Strong ties

Most of you who know me know that I lived on a boat in California. And not just any boat that is. A 60 year old 50 foot classic Elco yacht….thank you very much. For those of you who do not know me that well, my husband and I lived aboard for 5 years just prior to Aj’s arrival. And actually Aj spent the first 6 weeks of his life living aboard as well.

Our claim to fame, if you will, in these parts anyway. And all the time we were feeling like we had the edge on woodenboatism and the worship thereof, in these parts anyway. Especially Elco woodenboatism worship. Until one day we were driving down scenic route 59 and what do you think we saw. Not only was it a wooden boat propped up in the air, it was a 57 foot wooden Elco in the process of major restoration.

Why Glory be, another Elco worshiper in these parts. And how. We thought we had to keep our dreams and passions alive via the internet and frequent visits to the Pacific NorthWest but not any longer.

When Tom and I spotted this amazing vessel we marched down and asked, "Is this your Elco?" and not only was the captain/restorer/money slave of the boat surprised to see our interest he could not believe that we actually knew what kind of vessel is was. Kindred spirits were born. Especially when he learned that we still had an authentic Elco head in our garage. And please don’t ask me why, but rest assured that we will not be planting pansies in that bad boy. Not that it was ever really slated for that but now it may have a more noble destination…..paid destination if I have my way.

Anyway.

The restoration of this Elco is amazing. He turned the crews quarters into a state of the art wine storage and updated the galley to a dream afloat. I was drooling. And he had high hopes for this beautiful boat and I was holding my breath to see it come to fruition. A quarter of a million dollars, three years of restoration and a vision beyond any other launched the Matriarch……………..and Tom and I among a few friend were part of the inagural cruise. The Matriarch was launched as the very first floating wine and cheese/dinner/private charter on Lake Keowee. ANd it is a direct link to our special past aboard.