I met Constance Hockaday in Dumbo where she was doing a project about the waterfront.
She wanted to explore the banks of the East River,
and agreed to meet me just an hour after sunrise when the tide was heading North.
Daybreak is my favorite time to be out on the water;
no waves or wind and not another boat in sight.
Connie was visiting from Portland where she had just completed a degree in Participatory Community Development and Visual Art.
We ‘met’ online when she sent me pictures of a beautiful raft that she had made in Portland.
She was inspired by the Floating Nutrinos, who docked for a while in her home town when she was young.
“They changed my life.” she said.
I had the sense that throughout her education and participation in various art projects, Connie has been looking for the slapdash adventure and warm community that the Floating Nutrinos expressed so well.
While in New York, Connie is participating in a show at the Smack Melon Exhibition Space about artwork that contains a social element.
For her contribution, she has planned a meeting on the water between the two of us and two members of the art and boat making group Mare Liberum.
I have never met them before, but I have always been interested in their project.
We had a few hours before our scheduled meeting, so we floated slowly North.
The tide was so strong around the Williamsburg Bridge, that a huge, smooth mound of water was being pushed up in front of the pier.
Connie climbed up to have a look around.
I was nervous about the strong eddies around the bridge that were making it hard to control the boat.
We floated past the Domino Sugar Plant, which I heard has been approved for development soon,
and into Williamsburg.
What a better way to experience the coast of Brooklyn,
than coffee at a nice market in Williamsburg (the only thing open at this hour).
Back out on the water,I told Connie about all the abandoned warehouses that used to be here just 5 years ago,
and I relayed some stories that my neighbor told me about the Greenpoint piers in the 80’s.
Why do we love this stuff that is just disappearing before our eyes, we wondered.
I have always thought that it was exactly that; the temporariness of the waterfront environment that makes us love it.
Connie has been up this stretch of water before.
She participated in a project called the Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea,
and she told me all about exploring in the boats and the other places they have been.
We just made it under the Huron Street Pier.
‘
“This is the best place ever!” said Connie.
Connie spotted Benjamin Cohen off in the distance.
And we pulled up to one of the pretty plywood dory’s made by the collective Mare Liberum.
We inspected each others boats,
and talked about various attributes of caulks and adhesives.
“Construction adhesive,” Ben confided “Is the very best marine sealer on the market. $4.82 a tube.”
We followed him into the Newtown Creek to pick up Stephan von Muehlen, another member of Mare Liberum.
They tell us about the groups beginnings and how they have amassed a fleet of dory’s around New York.
We compared notes on the various waterways of New York as we explored the Nature walk.
Ben told us that this park was designed by George Trakas,
and he pointed out some of its interesting features,
There is a granite map of the old path of the Newtown Creek,
and a garden of indigenous plants.
It was great to meet Mare Liberum and Connie all together and talk about our various interests.
The tide had turned South and we set back out on the river.
We tried to land back at the East River State Park, but a friendly young man tells us no stopping.
We decided to go all the way to Dumbo,
The wind and waves were up,
but Connie seemed happy to make the trip.
The Mare Liberum boat looked so small against the bridge piers.
That is what we must have looked like too.
We rounded the eddy after the electric plan,
and pulled our boats out of the water.
I was worried about being stopped again by park security, but we laoded the boats without a hitch,
and headed over to the exhibition where Connie had her piece up in a show.
She showed me a flag that she made for our trip,
and a chalk board with a description of the Mare Liberum boat.
On the way back, we dropped off Stephan and Ben at their headquarters on the Gowanus Canal.
It was great to see their fleet of pretty, brightly painted boats.
The best was yet to come.
Connie was actually staying on a houseboat made by her friend.
Connie showed me all the ways her friend has outfitted his home to make his own power, food, and plumbing.
Thanks for the tour Connie – and a great day!
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