Every so often, a yacht anchored off Compo Beach draws the attention of normally blasé beachgoers.
In 1966, when Mia Farrow — a Westport resident — was 21 and Frank Sinatra was 50, they spent time on his vessel. Their marriage lasted 2 years.
A few years ago, the 185-foot Rosehearty — previously owned by Rupert Murdoch, but sold to a Staples High School graduate building a home near Saugatuck Shores — drew admiring gazes (and plenty of envy).
Yesterday, it was Gene Chaser’s turn.
Gene Chaser, off Compo Beach. (Photo/Rob Feakins)
It’s 182 feet — just a yard shorter than Rosehearty. And it too has an intriguing back story.
Rob Feakins found a 2022 story on Robb Report. The yacht is owned by Dr. Jonathan Rothberg, a “Connecticut-based DNA sequencing specialist.”
Launched in late 2020, Rothberg converted spaces inside and out into laboratories and hubs for scientific projects.
Four Caterpillar diesel engines with a combined 5,600 horsepower push it to 26 miles per hour.
There’s space to land a helicopter, carry a fleet of tenders and toys, and stow a converted shipping container full of ATVs and motorbikes.
With her massive, Transformer-like, 13-ton-capacity crane extended, the yacht’s Fjord 42 tender, 28-foot OXpro AL8 landing craft, 20-foot Zodiac RIB and a fleet of jet skis can be hoisted and stowed on the deck.
Gene Chaser is used for family trips to the Bahamas and Caribbean, then north to Maine and Connecticut for the summer. Scientific experiments are conducted along the way.
To read the full Robb Report story, click here.
Not the British — this is Gene Chaser. (Photo/Dan Woog)
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Over 100 people headed to Christ & Holy Trinity Church’s Branson Hall yesterday, for a special viewing of Homes with Hope‘s 40th anniversary video.
The documentary — created by former Westporter Livio Sanchez — spotlights the 4-decade history of our town’s homeless shelter, supportive housing and food pantry non-profit.
It is an honest look back at the hurdles its founders faced. It’s also an inspirational tale, one that — as various interviewees emphasize — should be replicated by suburban towns across the country.
Craig and Bryan Gillespie — sons of co-founder Dr. Jim Gillespie — and other family members were at the event. The Gillespie Center men’s shelter is named for him.
Future showings will be announced on “06880.” It’s a must-see look at what remains an important, complicated issue, and an unvarnished history of how our town has dealt with it.
Craig Gillespie (with microphone) and, from left, former Homes with Hope CEO Jeff Wieser, board chair John Walsh, vice president and COO Paris Looney, and president and CEO Helen McAlinden.
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For nearly 50 years, quietly — but fiercely — Bloodroot has raised consciousnesses, fought for women’s rights, and served great food on a side street near the water in Bridgeport.
Many Westporters know and love it.
Others have never heard of it.
Now the Washington Post has given it the full-story treatment.
Including plenty of shout-outs to its co-founder, longtime Westport resident Selma Miriam.
At 89 years old, she deserves every accolade.
The story says:
For Noel Furie, now 79, and Selma Miriam, 89, Bloodroot’s co-owners, the goal was to build a self-sustaining feminist community that would embrace global cuisine and where women, lesbian and straight, could feel supported. The concept appears to have worked as today’s diners eat platters of housemade injera and misir wat beneath hundreds of vintage photographs of women, picked up at yard sales and donated by friends, that line the walls.
The Post notes that “of the 200-plus feminist restaurants, cafes and coffeehouses that opened across the United States during the 1970s and ’80s … just one remains: Bloodroot.”
To read the full story, click here. (Hat tip: Eileen Lavigne Flug)
Bloodroot founders Selma Miriam (left) and Noel Furie, at their restaurant. (Photo/Penny de los Santos for Washington Post)
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Saturday’s Entitled Parking award goes to …
(Photo/Steven Goldstein)
Sure, it’s the far side of the Stop & Shop parking lot.
But it wasn’t empty — look at the other cars.
If everyone in the lot decided to park like that …
Meanwhile, this guy (or gal, though I’d bet the farm it’s the former) is just lucky 2 other drivers decided not to park very close, in the empty spots on either side.
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Scout Troops 39 (boys) and 139 (girls) held a Court of Honor yesterday, at Green’s Farms Church.
Congratulations to the 4 new Eagle Scouts (left to right, in the photo below): Amelia Gura, Anabelle Lott, Lucas Fischel and Justin Juliano.
Westport is proud of you!
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Every year, the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary — created in honor of one of the children murdered at Sandy Hook — holds a Butterfly Party in Newtown.
This year’s was on Saturday. It would have been Catherine’s 18th birthday.
The day included pet adoptions, kids’ crafts and more.
Westporter Tracy Porosoff and her daughter bought a milkweed plant. It will provide food for butterflies in their yard — much needed, as their numbers decline.
Tracy says, “If Westport families could make their garden butterfly-friendly, that would be a wonderful way to honor Catherine’s memory — and help the earth.”
To learn more about Pollinator Pathway, click here.
Milkweed, already planted in Tracy Porosoff’s garden.
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Today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo — and nature lesson — comes from the superb, indefatigable, and very knowledgeable wildlife photographer Johanna Keyser Rossi.
She writes: “I kept hearing chirping from a tree in Grace Salmon Park. I saw what looked like a small bee hive. But then I saw the orioles feeding their chicks.
“It was very windy. That is a very strong nest.”
(Photo/Johanna Keyser Rossi)
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And finally … in honor of Bloodroot’s 47 years (and its shout-out from the Washington Post):
(Whether you own a yacht, a sailboat, a kayak or a rubber ducky, we’re grateful for your support of “06880.” Whatever level feels comfortable is happily accepted. Please click here — and thank you!)
