Finding ECHO

ECHO was originally named Intrepid and was a Naval Sailing Yacht [NSY-14] that I believe was owned by the US Navy and used as a sail training vessel through Maine Maritime Academy. I found some notes under the fuel tank when I removed it that referenced this, but I have not as yet verified this. I also found listings for two boats in a government auction. Intrepid was one of these.

Somehow the boat was acquired by a private owner. I found the boat in Soundings Magazine listed as up for auction. Two Mile Landing Marina in Southern New Jersey had acquired title to the boat after it was abandoned for four years. The hull was gouged up from rubbing against a dock without fenders. I was told it lay on a mooring most of each of these years. It had a layer of shellfish growing on the bottom that was astounding! Part of the interior had been stolen. The stove and refrigeration system were the two main items.

I won the auction and had Intrepid hauled out and cleaned and prepared to move her North to Long Island Sound. I noticed there were signs the interior had taken on water. My impression was it had filled with fresh water. I spent a lot of time trying to organize everything on the boat and tested the engine.

I think the yard workers were pissed off at me for scrapping the bottom clean. I think they wanted all that shellfish for their own purposes. In any event I found my arm twisted to move the boat at max current. My own volunteer helper failed to snub a line on the departure and the result was still more damage to the topsides. I kick myself for 1) allowing a dockhand to force me to move my boat, and 2) trusting a stranger to help.

Many sailors act like they know everything when in fact they know very little. I've seen this theme repeated over and over again. The lesson to remember is this. If you are a skipper, you decide when to move the boat. If someone doesn't want you somewhere, tell them to go to hell you are not moving it until it is safe--PERIOD. Don't take orders from someone who wants you to do something that makes no sense.

One thing I teach my sailing students is to ignore outside observers. Often while docking, some know-it-all will start trying to tell you what to do while docking. The best way to handle them is to give them an order. Another way is to simply ignore them. Finally, you can tell them to stand by with a dock line and be silent.

There is always someone hanging around the docks willing to be helpful. Many of these people really have no clue what is going on. They don't understand your boat, they don't understand current, or spring lines, or some key factor. Even when you explain to them in detail, they are very likely to do exactly the wrong thing because they are day-dreaming and think you want to do something else. Don't trust them. In fact don't trust anyone in a key situation unless you spend a lot of time diagramming and discussing what you want them to do.

To make a long story short. I found my engine would not work reliably. I decided to sail the boat north and rely on tows to get the boat into and out of my departing harbor, an intermediate harbor in Jersey City, and my final destination Norwalk, Connecticut.