1982 (9) – Trade Wind

Trade Wind, under sail, with the Twin Towers in the background.
Photo, courtesy, Gene and Francesca Stauss

To go to the beginning of this book, Tropic Moon: Memories, click HERE.

When we reached Long Island on July 1^st, we put in at the Hempstead Marina.  We were only there three days.  Ed’s mom (Grace) found us a place where we could moor for free.  Driving around her neighborhood, Grace had spotted some masts sticking up above the roofs of the nearby houses.

I'm sitting with Gene, and Fran, with Ed

Grace discovered a large sailboat moored in a canal.  She went to the door of the house, and met the owners.  She told them about us, and Tropic Moon.  (You have to admire her chutzpah!)  Before she left, Gene and Francesca had issued an invitation for us – whom they’d never met – to tie our boat alongside Trade Wind.  We moved Tropic Moon on the 4^th of July.

Lunch on board Trade Wind

One day Gene and Fran planned a day sail with Trade Wind to New York Harbor.  They invited us along.  Trade Wind was a 70-foot, traditional wooden schooner.  We had a lovely day, including lunch on board.  However, it was a windless day and we motored.  After the difficult passages up from the islands, I didn’t mind one bit that we couldn’t sail!