52 Ancestors Week 30: Boats

 From  Me: 52 Ancestors Week 29: On the boats and on the planes, they were coming to America. And other places of course. What roles did boats play in your family history?

Admiral, there be whales here!

    When I first read the list of topics for this year's 52 Ancestors on Amy Johnson Crow's website and saw that "boats" were mentioned, I knew exactly what I was going to write about! As I've mentioned before in the blog, my family has had a long history of being out on the open ocean. From my Italian great-grandparents arriving at Ellis Island to my great-grandfather Austin's beach house on Plum Island, my family has long been associated with boats and the sea.

    In a blog I wrote a year ago, I talked about my parents being "ancient mariners" and how the marina we stayed at during the summer had huge parties. I also mentioned how I first wrote drafts of my "Starbolts" story there and how my friends and I often went across the Merrimack River to scenic downtown Newburyport.. I didn't really delve into the details of every ship we had that bore the name "Enterprise"....er...."Toothfairy" until today.

Just chilling on the back deck, Ma!

    That's right. A majority of our boats were named "Toothfairy" because my dad is a dentist and he wasn't about to name a boat "The Cavity". The Toothfairy you see in this picture isn't the first boat my parents had, though. That honor goes to a boat they called "The Articulator". That's...another dental reference. Google "Dental Articulators" and I think you might see why my father called his first boat that name.

    I honestly don't remember the first Toothfairy that much because I was so young when we had it. Then again I remember bonking my head a few times on the bunks, though. Maybe that's why I forgot.

    The Merrimack river is well known for being a bit rough even on a clear day. Going out on the ocean and docking safely upon your return is a team effort. You need to count on your crew and fellow boaters when you return from a successful boating trip. If no one's there to help you, you could be in big trouble if you didn't have a diligent crew on your ship! Note: I've often caught more fish than my brother on many boating excursions. Hehe!

Ship ahoy!

    The second Toothfairy we owned was a Silverton we had from the mid 1980s to 1989 and she was quite a beauty. While the boat in the picture isn't our boat, the shape is very similar.  Controls were on the bridge and while you were up there, you'd better hang on for dear life when she gets going!

    My brother and I would sleep in the v-berth at the bow of the ship. It was cozy and like all other boats at the marina it had all the comforts of home including a refrigerator, television and a couch that turned into a bed.  I can safely say she was a bit more comfortable than the Articulator. I actually remember a bit about this ship too.

    I remember one night someone left a "He-Man" figure near the heater at the stairs and when I woke up I saw that He-Man's left arm was a melted mass of plastic and his leg had burst a bit. Whoops. Sufficed it to say we made a quick trip to Toys R Us that week to get a new figure of the most powerful man in the universe. Who knew space heaters would be his one weakness? Skeletor should take notes.

    Side note: I probably shouldn't have brought my toys down to the marina. It would have been too easy to lose stuff. Did the incident with He-Man stop me? Nope. I still brought down select few "Transformers" from time to time. I just made sure to keep them away from the heater! 

We always had that view of the bridge. See
the first pic.

    Our third Toothfairy was built in 1989 and it's the one I remember the most since we've had it longer than any other vessel we've had. The boat was a lot sleeker than the Silverton and my father no longer had to climb a ladder to get to the controls. 

    This was the ship where I had the most of my maritime adventures on. It was also a lot more comfortable than even the Silverton because the heater and air conditioner units were built into the bulkhead. There was a small cabin near the stairs where my brother and I slept and this time my parents slept in the v-berth.

    Of all the stories I could tell about the third Toothfairy, this one is probably my favorite because it's just too funny for words. My father planned a trip out to the Isles of Shoals with some friends of ours. We packed a lunch and had every intention of spending the day at sea fishing and enjoying the scenery.

Good doggo.

    My mother had me take care of the dog while everyone got ready. I come back and we set off on our adventure. I hung out on the back deck with Tux as seen in this picture. He was completely fearless, by the way! Totally not scared of the engine!

    We finally arrived at the Isles of Shoals about an hour later. After we dropped anchor, we started getting ready to fish when suddenly my brother comes charging out of the cabin. He ran to the side of the boat and almost leapt off of it. We all yelled "JIM!" before he fell in.

   

    He turned around and he was a bit confused. I still don't understand how he didn't hear the roar of the engines and the rocking of the boat as we entered the open ocean. Jim must have been sleeping well. Naturally, as a younger brother I respected his choice to blindly jump into the water. Yeah, right. I teased him about it the rest of the trip. Are you kidding?  It's a story I definitely tell his kids about. Does he get embarrassed? Oh, yeah. 

    A lifetime of boating and adventures on the high seas allow so many great memories to be forged. You never forget the time you landed a big fish your father helped you reel in or trying to put elastics around a particularly frisky lobster.

    There are just so many stories I could tell and there's not enough room in the blog to talk about them all. I'm glad to have had the experience growing up on the water for lack of a better word. Does that mean I have sea legs? Probably not. My balance has never been that great. 

    I still enjoyed the memories of fishing and having a great time on the ocean with friends and of course going across the river to Newburyport. Every summer going to the marina brought new memories. I should definitely write them all down, huh? 

    Depending on the topic, you know I'll definitely share them. I definitely have quite a few good ones!

    As you can see, my family and I have had a long history with boats and with boating in general. There's just something about the salty air and being out on the ocean that captivates the imagination. I've always enjoyed looking out at the horizon and wondering what was out there. When you're out at sea, you really get an idea of just how huge our world really is. You can't help but stare in amazement and now that I do genealogy I wonder if my ancestors who came over from Italy felt the same way. You never know. They saw the same horizon I did.

See ya next time! And in the best maritime tradition, I wish you all clear horizons!