September/October 2024

After hi-tailing it out of Maine to escape the lobster pots, we embarked on a whistle stop tour of some major coastal cities of the NE USA.

Boston might be famous as the site of significant historic events leading up to the American War of Independence, but we wanted to chase some of our own Bostonian history. We lived in Baltimore for a year in the early 1990s and, as we were being paid in the relatively weak Australian dollar at the time, we did not have cable TV in our apartment so public TV it was. There was not much on offer but the comedy show “Cheers” became a favourite of ours. For those who don’t know it, the show is based around the interplay between the staff and customers of the bar “Cheers”. The “Bull and Finch” pub in Boston was the model for the show, and apparently the writers drew inspiration for the initial episodes from their observations of the bar and its clientele. The show ran for 11 years, earned 28 Emmy awards, and the last episode was the single most watched TV episode in the 1990s. Just like thousands of other fans, we were excited to be walking under the famous sign and into the cosy atmosphere of the pub. We had a fabulous evening in the “Cheers” bar, soaking up the atmosphere over a few beers and hamburgers, and recalling some of our favourite episodes and characters in the show.

Of course, we did immerse ourselves in Bostonian history also. We followed most of the Freedom Trail which links 16 sites of national significance related to their association with becoming independent from Britain. Along the way we learned snippets of US history about which we previously had only vague knowledge. We saw the approximate site of the 1773 Boston tea party, which was of course hardly a party. The British government had allowed the United East India company to flood the American market with cheap surplus tea. Coming on top of eight years of unrest about British taxes without representation and perceived economic interference, this was the last straw. A group led by Samuel Adams (later a US president) boarded three East India ships and famously dumped 340 chests of tea into the harbour.

We visited the home of the legendary Paul Revere, the silversmith and leading patriot in Boston in the 1700s. He was very active in the rebellion against the British. In 1775, he and William Dawes rode to Lexington through the night to warn revolutionary leaders that the British were coming for them. We stood on Bunker Hill, which in 1775 was the site of the first battle in the war of independence against Britain. The patriots lost that battle, but it confirmed their resolve to continue to fight for independence.

Looking down the Paul Revere Mall to his statue. The walls around the mall are covered with plaques commemerating various historical events and the key figures involved in them.

Our friends, Adrian and Marianna, had met a couple, Doug and Geri, from Boston when they were all visiting Maine, and at Adrian’s suggestion we contacted them while we were in Boston. We had an absolutely delightful afternoon with them visiting the Harvard University Museum of Natural History after enjoying lunch at a nearby café. The main attraction for us at this museum was a stunning collection of glass flowers recommended to us by some yachtie friends. What is a university museum doing with a collection of glass flowers? In 1886 Harvard University contracted Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, Czech father and son glass workers, to produce botanical models of flowers and their parts for the students to study. Over the next 50 years. they produced 850 life-size models. It’s a breathtaking collection and was fascinating for me as a lover of botanical drawings.

More beauty in Boston: the public library which opened in 1854. The marble in the entrance staircase came from France. In the Bates Reading Room (right), readers can be inspired by the names of great authors and historical thinkers engraved around the walls.

From Boston, we sailed south into Cape Cod Bay and through the Cape Cod canal to Bristol in Rhode Island, scene of some America’s Cup races and a yachting hub. Here we visited the Herreshoff Museum and America’s Cup Hall of Fame. During our few hours there, we honed our understanding of the race history. We learned that one of the co-owners of “America”, the first boat to win the America’s cup, presented the cup to the New York yacht club in 1857 with a deed of gift which stipulated that the club had to accept any challenge for the cup from a foreign yacht club. The deeded also outlined that the race was meant to encourage innovative yacht design and friendly competition between countries. The deed has been revised three times either to refine the race procedures or to keep America’s advantage, depending on your viewpoint.

The Herreshoff Manufacturing Company was formed by two brothers, one blind since 15 and the business brain, and the other an engineer and creative force behind their innovative designs. From 1893 to 1920 they designed and built all five America’s Cup defenders and then two more after that. It was a thrill for us to see Alan Bond and John Bertrand included in the Hall of Fame. Very few Australians forget the day on which Australia II took the cup from America for the first time in it’s 132 year history. In a lovely twist of fate. John Bertrand is the great grandson of the engineer who prepared the Englishman Sir Lipton’s five unsuccessful challenges. Sir Lipton was loved by English and Americans alike as he was such a good sportsman. It must have added another dimension to the victory for Bertrand that he was able to complete the mission started by one of his ancestors.

Which Australian could forget the image of the boxing kangaroo associated with our successful challenge for the America’s Cup?

More famous institutions, this time on Rhode Island: the Newport Yacht Club, and the Newport tennis ground where the US National Open Tennis Championship began

Some of the stunning trophies on display in the Sailing Museum and National Sailing Hall of Fame, Newport, Rhode Island

From Newport we sailed to Port Washington on Long Island where we based ourselves for visiting New York. Last time we were here we had two little boys with us so this time we relished the freedom to further explore the city hitting the top spots: Grand Central Station, Broadway, Times Square, New York Stock Exchange, Central Park.

Grand Central Station and Broadway

Times Square – we were there!

New York Stock Exchange, and the controversial little girl sculpture. This statue was meant to highlight gender diversity in the work place and was initially placed next to the famous large bull statue nearby. The creator of the bull statue complained his work had been hijacked, and the feminists complained that the juxtaposition of the two statues only re-inforced stereotypes, so the little girl was moved to this location across from the main entrance to the stock exchange.

We had a sombre visit to the new One World Trade Center overlooking the 9/11 Memorial Pools and Garden. There are two pools with the names of the 2,982 people who died from the attack engraved around the edges. The water originates under the names and flows down the wall and into the hole in the middle. A wonderful concept.

Memorial pool with new One World Trade Centre in the background. Any loss is sad, but to lose your partner and an unborn child must be heart breaking.

We visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art relishing the wonderful collection there and saw a very funny off-Broadway show called “The Play That Goes Wrong”. This is a play in which literally everything goes wrong: problems with the set, injuries to actors, actors forgetting their lines. Incredibly well executed by the cast, it was thoroughly entertaining.

Examples of the stunning work of Edward Moore, silversmith for Tiffany and Co, on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

More pieces from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A beautiful sculpture, and a Native American cradleboard which would have been initially made by the mother’s family and passed down through the generations

On our last land-day in New York, we visited my longtime friend Sarah and her husband Joel who live in Manhattan. We had brunch with them in their apartment and talked our heads off. Although we keep in touch nothing beats being together. After brunch, we continued to chat as we walked along the High Line, an old disused raised rail line turned into a park.

After a great week visiting New York City from Long Island, we took Paseafique down the East River, past Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan and into the Hudson River. We had to go under eight bridges and even though we had double checked their height, we were still a bit nervous about fitting under them.

Will it fit? Always a few anxious moments even though we know the bridge is high enough for our mast

Not the Sydney Harbour bridge but very similar. Bridge on the right very pretty from the water

Then there she was -the Statue of Liberty. The famous gift from France to the US to celebrate the Centenary of Independence and the close relationship between the two countries. She was built in France, disassembled, transported, and reassembled in New York and dedicated in 1885.

There is lots of symbolism in this monument. She’s a woman inspired by the Roman goddess of liberty. The crown was designed to show light. The tablet she holds is inscribed July 4, 1776, and the shackle and chain at her feet symbolize the end of slavery. We anchored right next to Liberty Island for the afternoon and night. What a special experience that was! It was too cold to sit outside, unfortunately, so we had to admire the view from inside our cabin. How wonderful it was to look out our window and see the statue lit up with the lights of New York City behind her.