vessel.

This is a shot of the wheelhouse. GPS helps navigation these days. Telephones (far left) aid communication instead of a bosun's whistle.  How about you? Are you an old boat buff, like me? Where have you seen a classic boat? Weigh in! Anchors aweigh!

American Dream: an Interesting Place to Visit

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Quite a Site to Behold

By Norma Jaeger Hopcraft

This is the Mohegan Sun resort and casino in eastern Connecticut. I visited just to see what all the fuss was about. I found very unusual architecture and decor. It's all based on Native American impressions and design. Enjoy this tour!

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A light sculpture.

A wall of rock and light.

The light sculpture changes!

A passage between casinos.

I'll bet you never saw something like this before!

The themes were nature and how the eastern Connecticut tribes cultivated it and used natural things.

Everything was a dazzlement to the eye. Say, would you RT this blog? Sign up to follow it? Thanks!