Patty Nolan’s Travels

The first time I saw Patty was on the foto here (fifth one) although when Jed sent that foto, neither he nor I could identify it.    Ultimately I met Patty and her guardians (She accepts no other terms.)  About two years ago I had the good fortune of crewing for a similar tow.  Sunday I happened to glance at AIS and saw this blip just west of SeaGate/Norton Point, which told me to mobilize the hot air balloon/photography team**.

As we zoomed in, we caught Patty and tow . . .with West Bank Light in the distance, and …

the Parachute Jump off to port her port.

This has all the appearance of a “Patchogue floating home”  coming across

the west end of Jamaica Bay, with its antipodes Breezy Point to the left and Norton Point to the right.  For a post I did two years ago about the fascinating but incongruous wildlife in Jamaica Bay, click here.

For you outatowners, Patty and house are traversing the sixth boro, that central previously-unnamed core

of New York City, with its Barren Island-turned-airfield-turned-Barren Island Park and

its distant views of Manhattan cliffs, and its

other 32 islands in Jamaica Bay alone.  This too is Brooklyn!

And looking over into Queens and then Long Island, that in the distance is JFK (ex-Idlewild) Airport.  After delivering its tow, Patty races

back upriver with a favorable tide.

**Oh . . . I lied about the hot air balloon.  A total fabrication . . . a shameless bit of dissembling that was, but it sounds so much more exciting than the prosaic “I hurried to southern Brooklyn for a shot from Gil Hodges Bridge.”

The final shot here of Patty in stealth mode trying to blending into April foliage . . . thanks to bowsprite.  All others by Will Van Dorp, virtual hot-air balloonist photographer.

Someone asked why Patty has an awning:  in addition to commercial tows, she does picnic charters!!  A virtual Patty-of-all-trades.