The boat’s rotted hull was a target for sympathy that pulled in more than $40,000 in donations for repairs. In October 2008, the vessel was restored to glimmer and buoyancy, and owner Leland Parsons triumphantly slid it back to its rightful place in harbor waters.
It’s been there ever since, sitting silent and stationary. Soaking at the docks, camouflaged among dozens of similar vessels, the skiff is essentially out of sight, out of mind.
 Another fishing boat in need of tender loving care occupies the space in the Pillar Point Harbor parking lot once reserved for "The Irene." Since the partially refurbished vessel was put back into harbor waters in October 2008, donations to keep repairs afloat have sagged. |
Parsons and his wife, Cecily, were in the initial strides of a romantic journey around the world on their sailboat when they arrived in Princeton in 2006 to find “The Irene” languishing. The boat’s decrepit condition and rich history struck a note with Parsons, who grew up at the docks in Gloucester, Mass. What sets the 40-foot boat apart from all others in the harbor is its significance as the first vessel to make port in the harbor in 1925.
Parsons dream is to make “The Irene” a fully operational tour boat and sole asset of the Pillar Point Education Fund, a nonprofit foundation he established in 2008. The plan is for the foundation to provide grants to fishing families to finance college for their children with the profits of the Irene’s tours of the harbor.
To make that happen the boat needs $60,000 to finance an engine, electrical wiring and the first six months of tours, Parsons says. Since donations aren’t rolling in like they used to, and he can’t bring himself to ask for a dime in these tough times, Parsons is looking for new avenues for cash.
He applied last month for an $80,000 grant through U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier’s office. He’s made “The Irene” the centerpiece of an April mixer hosted by the Half Moon Bay Coastside Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Bureau. He might be able to hand over the reins to his son, also an avid boater and builder, who recently relocated to the Coastside.
The intimate globetrotting expedition Parsons planned with his wife has been sidetracked for more than three years, and without the community at his back he’s thinking of setting sail in June or July.
If something doesn’t happen soon, Parsons says he’ll shelve the project to re-engage his dream.
“What I’d do is put the boat into mothballs,” he said. “That means we’ll wrap it up in plastic and put it out on a mooring with a solar panel on top to keep the battery up so the bilge pumps are good, and keep it out of the way of the harbor.”
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