Not your ordinary Business After Hours....Last evening we attended the Chamber Business After Hours, hosted by the
Boothbay Harbor Shipyard, for its new Shipyard Community Sailing
& Science Center, scheduled to open in the spring of 2013. {The new program promises to have a huge
positive impact on this community, and if you have not yet heard about it, I encourage
you to find out more}. Just like any
other BAH event, this was to be an evening focused on the host organization, in
this case, the SCSSC. However, this
event was planned before the tragic moment when Hurricane Sandy took the HMS
Bounty and two of its crew.
Since that day, this entire community has felt a sense of devastation
and loss. That loss has been especially great
for those who devote their lives to the people and vessels that enter the
Boothbay Harbor Shipyard every day. My
heart has truly ached for the crew at the BBH Shipyard who shared such a strong
bond with the HMS Bounty, Captain Robin Walbridge and his crew. I mean, after all, they were practically
roommates for a good chunk of the year, for the past several years!
Last night, the Shipyard crew stepped forward to honor and celebrate
the HMS Bounty and its crew, with such devotion, professionalism and compassion,
that it moved me to share it with anyone who was not present.
As we all made our way to the dock of the yard where the HMS
Bounty had proudly stood just weeks ago, bagpipers played in their honor. As we entered the large boat shed, in the
very spot that the entire Bounty Crew had danced the night away at the Harbor
Fest, the US Coast Guard stood in their honor.
Pastor Sarah Foulger, of the Congregational Church of Boothbay Harbor,
gave a beautiful sermon and many others shared wonderful and personal stories
of the ship, Captain Robin Walbridge and the crew. As we all walked back out to the dock and
looked over the harbor, the sound of bagpipes echoed out to sea. It was a beautiful, moving moment and a much
needed sense of closure and I am so grateful to have been there.
The Bounty Crew: It was not necessary to know this crew well, to
know they were/are a very special breed of people. My experience getting to know them was
completely by chance and one I will never forget. As we planned, prepared for and carried out
the Harbor Fest Event, the crew and the ship became a part of the event without
any effort or doing on our parts. When
we were setting up, the crew would stop what they were doing to help. Upon Pauline Dions’ request, the Ships’ First
mate got up and spoke at the event, to the hundreds of interested guests. The crew ate and danced and made a lasting
impression on probably every person there.
Since the news, dozens of people who attended the event have called or
emailed me in devastation and sorrow; including the entire band who told me
that they had felt a special connection with the Bounty crew that evening. To
echo the words of all who spoke last night, the memory of their time in
Boothbay Harbor will remain in my heart forever.
The HMS
Bounty was one of the most famous tall ships in the WORLD! I will never forget the day I was at the
shipyard setting up for the Harbor Fest and a car pulled up from
Pennsylvania. The gentleman said to me ‘excuse
me, but do you know what ship that is?’ I said, ‘yes, it’s the HMS Bounty’. He looked at me as if I was nuts. He said, ‘you’re pulling my leg, right?’ I
said ‘no’. He then said, ‘honey, park
the car, we’re getting out!’
I personally
feel a HUGE sense of pride that the owners and captain of this great ship repeatedly
chose the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard as their home base for annual maintenance. And I just want to say HATS OFF to each and
every person at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard for their devotion,
professionalism and compassion! They
have truly touched me in a way I never expected.
