Stella, Stella, Black and Yella

Recently our beloved gondola Stella decided that she wanted to leak.

She had been fiberglassed before we acquired her, 
so hauling and glass-patching seemed the thing to do.

Meanwhile, we'd been working on a new set of floorboards in a rather nontraditional color.  
Previously she'd been sporting some purple ones,
(see "Bride Transport")
but, well, we learned a few things about what penetrating epoxy can and can't do, so it was time for a new set.

By "we", I mean some great guys who I've been lucky to work with:
Mike Olsen, Evan Kliewer, and Kalev Pallares.

So after lots of fresh paint (and the aforementioned glass-patching)
today was the day to put her back in the water.

 Stella at dock, just after launching.

 Looking forward.

There's nothing like a freshly polished ferro.

It makes for a great funhouse-style self portrait.

I pushed away from the launch ramp dock and Stella and I made our way towards the home dock.  Rowing through parts of the Back Bay means that you often encounter interesting birds.
These shorebirds crossed my bow, on their way to another part of the harbor.

The wildlife in Newport is fantastic.


Arriving at the home dock, I ran into Eddie, who was at the tail end of his afternoon cruise with happy passengers.

Eddie snapped a photo of Stella and me on a very memorable day.