Unbelievable coincidence - Days 189 to 191 - Stuart, FL

Today, while having my hair cut, I discovered that the barber, Tom Pedonti, was somebody who I knew over 60 years ago when I summered with my family in Nantasket Beach (Hull, Massachusetts).  Note: We literally packed the household and spent 10 weeks each summer at the beach.  I did this from age 5 to 20.

What are the odds of having your hair cut in Stuart, Florida and running into a childhood acquaintance from Hull, Massachusetts?  I suspect that it may be on a par with buying a lottery ticket.  What is particularly interesting is how this chance meeting occurred.

It all starts with the dingy.  Last Wednesday I contracted with Brian at Fantastic Plastics for some serious dingy repairs.  Included were repairs to the fiberglass hull, which had been damaged on the rivers, correction of a leak that had plagued the boat since new, installation of a depth sounder, electrical repairs caused by corrosion and detailing the entire boat.  The work was to be completed while I was in Chicago (Thursday through Tuesday).

We arrived back in Stuart on Tuesday and contacted Brian for a progress report.  Good news.  The boat would be ready on Wednesday.  Early Wednesday, I bicycled 5 miles to the shop to inspect the boat.  The work was done and the dingy looked absolutely spiffy.  The bill, $2,815, was a bit more than I expected but the explanation was logical.  Brian also showed me the drain plug which had been eaten away by electrolysis and stated that it was the cause of the leak.  I expressed skepticism as the leak was present from day one and the electrolysis was more recent.

They delivered the boat to Shepard Park launch ramp and I dingyied back to the Harborage Marina.  Upon arrival, I operated the bilge pump and, to my chagrin, about a gallon of water pumped out indicating that the leak was still there.  I immediately called Brian and arranged a 8:00 AM meeting at Shepard's Park to pull the boat out of the water.

I accompanied the boat to the shop whereupon we started the process of diagnosing the cause of the leak.  This involved drying out the bilge and then two trips to the nearby Manatee Pocket launch ramp to 1) agree that there was in fact a leak and 2) (once we agreed that it was in fact leaking) to figure out where it was coming from (easier said than done).  The best we could ascertain is that the leak was coming from the stem (bow). 

While we were at the launch ramp I noticed what I thought was an Outer Reef 63 parked just to the west.  Diana and I have been interested in this boat since I discovered an Outer Reef 65 at the Palm Beach Boat Show.  Important: I would never have re-connected with Tom Pedonti if 1) the dingy had not leaked and 2) we had no interest in the Outer Reef 63.

Meanwhile, the dingy story has a VERY happy ending.  Upon returning the boat to Brian's shop, he attached a harness and lifted the boat so the bow was down and immediately water started draining out of the plates that support the two bow lifting eyes.  Brian had found the cause.  The fix, resealing the three bolts on each side, took less than 30 minutes.  We relaunched at Shepards Park and upon arrival at Guided Discovery I checked the bilge for water.  There was none after the brief trip (as compared to a gallon the day before).  Just to make sure, I left the boat in the water for four hours and confirmed a perfectly dry and now super clean like new bilge.  I called Brian and declared victory. 

Note: Kudos to Brian.  He stood behind his work and did not charge me for the four hours it took to solve the problem (which would have been solved on the first round if he had filled the boat with water as we had previously agreed).

Brian on the right

So how does all this translate into a chance meeting with Tom Pedonti?  On Saturday, I proposed to show Diana the Outer Reef 63 that I thought I had discovered.  While it was unlikely that the owner would be on the boat, we could at least look at the exterior.  Unfortunately, we were only able to see the boat from a distance as it was at a private marina in a gated community. 

We gave up and continued down Port St Lucie Boulevard to our intended destination, Whole Foods in Palm Beach Gardens.  Just at the point where Port St Lucie intersects with Old Dixie Highway we pass a barber shop and Diana says, "want to stop for a haircut?"  I hesitated, drove past and then decided why not.

I went in to see how many men were waiting while Diana waited in the car and luckily there was only one customer and the barber said he would be finished in two minutes.  So I stayed.  Note: I would not have reconnected with Tom if the shop had been busy.

So, I sit down in the chair and Tom goes to work.  To make idle conversation, I comment on the numerous nautical decorations and asked if Tom was a boater.  He replied that he had boated in New England.  I asked where.  He said Nantasket Beach.  I said that I had spent my summers in Hull and played with boats also and asked him where.  He replied "A Street Pier" and then said "Lester...., Lester T Shapiro."  Note: I did not recognize Tom.

Tom's father, John Pedonti, ran the A Street Pier (i.e., leased the moorings and had a repair shop on the pier).  Tom, like myself, was a wharf rat (defined by my Aunt Rose as one who spends too much time on piers - guilty).  Thereafter, followed a long conversation about the people we knew from 50 years ago and the boats (my Uncle Louis' 18 foot Old Town, the Beverly K, which I ran for him, his 1930s 27 foot three cockpit Chris Craft speedboat, the Murray Wolf, which I envied as a kid, Lester Glawson, Captain for the 50 foot and then 65 foot yacht Randy Boatshu owned by Bobby Cohen, President of the Randolph Manufacturing Company, where I worked for 3 years as first mate, Spray Fever, a three cockpit Hacker Craft speedboat, the black Century Raven, John Giagrande, founder of The Waveland Marina next to the A Street Pier, etc.).

Tom Pedonti, a friend from 60 years ago

So, after 2,400 miles on the Great Loop journey I reconnected with an old friend who was there when I started my lifelong interest in boats.

Written by Les.