Captain's Log, 6.4.05

I must say I feel a sense of relief. First there was our four year hull renovation project. Then our home port pier collapsed which required over two years of planning, close to a year of applying for permits, about eight months of constant attention and diligence. Now our incredible homeport is nearing its opening.

Maybe the most difficult task of all was clearing the decks of all the accumulated piles. Luckily for me, Renee Dessommes, an historic preservation intern from Pratt Instititute arrived mid-May. With bundles of energy and a cheery disposition, years of chain, hawser, artifacts and work materials, found a place to live -- in the rafters, out to the container, down below etc.

Country, Burke, Matt and several volunteers from the Harbor School contributed great efforts to ensure a grand opening. Thanks go to John Hall and Matt Yates from American Stevedoring in their help moving our storage container.

As the daffodils grow on our new waterfront pier, we are preparing for the return of CIRCUSundays in June where we are adding and extra show to each day in anticipation of record crowds.

With rain coming down the Waterfront Museum stepped up to the plate and unexpectedly threw open our doors to the public for the first time at our new location in celebration Greg O’Connell’s Garden opening May 20th, 2005.

In attendance were close to 150 community leaders and neighborhood enthusiasts including US Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, NYC Councilman Gifford Miller, NYS Assemblywoman Joan L. Millman, NYC Planning Dept. Commissioner Amanda Burden and Garden Designer Lynden Miller.

Interestingly, the moat created by our homeport pile structure has fit right into the ecosystem. The Blue Night Heron now love to fish off our mooring lines. Seagulls rest atop our piles while the terns dive bomb the Blues trap Bunkers in the corners we have created and thankfully the Great White Egret still rambles along the shoreline at dusk and dawn.

Here's a photo of me drilling the first bridge pin adjustment hole with a magnetic drill donated by Jerry Lerner.

In May, the NYC DCA Community Arts Development Program granted the Waterfront Museum $25,000 to complete the installation of our homeport walkways. I am proud to report that after not one but two major capital projects the Museum is not in the red. We are broke and short of operating funds, but not in the red.

It is quite a feat for a little cultural group like ours to successfully fund and complete close to $500,000 worth of capital projects within a 5 year window. It is with great excitement and pride that we now enter the 2005 summer season and showcase the potential of a 91year old wooden workhorse!

Tom Quail of Columbus McKinnon Corporation visits the Waterfront Museum and donates two one-ton chain hoists to raise and lower the pedestrian gangway at all tide levels.