Teresa Moves to Oxnard - the Loading

About six weeks ago Mark Schooling asked me if I could provide him with
a trailer some time in January.  Later we talked about some of his plans
for the boat that would travel on that trailer.  The gondola, known as "Teresa", holds a very special place in US gondola history - another story for another time.

Since our first conversation about the trailer we've talked a few times about the challenges and blessings of running your own gondola business. 
Then, on Saturday, January 11th it was time: time to load the boat on the trailer and bring her to her new home.

This was a nice little gathering of gondola friends.
Tim Reinard of Sunset Gondola was there, a gondolier from Tim's operation, Chris and his girlfriend, along with gondolier Konnor Boivin from my operation, and of course, Mark - who was experiencing all of the wonderful and stressful emotions associated with boat moving, boat launching,
and business launching too.

We met at the boat in the late morning, assessed the situation,
and got busy loading her onto the trailer.

We had many options at our disposal, but the Rugby Team approach made the most sense in this situation.

photos in this sequence by Amber Waddell

The gondola was lined up with the trailer, and heavy duty lifting straps
gave us the ability to lift her with minimal rail-grabbing.

To aid in the forward movement, inflatable fenders served as rollers.

The saying "many hands make light work" certainly applies to gondola moving.

Gondola on trailer, no damage done, no fingers broken, and everybody smiling.

Once she was strapped down, we headed down the road,

making our way to Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard, California.

photo by Konnor Boivin