July 14th and 15th 2011
TISIRI's Joe Kistel and Ed Kalakauskis joined Safe Harbor Boys Home in an outing aboard the largest yacht in Jacksonville; the Amazing Grace. Kistel and Kalakauskis were aboard to serve as crew and photograph the vessel.
The Amazing Grace departed Safe Harbor Boys Home around 9am Thursday morning. Aboard were TISIRI's Kistel and Kalalkauskis, Captain Charley, Jerry, and Safe Harbor Boys Home Doug and Robbie Smith. The yacht was en route to Fernandina for a VIP event later in the evening.
The captain navigated slowly past Jacksonville's Dames Point Bridge and headed east toward the Atlantic. Once oceanside the vessel was cruising at over 20 knots. At such speed it did not take much time to reach the entrance to St. Marys.
The Yacht was docked at a marina in Fernandina and preparations were conducted for the event later in the evening. The Amazing Grace was cleaned, decorated, and filled with elaborate food and servers. The VIP party arrived as scheduled and soon enough the Amazing Grace was back under power. The Amazing Grace provided a sightseeing cruise that included Fort Clinch, Kings Bay submarine base, and wild horses on the beach side.
Guest satisfied with their cruise and sightseeing tour, the amazing grace returned to the Fernandina Marina. Those aboard continued to enjoy the Amazing Grace accommodations well into the evening. After the guest and catering staff departed the vessel the yacht crew decided to keep the vessel in Fernandina overnight.
The following morning the crew of the Amazing grace had breakfast, preformed some maintenance and preparations, and departed back towards Jacksonville. This time the Captain navigated south via the intracoastal waterway, winding around turns and sliding under bridges. The Amazing Grace and crew returned safely to Safe Harbor Boys home by mid-day Friday.
TISIRI's Kalakauskis and Kistel greatly enjoyed the opportunity to participate and the hospitality provided by Safe Harbor Boys Home. TISIRI would like to thank Robbie and Doug Smith and all at Safe Harbor Boys home.
Would the yacht be available for a small board meeting “aboard” the last weekend of January 2013? There would be 10-12 and we would need sleeping quarters and cooking facilities for three days. We are a non-profit group called the Cyrus Foundation who assists Jewish families with their return to Israel. We are establishing a regatta ministry in Florida to promote aliyah and the yacht would be a great place to have our meeting if it is large enough and not too expensive. Thanks. Sue Golke