Capt Chris German's Fabulous Floating Empire

Most times when I bring this up, I hear jokes about Kevin Costner, icthyo sapien  and the epic floating flop "Waterworld". The truth is however, I LOVE that movie and if certain aspects of my maritime manifesto are rooted in science fiction so be it. That doesn't mean that they are not worthwhile ideas or a valid plan for the future. But somewhere in that post-apocalyptic Ocean-based tale of the future of the human race, I saw a truth. The seas are rising, the weather is changing, the land is overcrowded and the fact is life on shore is dry.  There are a hundred reasons to walk away from Shore.

So in late 2010, I decided to take a new tack with CCB. A step away from land and towards the Sea.  Sporting frustration and contempt for those who attempted to submarine the plan to create a nicer place to live in this State,  we decided as an organization to investigate ways to make this world a better place to live using the Sea and boating, free from the rigid frame of thinking that is holding us to the same old failed tactics of the last two centuries. We quickly landed upon the floating boat house. But the grander idea for a floating organization was buoyed, literally, in 2011 and again in late 2012, when Hurricane Irene and Frankenstorm Sandy plowed into New England.

Those facilities that laid down roots, which is to say pilings, decks and club houses were battered in the storms. The brand new piers at Seaside Park were splintered with gale-force winds and storm surging tides in 2011. The night of Sandy's landfall, the Train Station in Bridgeport became a buzzing island with electric wires dancing in the dark while Water Street lived up to its name under 6 feet of tide. Everyone saw the explosion in NYC and heard the story of why we had to shut the Connecticut grid down due to high tides threatening to flood the sub stations of Connecticut. Today, six months later, homes are still without power, heat or  residents. NYC is just now evicting the people living in subsidized hotels post Sandy. The Storms showed us how ill prepared we are as a community here in New England to weather the effects of rising sea levels and  climate change that will effect our lives from here on in.

We live in a new world whether we want to admit it or not. The next storm will come in, the next glacier will melt and the next foot of sea will settle into the next basement. Anyone who has ever worked on a beach, knows you cant stop the Sea and it has no heart, mind or purpose. And those who stand against the tide will be washed away, while those who work with the tide will see the sunrise the next day.

It was with that immutable fact in mind that CCB decided to become a floating organization.

Again though, had I known the fight I would get, I would have done things much different.

When we started planning the boat house in late 2010, it was clear that a battle was brewing. But we had to fight it. Between theft, death threats, robbery and storms, life on shore in Bridgeport was impossible. We needed a prototype to flush out the nay-sayers and call in the supporters. Over the last year, we've done that. But it wasn't until I floated the notion of the Naval Dive Barge, that a friend described my vision as "Capt Chris's Fabulous Floating Empire"- a tongue and cheek name for CCB as a floating organization.

With the Dive Barge, we would have a completely off-grid, self supported facility that could whether a Nuclear Holocaust, let alone a Hurricane. The Boat House was a test, the Dive Barge is the goal. But neither one is capable of travel.

That was a critical flaw to the plan. We would always be dependent on someone for a ride with just the Boat House or just the Dive Barge and that just doesn't jive with CCB- WE provide the ride- always. So we needed ways to self-propel.

First up was Sally's Barge- a twin screw work barge capable of dragging Jumbo anywhere she needed to go. With that as part of the fleet, we could hoist our anchor and travel to any port in Long Island Sound. But that didn't include people. Jumbo and Sally cant carry people, or allow them refuge or allow them living quarters. The Dive Barge could do all that, but without a motor, she would be a 260' liability without a tug.

And that was when I discovered the Mystic. With a 900 Horse motor, thousands of square feet of sail area, 34 berths and a steel hull, that girl could not only be a ride to anywhere in Connecticut, she could sail to Portugal and back. With wind as our fuel, she could do it for a song, and with a draft of 10 feet she could do it in Groton/New London, New Haven, Bridgeport, Stratford, Milford, Stamford, Essex, Old Saybrook- where ever.

And that is the vision. A fleet of vessels that could serve a multitude of functions, hundreds of people  anytime, anywhere in Long Island Sound or beyond. That was the vision for CCB.

So while you may think I am crazier than Kevin Costner on a sail boat in the Pacific with webbed toes, I do have a vision and we are closer than ever to making this vision a reality for everyone, everywhere regardless of income, residency or social standing. That is Chris German's Fabulous Floating Empire.