President’s Minute
By Sweet Pea Ellman
Your board had a very busy summer. Beginning with a very successful first-time event on Father’s Day, Cars and Cigars
, followed closely by a record-breaking crowd (at least in the category of food consumption) for our Old-Fashioned 4th of July Picnic, we then hosted another new event, Dog Days of Summer, which was wonderful in spite of the rain. There were police dog and agility demonstrations, look-alike and trick contests, and adorable dogs from the Humane Society. A cuddly new family member named Scooby found his way to my house and we will definitely do this event again – probably during cooler months – Scooby may want a brother or sister! In between all the events progress continues on the restoration of the Marine Railway. Keeping it historically accurate was a huge undertaking and a giant thank you goes to Michael Chapman, who volunteered countless hours to make it happen.
We wasted no time kicking off our new season with Labor Day Weekend’s Up Past Bedtime
children’s movie, followed by our first Moonlight Concert, the American debut of a terrific Australian group – the Wishing Well. If only the weather had cooperated!
Ralph Munroe’s Barnacle
, premiered at the park on October 11, to an audience of about 300. Filmmaker Deborah Hall Greene did an amazing job chronicling a true Renaissance man. He was a boat designer, a salvager, an architect, a photographer, and an ecologist! Thank you to WLRN for supporting this project and bringing the story of the Commodore and the Barnacle to a wide audience.
Our second Moonlight Concert featured The Pit Bull of Blues. It was a lovely balmy evening and this very popular local blues band had it going from the start - it was impossible to sit still! Everyone was up dancing except for a few who were content to just lie on their backs counting stars. The night was so magical no one wanted to leave.
On October 28, for our Fall Party, we will be hosting our first Mad Hatter’s Tea Party (think Alice in Wonderland’s Tea Party – not the other one!). This is the kick-off and preview of the Mad Hatter Arts Festival. It’s Halloween weekend so Wonderland-themed costumes and hats (of course)
are encouraged and prizes will be awarded. There will be tea sandwiches, canapés and desserts as well as beer and wine (served in teacups). This is going to be a GREAT party so mark your calendars and don’t be late for this very important date! There will be a full weekend of activities in the park and around the Grove showcasing about 50 artists. And on Saturday night there will be a showing of Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland.
You may be asking, "Why so many events?" The board asks this all the time. While we have been spared closure, we still need to show how important The Barnacle is to our community. So come out and support our events – numbers matter. We’re counting on you!
This summer we lost a valuable board member and friend when Gary Ciuca passed away suddenly. Gary will be sorely missed. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and the rest of his friends.
A Walk in the Park
by Katrina A. Boler, Park Manager
Katrina.Boler@dep.state.fl.us
Today the park was quiet and shining with promise as I opened the door to begin my walk. All of a sudden the top of an oak tree exploded like fireworks as the birds who had been resting there found their way into the skies. Quite majestic! And life in the park never ceases to amaze as it goes on.
The park has been a flurry of excitement much like those birds as we’ve moved into event season planning events in the park and along with the Village. Mad Hatter Arts Festival is close at hand and is going to be a lot of fun!
You’ll notice several new faces among Park Staff: Jessica Cabral joins us as Ranger; Chantal Ross as Administrative Assistant; and Claudia Baez as AmeriCorps Member. This new team takes over for Alex Stauber, Brittany Williams-Sanders, Juan Garcia as the former team has moved on to the next chapters of their careers. Look for them in other State Parks around the state and join me in welcoming the new members to our Barnacle Family.
The Carriage House finally has a roof! We thank The Barnacle Society and The Villagers for their roles in seeing this project to completion. Although that construction is over, we’re not one to let the dust settle long before moving on to the next big thing. The Barnacle Society is opening a gift shop in one of the Carriage House Bays – stay tuned to see its progress during the conversion.
There’s more to come …keep your eyes trained on the Park’s website www.FloridaStateParks.org/TheBarnacle and that of Society www.TheBarnacle.org to learn just what’s in store for you at YOUR state park!
From the Boathouse
Autumn 2011
by Thaddeus Foote
Literally, a ship’s wheel helps steer the boat. Metaphorically, the wheel is the keeper of countless stories, each guiding and steering the soul of a vessel to today. A ship’s wheel shakes hands with every captain at the helm and weathers every storm.
In 1891 at A.C. Brown’s boatyard in Tottenville, Staten Island, Ralph Munroe’s 51’, gaff-rigged ketch, MICCO, took life. Only spotty details of MICCO’s complete journey are certain. Two things we do know are, she lived for 101 years and her ship’s wheel hangs in the Barnacle’s Boathouse.
During the earlier days of MICCO’s life, an "old man" lived aboard in Merrimac Harbor, NY. After twenty successful years, however, MICCO drifted upon a stone jetty near Port Jefferson, Long Island. With few options from which to choose, the old man hired a quarry tug to remove MICCO from the unfortunate perch atop a jetty. Probably assuming that the situation could only improve, the old man was soon proven wrong. The tug, doing what tugs do, pulled and pulled until it pulled about two feet of the transom off. Deciphering the signs correctly, the old man sold MICCO.
Two British lads purchased the repaired vessel and decided to schooner rig her with telephone pole masts. They sailed MICCO to her new port, one with instant sailing access to the Elizabeth Island chain and some of the greatest striper fishing anywhere, Woods Hole, Massachusetts. It was there, in "The Pond", where historian, Arva Parks, discovered the Commodore’s last remaining boat in existence and made arrangements to ship her back to Biscayne Bay. After a stop at Merrill Stevens Dinner Key yard in Miami, MICCO sailed to the Barnacle and, for the first time, was home again.
On August 24, 1992, 101 years after MICCO was built, Hurricane Andrew barreled into Coconut Grove and splintered the vessel. The "shed", under which she sat, was spared and is now our pavilion. The ship’s wheel, was pulled from the wreckage and now hangs in our Boathouse for all to see and touch. Come listen to the countless stories, meet the old man and smell the Elizabeth Islands. The Boathouse is alive!
July 4th at The Barnacle
by Bill Tenney
The Old-fashioned Fourth of July picnic is a major event at The Barnacle. This year’s was exceptionally good. Children crafted kites and boats in the pavilion; then flew the kites on the huge front lawn. They also played croquet and other games with their parents and rushed about collecting clues in the scavenger hunt for prizes.
At first, only a few people visited the food table where Allison and I volunteered. As the lunch hour approached, more people arrived and soon we had a steady stream of customers, more than the two of us could handle. Fortunately, Sweet Pea, President of The Barnacle Society, soon arrived, as well as Allison’s husband, Steve. They were a big help.
The food items for sale were excellent both in quality and price. For example, the hot dogs tasted exceedingly good and they cost only $2.00. Gary and Steve did an excellent job at the grill.
At the end of the day, it was obvious that it had been an excellent picnic. I heard Katrina say that there were many more people here this year than last.
In the evening, those who volunteered at the event were invited back to watch fireworks displays around the Bay. A delightful breeze blew off the dark water, banishing the heat and humidity of the day. Fireworks began right at 9 pm with a modest show lighting up the night sky in the vicinity of Coral Reef Yacht Club. Another display, further north, appeared to be near downtown Miami.
Suddenly, with a tremendous shower of sparks and noise, fireworks erupted from nearby Peacock Park. These fireworks were much more exciting. Some low-flying bursts looked like they coming in our direction, but there was no danger. The fireworks seemed to be saying, "This show’s for you," making the end of a beautiful day spectacular.
Hauling Egret
by Bill Tenney
A sharp, white squall ripped through The Barnacle Historic State Park. The ferocity of the wind and rain flying horizontally distinguished this squall from a common thunderstorm. All Charlie Easton, Gary Milano, and I could do was stand under the pavilion, inching toward the center of the structure to keep from getting wet. Would Bob Deresz be able to arrive by water in his boat to transport Egret to Shake-A-Leg in this?
We had a plan to haul Egret out of the water and onto her new trailer. The Maritime Committee was proud of that trailer. It gave us options in the event of a hurricane and surely Egret would remain out of the water for the rest of this year’s hurricane season at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, thanks to the generosity of the staff there (the only proviso was that she be moved if a hurricane threatened. In that case, Egret would go to the friendly property of a The Barnacle Society member). At Bill Bagg’s, Barnacle volunteers, under Charlie’s supervision, will continue working on Egret - fiberglassing and painting the cabin top then make a few repairs on the bottom, including the stem, centerboard, and rudder and finally, a fresh coat of paint on the bottom.
The weather cleared and the water went calm. There off-shore was Bob in his sturdy little inboard. How nautical he looked and how happy we were to see him! We rafted Egret to the side of Bob’s boat. Like a tug, it took us through the Cocoanut Grove Sailing Club’s mooring area straight to the Shake-A-Leg docks.
Two slings were placed under Egret and the strong arm of the Shake-A-Leg motorized hoist eased Egret effortlessly out of the water. With a pirouette up in the air, she was placed gently on the trailer behind Thad Foote’s van. All was done in excellent fashion. Several of the Shake-A-Leg staff were there to help, for which we were grateful.
We were surprised and exceedingly pleased to find that the parking spot for Egret at Cape Florida was under a roof. This gives Egret a well-deserved rest from the Florida sun and rain, not to mention, protects us volunteers from the hot sun, too. Mission accomplished!
