Help Sam and Crow Keep the Nautilus Sailing

Hello to our community, friends, family, and everyone who has been lucky enough to know the Nautilus.

My name is Sam, and my fiancé's name is Crow. We are the owners and crew of the Nautilus, a six-passenger 1978 Formosa ketch which has been running sightseeing sails out of Portland, Maine for the last several years. We have been Nautilus’ crew since the company began - Crow was working on her varnish before she even sailed into Portland Harbor for the first time. This spring we were fortunate enough to purchase her, and have since put our hearts and souls, all our time and savings and effort, into caring for her and sailing her to the best of our ability. Anyone who has had the privilege of coming on board can tell you how much pride and joy we have in our little ketch. She means everything to us.

[A photo of Nautilus from happier times]

On August 23rd, the Nautilus was struck by a yacht while she was docked at her slip. Crow was on board during the collision, and narrowly avoided injury or worse from the wreckage of the mast and rigging. At this point in time it seems no one was injured, but the damage to the vessel is extensive. The mast was fully snapped in half and broken to splinters, and the rigging is a wreck. That alone is somewhere around $20,000 worth of damage. We cannot tell the full extent of the damage to the hull and below-decks structure until we are able to pull her from the water, which will hopefully be within a few days. From that point we will begin to form a more comprehensive idea of what must be done to save her. Our 2024 season is certainly over. We sincerely hope that it is not the last, but until we have more concrete information it is hard to say what the next steps are.

[A photograph showing Nautilus's mast snapped in half]

[A photograph showing the mahogany trim destroyed along the rail and brow]

[A photograph showing the mast unstepped and the damage to the v-berth from the force of the impact]

In the meantime, things are difficult. The sailing community has given us a rush of support in the aftermath of this tragedy, and we are so incredibly grateful for every single one of you. Several people have asked us if we had a Go Fund Me, which is why I am writing to you now. I recognize now is not the time to be humble, since our livelihood was wrenched away due to this unfortunate event. Nautilus is much more than just a source of income to us - but she is our sole source of income, as well. We do not yet know what resolution might be reached with insurance, the other vessel, the extent of the damage, etc. But in the coming months, even aside from the as-yet-unknown cost of repairs, we still have the vessel’s ongoing loan payments to make, our own unavoidable living expenses, and the cost of having Nautilus hauled out, towed to dry dock, and her other mast removed.

Crow and I intend to do everything in our power to repair her, rebuild her mast, and see her sailing again. When her previous owner Nick Patey purchased her and founded Nautilus Sailing Company, she was virtually unsalvageable. It has taken a labor of love from him, from us, from her other crew over the years, and from every single person who has ever lent us their time, advice, expertise, and hands, to restore her to her current state. Nick rebuilt her masts himself with Norwegian Spruce from Freeport, Maine, a way of welcoming her to this beautiful state where we had hoped to sail her for years to come. She has been brought back from an extremely poor condition once before, and we hope that we might be able to perform the same miracle twice.

Crow and I ask for your help in keeping us afloat through the next few months - literally and figuratively. Without any concrete numbers, we have set the goal at the minimum damage we are reasonably certain about; we hope it will help to cover the next few weeks and months as we begin the process of assessing and repairing. We will be as transparent as possible as the situation evolves, and update this page as we know more. If Nautilus is damaged to the extent that it is beyond our abilities and resources to fix her, any donated funds not already used towards that end would help us get our feet under us. That said, we do intend to pursue every possible avenue to repair her.

ANY help makes a difference - even sharing this fundraiser, and perhaps your own memories of your time aboard, would mean the world to us. Nautilus is all we have. If we or our lovely little ketch have ever touched your lives, we would be so grateful for your support.