The last time we checked in with Ryan Peterson, he had just helped Jane Green turn her dream of a free (and free-wheeling) book lending library into reality.
The 2018 Staples High School graduate rebuilt the internationally best-selling author’s cargo tricycle into the Remarkable Bookcycle.
For the past 4 years, the 3-wheeled contraption — painted pink like Westport’s late, lamented Remarkable Book Shop, and with the beloved store’s “dancing man” logo on the side — has traveled around town.
It’s been parked on Main Street and Church Lane. It will spend this summer at Compo Beach, near the Soundview parking lot.
(Photo/Judith Shaw)
Now Ryan — who graduated last year from Fairfield University — has a new project.
This one’s on water, not land.
Ryan created “Westport Wave,” a Facebook group for boat owners (and anyone else who wishes they were).
It’s a place to post photos, ask questions, and share information. Think yacht club, without the dues.
Ryan has been a Long Island Sound boater, with friends and family, since he was 7.
He loves the water. “Boating opens the door to activities like fishing and water sports,” he says.
“But it also provides what I call a ‘mental factory reset.'”
He is involved with boats even when he’s not on the Sound. As with the Bookcycle, he brings life to older vessels.
In college he bought a 1979 McKee Craft Center Console, then spent 2 years restoring it. The project helped him realize the importance of sharing his passion — and knowledge — with others.
Westport Wave has started slowly. There are 70 members, but besides a few postings for things like free fenders, a referral for a marina mechanic who makes “house calls” — and someone selling a 1979 Viking 35c convertible for $65,000 — there is not much action.
Yet.
That’s fine. Every boat owner knows they must navigate the channel slowly and carefully.
But once they get out on the open water — well, the sky’s the limit.
(To join Westport Wave, click here. Owners of all size boats — and those who simply enjoy boating — are welcome.)
(Ahoy! “06880” shore would like your help. Please click here to support Westport’s hyper-local blog. Thank you!)
Posted onJuly 21, 2021|Comments Off on Roundup: Run For RTM, Boat Storage, Senior Golf, STAR Jobs,
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Want to run the town?
Or at least, help pass budgets, review board and commission decisions, and weigh in on matters like plastic bags and the Vietnam War?
The non-partisan Representative Town Meeting (RTM) does (or has done) all that, and much more.
36 members are elected to 2-year terms, from 9 districts. All seats are open, in the next election.
Westport residents interested in running can pick up a petition at the Town Clerk’s office. You need 25 signatures from residents in their district to be on the November 2 ballot.
The Town Clerk’s office will supply a district map, and list of all voters. Petitions are due September 14.
Air quality in Westport was poor last night. The culprit — as some suspected — was the wildfires ravaging the West. Particles have traveled thousands of miles, and are affecting our East Coast town.
Starting November 1, Westport’s Parks & Recreation Department will offer winter boat storage at Longshore. Residents can store boats on their trailers in the gravel lot (Lot F) through April 15.
Space is available for 24 boats up to 24 feet (including trailer). Five more spaces are available, for boats with up to 32 feet. Rates are $720 plus tax for up to 24 feet, $960 for tax for the longer vessels..
Spots are first come, first served, for Westport residents only. For an application, email rgiunta@westportct.gov. (Hat tip: Fred Cantor)
A beautiful summer sight. But where will you store our boat this winter?
Congratulations to Marc Lasry. Besides being a hedge fund billionaire, the Greens Farms resident owns the Milwaukee Bucks. Last night, they won their 1st NBA championship in 50 years.
Marc Lasry (right), after the Bucks won the NBA championship. (Screen shot photo/Fred Cantor)
Speaking of sports: Leela Narang-Benaderet just made history. The 1988 Staples High School grad is the first Westporter to qualify for the US Senior Women’s Golf Open. She did it last week, with a 76 in the qualifier at Greenwich Country Club.
Over 400 golfers — most of them pros — competed internationally to earn a spot. Leela may have the easiest travel of all: The event will be hosted by Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield. Mark your calendars: July 29 to August 1. (Hat tip: Patty Kondub)
Vivek Kanthan is the US Rotax Max Challenge karting champion. The Westport 7th grader — who attends Pearson Online Academy, due to his travel schedule — won 7 of the 12 races in this year’s series. He will represent the US at the world championship in Bahrain later this year.
The final race was at New Jersey Motorsports Park last weekend. Sweltering heat, humidity and track temperatures of 103 degrees made the already exciting final round much more intense.
Karts reached speeds of 70 miles an hour. Vivek overcame a strong challenge to win, by just 0.08 seconds.
STAR Lighting the Way has received a $20,000 grant from Fairfield County’s Community Foundation. The money will help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities find work, through STAR’s My First Jobs program.
STAR’s customized employment program for people with disabilities leads the state in job placements and hours worked. A team of job developers, employment managers and job coaches work with individuals, and networks with businesses, to create job opportunities, supervise training, and find locations to host classes in life, social, arts, and recreational skills.
And finally … today marks the 160th anniversary of the first major Civil War battle. The First Battle of Bull Run, near Manassas, Virginia, ended in a Confederate victory.
In 1990, Ric Burns’ astonishing 9-part PBS miniseries brought the war — in all its glory and greed, courage and cowardice, epic sweep and tiny details — into American homes. I watch it every few years, to try and understand this momentous event in our nation’s history.
Perhaps the most memorable segment of the entire series was Sullivan Ballou’s letter to his wife. Written a week before the First Battle of Bull Run, it provides viewers an astonishing combination of love, eloquence and historical perspective.
Jay Ungar’s haunting “Ashokan Farewell” — a heart-rending violin duet with Molly Mason — makes this the most impactful three minutes you may ever see and hear.
Comments Off on Roundup: Run For RTM, Boat Storage, Senior Golf, STAR Jobs,
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