Sailing Away

Sailing Away

Tomorrow marks the first time this season I will be going to a Yankee game.  And for the first time in almost 15 years, I will be attending without a season ticket.  A combination of economy, relocation and transportation led to the lapse of the ticket renewal.  The latter carrying more significance than the others.  See, our pregame was part of the ritual itself.  And it seems that every time we thought we got it right, it left us.

Well before the birth of a new Yankee Stadium, our path to the park was via parkway.  Upon arrival, our parking preference was part of the local penitentiary.  This second story setting was seemingly set aside for us…the parking, not the penitentiary.  Unlike the multi-layered Kinney lot adjacent to the Stadium, this unknown gem had easy in, easy out access.  You were within arms reach of the Deegan, where passing truckers would blast their horns at the rooftop tailgaters.  You had room for a catch, or even a football game.  Fans mingled among one another and familiar faces were abundant.  It was a concrete paradise…and at the bottom of the exit ramp laid an oasis.  Ozzie and his hot dog cart.  But these were no ordinary wieners, these were Ozzie dogs.  A creation made famous by this peddler of pigs in a blanket.  A collection of condiments created a chorus of flavors.  I’ll take two please…

With plans of a new Stadium on the horizon, there was no place for the concrete correctional facility.  Down came the structure…parking and all.  We never did see Ozzie again…making me wonder if he was actually on work furlough from the bygone building.

Now what?  Removal of spaces was bad enough, now they cordoned off a huge area for the new “Home of the Yankees”.  This left many parkers parkless.  We needed something new.  This happened to coincide with my occupation moving me to Manhattan.  It was here I would discover something awesome.  Our tailgate would head to the high seas.  I give you the Yankee Clipper.

This ship set sail from Pier 11, but our journey would begin well before.  A few hours before departure, we would seek out a familiar watering hole.  Hey, we were no longer motorists…no need to moderate.  Our stop, Blind Tiger Ale House on Bleecker.  In warmer weather the bar was windowless and we would procure a prime spot.  If we were lucky, a microbrewer had saturated the taps with their brand a day before…and we would sample as many as we could.  5:00pm and we were off to catch the 1 down to South Ferry.  We would board our boat, and head straight aft…for that was where the bar was.  A few beers bought and we headed to the bow.  What a way to go to the game.  We passed under the BMW bridges and headed up the East River.  This wonderful whirl seemed to be uncharted by locals, as tourists always surrounded us.  My baseball buddy would become an impromptu tour guide.  He pointed out landmarks on both banks, adding in his own experiences as we sailed on.  I was always surprised someone didn’t try to tip him, as one would think he was part of the Clipper experience.  About an hour up river we would disembark.

The Clipper would head home 30 minutes after game’s end.  We would work our way back to the boat and resume our position on the bow…beers in hand.  The city was now lit up in all its glory.  An amazing site to see from our standpoint.  A cool breeze off the river refreshed after a drawn out day.  High tide was our only hassle …with many a time the Captain asking the passengers to head forward to allow the vessel to clear under the smaller bridges.  As the pilot’s bridge passed safely under one, a cheer went up from the voyagers as if Jeter had stepped up to the plate once again.  Our return trip would be shorter, since we would exit at 34^th st.  Not so much that we wanted off…but more because at that location was a little Mexican cantina we would frequent right before closing.  The staff knew us and our assigned mission was to finish the frozen Margaritas…they couldn’t keep and would only be tossed.  After our mission was accomplished, we would cab it to Penn.  My hour and a ½ railroad ride home awaited.  Hey, who won the game anyway?

Before last season the Yankee Clipper was discontinued due to high costing diesel.  Last year Delta stepped up and sponsored a one-way water taxi to the game.  However it seems they were only trying to wean us off the water.  We went from full, to half to now none…as the Delta shuttle was shut down too.

Gone is the topside tailgating.  Missing will be our wonderful waterway.  We are taking the subway to the Stadium tomorrow.  The D line.

I think D is the grade I will be giving our new pregame experience.