BIG Arrival

Christeen’s repairs have been humming along at a steady pace the past few weeks. A lot of prep work has been done to the hull, frames, planking, and exterior of the boat to get her ready for her re-launch on April 9. It is coming together nicely and the project has reached a point where there is not much else to do but wait for the new keel to arrive. The keel as many of you know is the main, and only reason, the Christeen was taken out of the water this fall and put in her temporary home over the winter at the Western Waterfront. 

The new keel has been MIA, our suppliers have fallen through, timbers sent to us have not passed spec and we were sweating the timing of when it would finally arrive. There were many promises of ‘it is going to be here Tuesday’ which turned into Friday, then the following Monday, then next week; which then turned into, ‘we’re not really sure when, but it’s coming sometime’.   Josh had found the replacement keel what seems like months ago now and we were all waiting for the snow storms to pass, the log to be cut, loaded onto the truck and shipped down to us in Oyster Bay. All these tasks seemed to have trouble coming together, specifically in that order, there were rumors of a truck driving down, but how could that be if the timber hadn’t been cut yet? Tall tales started to pop up and before we knew it the keel became a mystical being with wings and a mind of its own. We were all having a little bit of fun to lighten the mood of a potentially serious situation – having a boat that didn’t float.

Good news!

The keel arrived Wednesday, February 23 at approximately 1pm! Needless to say it is the most popular piece of wood in town. It is an excellent specimen, over-sized, clear, and relatively strait considering its size. The veils of mystery have finally been lifted and the project is going to start picking up some serious traction beginning today. Videos of the keel being cut to rough shape are soon to follow. Stay tuned!

Below are pictures of the new timber next to the original 1883 keel. As mentioned earlier, this isn't a tree you find in your backyard, we weren't joking about needing a big tree!

Christeen Rebirth

Artist Kirk Larsen has been generous to help the WaterFront Center raise funds and awareness towards the repairs ato Christeen taking place this winter. He graciously donated his original work entitled ‘Christeen Rebirth’(see below) for our live auction at the Christeen Benefit Party end of the fall in 2010 and now he is making signed limited edition giclees of that same painting available for purchase. The proceeds of the prints, minus hard costs, are going towards Christeen's  repairs taking place this winter and her endowment fund. There is going to be a run of 883 prints tying into the year Christeen was originally built, 1883. Special pricing for this limited run is only going to be available for a short time! Please help the WaterFront Center raise funds for the Christeen and help her sail on beyond all of our lifetimes!

Two print sizes are available:

16” x 20” - $150

13”x 16” - $130

Call to reserve your copy today, 516.922.7245

Please call for special pricing available for those who have helped in the repairs this winter!

'Christeen Rebirth' by Kirk Larsen

LET'S GO!

The WaterFront Center is excited to announce the addition of a new boat!

Thank you to J/Boats, J/News and the J/105 Class website and many unmentioned individuals for your help in our search and purchase; without it an announcement adding a J/105 to our fleet would not have been possible.

After many months of research, an even longer search, and some anxious moments, a J/105 - Andiamo (‘Let’s Go’ in Italian) owned by a local racer was generous to partially donate her to the WFC. Andiamo brings with her a whole new category of sailing and a lot of excitement! 

Andiamo sailing downwind

The J/105 class was introduced to sailors around the world in 1992 as the first modern day keelboat with a bow sprit and asymmetric spinnaker. Today, the J/105 is the most successful one-design keelboat class over 30' in the USA. It is a forgiving performance boat that is easy to sail, with a simple layout, great performance, a large cockpit, and predictable handling characteristics. This boat is fun and fast!

With the addition of Andiamo the WFC is excited to have the opportunity to develop upon our current offerings to youths and adults. We are going to increase offerings for overnight cruises to neighboring harbors, learn-to-sail basics on larger keelboats, and other adventures of all types and sizes. As a completely fresh offering, giving the WFC greater exposure to the sailing community, Andiamo is available as a racing charter to sailors competing in regattas near and far.

We are excited about the demand already shown for these programs and we now have a chance to fill that need with an exceptional boat!

WFC’s 2011 sailing season is already off to a great start. Who wants to go sailing, now!? Let's Go!

Check out all the other articles in our newsletter by going to our website at: February 2011 WATER Newsletter

Winter Speaker Series - Josh Herman

Josh Herman was generous enough to give a night out of his week to speak last night, Tuesday, February 15, at the WaterFront Center. Josh, Joe and the Volunteers have been putting in long hours recently so we are extremely grateful for Josh’s willingness to take some time away from sleep and his family. His presentation on how the Christeen’s repairs have been progressing, some of the challenges to date and also how the repairs have been accomplished to date, all with excellent detail. Those of you who attended were able to ask your questions, we hope Josh got to them all!  And everyone had a great opportunity to meet and listen to a very gifted shipwright.

Christeen after she arrived in her temporary winter home

We also were treated to some snacks and coffee provided by Tina from Sweet Tomato check out her company’s website: http://www.mysweettomato.com/ Her treats provided some added fuel to take in all the information Josh passed on to us as his talk grew from Christeen repairs to stories of other ships and boats he has worked or is currently working on throughout his career. These stories were all accompanied by some great photos! Below you will find a video on the Christeen portion of Josh’s talk, to get the rest of Josh’s experiences you are going to have to wait for the next time he speaks for our winter speaker series . Maybe if you’re lucky he’ll share a story with you if when you volunteer to help repair Christeen!

Click the Link Below to watch Josh's presentation about Christeen.

WaterFront Center, WSS - Josh Herman

Sanding is fun!

Waiting for Christeen’s keel has given the shipwrights and volunteers the opportunity to focus on the smaller details. Last week all of the topside paint and white bulwark paint was sanded nearly completely off to begin prepping for a new paint job - Christeen is going to be looking very good this fall! Stripping a boat is pretty strait forward, anyone can do it, just start sanding. All in it probably took about 200 man hours to strip Christeen down to what you see in the pictures. This morning the bowsprit was removed for some TLC, more pictures to follow. Enjoy!

Winter Speaker Series - Nick Hayes

For those of you who were unable to attend last night (Feb 8), you missed an excellent presentation by Nick Hayes. And for those of you able to make it, we are sure we speak for everyone when we say - that was great! Nick provided great insight in a small setting; an opportunity not usually given as his talks usually take place in large meeting centers. We hope you had a great evening and enjoyed a cookie or three!

Nick's passion for the sport of sailing and his call for families to spend more of their time together interacting are inspiring. His thorough dissection of the challenges a modern family faces with today's huge amounts of media bombarded at them and the distractions each individual faces is excellent. An example Nick presents is how individuals currently average between 12 and 60 hours  of media consumption per week, not to mention the additional commuting time they take on by moving further away form their jobs to suburban settings, resulting in consuming 8 to 20 hours traveling per week. These are just two of the examples he sites about barriers created since his landmark year of 1979. These are other obstacles and pulls on an individual's times are preventing families from spending quality time together. The numbers are staggering and it is no wonder when people are asked why they don't spend time sailing or learning how to sail, approximately 17 out of 20 people respond that they do not have the time. 

If you want to find out more about Nick Hayes and his book, Saving Sailing,  to follow him, or to get in touch visit the following sites:

Saving Sailing Facebook Page 

Nick Hayes' Blog 

www.SavingSailing.com

To watch Nick's entire presentation click the following link:

WaterFront Center's WSS - Nick Hayes, Saving Sailing

Below is an brief summary of his book. You can stop by the WFC to pick up a copy for $20 during the next speaker series next Tuesday evening or anytime from Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm. To find out mo

'Participation in sailing is declining in America, down more than 40% since 1997 and 70% since 1979. In this wide-ranging book, researcher and avid sailor Nicholas Hayes explains why.

The book shows how pressures on free time have increased, and how, in response, many Americans have turned to less rewarding forms of spectator or highly structured activities and away from lifelong, family-based, multi-generational recreation.

Saving Sailing builds a case for choosing how to spend free time better, using it to seek quality experiences with families and friends through lifelong pastimes like sailing.

The main challenge, he suggests, is to develop an active system of mentoring, especially between generations. The book offers helpful suggestions for how we might rethink our own priorities.

The lessons are broader than sailing, with useful ideas for all parents, for anyone seeking to strengthen the social fabric of American communities, and for those involved in programming for youth and adult activities.'

Winter Speaker Series - Erik Storck

Those of you who stopped by the WFC on Thursday evening (Feb. 3) were treated to an excellent presentation by Erik Storck. Erik gave us insight on what it takes to campaign for the Olympics the challenges of fundraising, travel and keeping up with the competition as well as the rigors of qualifying. The WaterFront Center is excited about Erik and Trevor's goal of going for gold in the 2012 Olympics in London/Weymouth and we are proud to support their endeavor.  We also ask you to please support their efforts if you are able by donating to their campaign whether it's money or in kind donations. To find out more and how to donate please goto their website at: Storck/Moore Sailing.

To see Erik's complete presentation click the following link: 

WaterFront Center, WSS - Erik Storck Presentation

Thank you Erik for taking time out of your busy schedule to speak at the WaterFront Center. 

Good luck to Erik and Trevor at their next regatta in Spain!

Ready to Sail

If Christeen had a keel, her planking was re-bedded and re-fastened, her centerboard installed, her rudder put back in place…you get the idea. She would be ready to sail today even through the ice, well maybe not ice, but wouldn’t you want to see that happen? Given the prediction for more oncoming weather (snow, sleet, rain, cows, dogs, cats), it may still be icy when she is launched; at this point anything is possible. Despite one of the heaters in the building failing and in need of repair, volunteers and shipwrights have been plugging away at the many projects needing attention.

After a few months of work and diligent efforts by the shipwrights and volunteers. Christeen’s mast and all of her standing rigging have been surveyed, stripped, cleaned, re-galvanized, wrapped, served and treated with a tar and a black paint mixture. All of these jobs have taken hundreds of man hours to complete, but as with all of our projects this winter, the end justifies the means. Although some of the tasks are laborious they are well worth the cost as we try and make

Christeen better than ever. And there's nothing wrong with some new shiny rigging! All of these steps and treatments are going to ensure, along with proper

maintenance, that the standing rigging will outlast us all. 

The mast has received many hours of special treatment and it has been coated with a tar, linseed oil, and varnish coating. This coating, which needs to be reapplied twice a year, prevents the wood from rotting and protects it from the UV rays and dramatic climate changes during the year. All of the fittings on the mast being re-used have been re-galvanized and some parts have been replaced. The boom, gaff, and jib boom will also receive some TLC with heavy sanding and some new coats of paint to start them off on the right foot when the boat is re-launched in April.