Second Lives

Some vessels have saviors and go on to second and third lives. My favorite example of that is Pioneer, my favorite schooner, 120+ years young. Because of now forgotten (?) folks with vision, it has served as a sander, an agricultural produce schooner, a tanker, a rehab boot camp, and now equal parts sail training, education, and excursion vessel. It could have been scuttled to create fish habitat or scrapped for new metal long ago before I was born. If the claim in the 1969 article linked to “folks” above is correct, that vision inspired 7000 volunteers to do the hard work then. 7000 volunteers!!!

A vessel fortunate to be metamorphizing into a second life right now because of someone’s vision is Mary Whalen, the slightly older tanker like John Caddell.

With vision and resources, Mary Whalen will become an ambassador between folks on land and the waterfront, a liaison between folks from the five boroughs and beyond, and those that work or play on the sixth borough, if you will. Museum, maritime career center, bait shop, education in general, bookstore, arts center . . . PortSide NewYork’s mission statement says it well. Want to take part with donations of all sorts? Here’s a chance for another 7000 sets of hands. See more pictures? Work through this great on the left side navigation bar.

Even better, click here over the next few weeks to follow part of this metamorphosis.

Vision! Without it, the ship’s engine telegraph stays where it is above, on stop. With it, miracles happen, like second lives. It’s January, time for visions. How about 7000 brains articulating through 7000 mouths and sets of hands!! 7000 maniacs–pardon the allusion to some of my favorite music–spreading enthusiasm.

All photos by Will Van Dorp.