While Boston wasn’t the first place my parents arrived to in the United States, I’ve always thought of the city as the start of our lives in this country. It’s where my dad got his degree, where my brother and I were born, and where my mom advanced her English beyond the canned simulacra of ESL textbooks—in Chinatown restaurant booths and in conversations with other grad student couples. Boston still feels like a starting point of sorts for us, and I was excited to visit once again from my current home in New York.
Seeking my own retreat from an unseasonably warm and frenzied Manhattan, I was looking for a night in—uninterrupted by flapping pigeons and car horns. When I first saw the listing for a two-bedroom yacht in the Charlestown Marina, I had a beat of hesitation. But I was sold by the name of the boat, Carpe Diem II. “Why not?” I thought (and what had happened to the first?).
The drive to Boston took me through the best bits of autumn in New England: there were scenes of golden foliage, well-coiffed dogs, and preppy academic types aplenty. I arrived about half an hour before my meet-up with Chad, my host. Though quiet, Charlestown was a port that felt awake in the afternoon, and I used the liminal time to give myself a quick tour of the Bunker Hill Monument and the northern head of the Freedom Trail.
Touching base with Chad was straightforward, delightful, and—for any prospective guests—necessary, per the marina’s rules for visitors. Beyond simply bequeathing the keys to the boat and the marina, Chad is generous in sharing his wealth of local knowledge, both in casual conversation and a well-maintained Google doc he co-wrote with his partner Holly. As a first-time boater, getting to chat with Chad eased me into my sea legs.
