story & photos
by Josie Kapral
The year was 1884, the Statue of Liberty was completed but not yet in New York Harbor. The Naval War College was formed in Newport and the first roller coaster on Coney Island was used. Not too far from there, the people of Smithtown, NY, built a boat to repay a debt to a local grocer who helped them during hard times. This boat was Anne.
Obviously, the world has changed significantly since 1884, but Anne still takes residence on the waters of coastal New England and Fishers Island Sound, and on July 27, I climbed aboard for what was supposed to be the Antique Boat Parade sponsored by Mystic Seaport. The parade was cancelled due to inclimate weather. Captain Geoffrey Jones, who knows the Mystic Bridge schedule like most people know their address, knew the bridge would be opening soon and he decided now that the rain was letting up, that we would take Anne out on the Sound anyway. He mentioned his plans to a few other captains and they were also in for the trip. So we geared up and away we went.
Anne, a 19th-century oyster sloop, would have been the oldest boat in the parade, with Captain Jones at the helm, and accomponied by Jim Loomis and his grandson, Ramiro Zavala, Paul Manoli, Roger Schilling, Stuart Reininger and the Mooney Family who were in town visiting from Missouri.
“Anne isn’t going to let it rain on her parade”, said Loomis.
“There’s your tagline!” said Reininger.
They were both right. As we turned the boat past the seaport, there were still people waiting on the pier and along the river in anticipation of the boat parade. Anne was bringing smiles to the faces of the people waiting under their umbrellas and other boaters as we passed. People knew she was something special. Not just because she looks the part of an antique boat, but because she made her own parade. This is in large part to her captain, Geoffrey Jones, who has just as much heart as this 48 ft boat.
Anne lead her parade of boats, including Sea Lark and Glamour Girl, both owned by Frances “Sam” Crowley, Sea Rebel owned by Warren Jacque, Pastime, owned by Steven and Irene Haines, and Euphoria owned by Douglas Beach.
While navigating our way through the strings of rain back to the Seaport, Geoffrey and his crew shared their knowledge of the Sound. It was obvious their love for the area’s waters went beyond simple coastal beauty. It was about the history of the area, the ecology, and also the people. This is why Anne is special. It is not only the age of the boat and the character of its detail, but it’s the people that maintain her, and especially the captain that loves her and knows her as if she were a member of his family. While many things have changed since 1884, Anne’s charm and her beauty are still the same thanks to the people that love her.