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Photo (above)  Our crew:  Capt Mark Siegenthaler and his daughter Megan (first two on left); Donor and former owner Peter Elsaesser (white shirt), his daughter Laura (pink shirt), and her husband, George (green, "Wooden Boat" shirt!).

Polaris is on her way!

As the recipient of the incredibly generous donation of Polaris, we needed to work through the logistics of getting her from the western, Gulf Coast of Florida, around to the Atlantic and up the eastern seaboard to Rockland, Maine.  A challenge in the best of times, but as we are all aware, travel can be particularly challenging right now.

You've heard the old saying that if you want to get something done, just ask a busy person...well, enter board member, SPSM supporter, friend, and Captain, Mark Siegenthaler and his daughter Megan. We've been checking in with them every few days, and they've been sending along photos and videos.

The trip:
 
Day 1 (Saturday, May 23, 2020):  Mark and Megan arrived in Port Charlotte, FL, on the Gulf Coast, on the 23rd.  They met with former owner (and generous donor), Peter Elsaesser, his daughter Laura and her husband George, and spent the day provisioning and getting ready for the long trip home to Maine.
 
Day 2: (Sunday May 24, 2020).  Sunday was the start of their journey – after a short distance shake-down cruise on Day 1, they spent their first night at Cabbage Key – 100 acres of tropical vegetation and home of a historic restaurant and inn.  With no cars or paved roads, it was a wonderful spot to settle into a “Jimmy Buffet” state of mind as they started their trip.

​Day 3 (Monday, May 25, 2020): Polaris and crew headed down the “left coast”of Florida to Fort Myers and tucked up into the Caloosahatchee River in an attempt to get ahead of a storm system that was moving into the area. Arriving at their destination (Moore Haven) for the evening, they settled in for what they thought would be a quiet evening.  Instead, they found that the town docks, situated under a bridge, were anything but quiet.  Mark has theorized that there must be an Amazon warehouse nearby as the truck traffic was loud, constant, and kept them awake much of the night.  

​Day 4 (Tuesday, May 26):  In spite of their lack of sleep, the pressure was on for Day 4 as Polaris headed to Lake Okeechobee and some peculiar navigational challenges.  Polaris had an appointment to pass through the first lock of the day at 7am, so an early start was necessary.  Polaris draws about 6 feet, and the lake is currently about 2 feet below average for this time of year, leaving many areas with 2-4 feet of water hundreds of yards from shore.  Mark had done his research, but our worthy vessel and crew bumped along the muddy lake bottom a bit as they headed across, and they made the decision to pump out the water tanks in an attempt to lessen her draft!
 
The day’s next challenge was to reach the lock across the lake at Port Mayakka by 11:30am – before she closed later in the day for construction.  Arriving in time, they found that construction had begun, but the lock was in the open position, and they were allowed to pass.  With those challenges behind them, Megan and Mark settled in for passage through the St. Lucie Canal – a great spot for alligator and porpoise spotting along the way.

​Arriving in Stuart, FL, for the evening, they had a bit of time to explore the area around the marina before settling in for what they hoped would be a restful evening after the events of the past 24 hours.  Instead, they later discovered that the town docks are located near railroad tracks, and freight trains ran every hour, whistles blowing, all night long!  Megan commented the next morning, they just needed to find an airport for the next evening to complete their own version of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles!

As we start out on this new venture of writing a blog for the museum, we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to follow the adventures of Board Member Mark Siegenthaler and his daughter Megan as they travel from (and through) Florida and up the east coast of the United States to deliver a new-to-us, 1937, diesel powered, wooden trawler to add to the collection and programs here at the Sail, Power, and Steam Museum.

So we'll start with a little bit about the boat, and tomorrow, we'll catch up with Mark and Megan on their travels (they're on Day 6 today) - They've been checking in daily and sending along photos of their journey -- looks like they've been having a great time in spite of some shallow waters, an anticipated but cancelled Space Shuttle launch viewing, and a bit of weather!
 
About Polaris:
Polaris is a 47', double-ended, rugged, North Sea trawler-type vessel.  She holds 150 gallons of fuel and 80 gallons of water to keep the crew on the move and hydrated.  Built in 1937, she recently underwent a full hull, deck, and system restoration.  Massively built, Polaris is No. 5 of the Pacific Pilot series built by Star Shipyards of British Columbia to navigate the extreme conditions of the Columbia River and the Pacific Northwest.  From 1937 to 1974, she worked for Pilotage Authorities and from ’74 to ’92, she worked towing logs on the Columbia River and in Alaska.  In 1992, the vessel was sailed to Seattle and sold to the Jose Cuervo tequila company.  They subsequently trucked her to the East Coast and operated the boat between Maine and Florida as a promotional/party vessel.
 
In 2007, she was purchased for a restoration hobby project and restored from the keel up over a two year period for personal use.  She is powered with a factory rebuilt Detroit 6-71N diesel, has a bow thruster, genset, air conditioning, diesel heat, all new electronics, wiring, plumbing, tanks, steering, galley, etc.  She was awarded “Best Restoration With respect to ‘Original Design Intent” at the prestigious Mystic Seaport Antique and Classic Boat Rendezvous at 2010.  

Polaris had been on the market for a bit when Captain Mark met her owner, Peter Elsaesser.  They started chatting about boats (what else!) and Mark mentioned what a wonderful place the museum for classic and unusual vessels.  One thing lead to another, and Mr. Elsaesser decided that his lovely wooden boat would be much happier plying the cold Atlantic waters of Penobscot Bay, and he offered to donate Polaris to SPSM!  

​A Great Addition to the Museum
We’re still looking at programming for this wonderful vessel, but we already have some fun ideas in the works that we’ll share with you as plans proceed.  But if you received our recent newsletter, you already know that we’ve been meeting with Sea Scouts of America to add the museum and Rockland Harbor as the midcoast home for their new Ship (troop).  We can just imagine the fun that everyone will have with Polaris!

We are so grateful to Mr. Elsaesser for his thoughtfulness and generosity.  We look forward to putting this beauty back to work, and we certainly hope that he will one day take a trip to Maine for a visit!