Westport Week 5- Dauntless Launches!

During our fifth week working at Westport, LLC, we finally witnessed the fruits of our labor- the 77 model yacht which we had been working on launched February 1st. Dauntless, as the boat was named, was not fully complete, with some touch-ups still needed, but it was ready to be transferred from the yard to the water. Lina, working now on the mechanical crew, spent the first half of the week cleaning and prepping the engine room before launch. Between the plumbing, electrical, and mechanical crews, Lina spent the most time of the three of us working on Dauntless. Maggie and Ioana, in fairing and plumbing, respectively, moved on to the other yachts currently in construction.

When we arrived Thursday morning, the boat had already been lifted onto a trailer and sat half outside of the yard, waiting to be towed. Workers rushed through the yacht, doing some last-minute cleaning, lifting furniture to be installed, and checking that all systems were working properly. At 9 o'clock, Lina joined the heavy lift crew for a run-through of the procedure for moving the boat to the water, which involved shackling the boat in different positions for different stages of release.

At 11 o'clock, we had a quick lunch and went outside in the pouring rain to watch the launch. The boat was towed across the yard and down the street to the marina. Supervisors, workers, and strangers passing by stood around, some taking pictures of the 112-foot yacht.

The entire process took about two hours. The boat was gradually brought into the water, with periodic stops so that the crew on board could check for leaks. Eventually, the boat was floating in the water, and the trailer was pulled out from underneath.

Watching the boat that we had worked on for five weeks come to life was a rewarding experience, albeit extremely cold and wet.

Dauntless drove away to be filled with fuel, and we went back inside, immensely satisfied and ready to work some more. Lina moved on to the next 77 model, installing insulation in the engine room. Ioana and Maggie worked on the 40-meter model, fitting pipes and prepping stairs for sanding.

On Friday, we drove to our coworker Ofelia Stepson's family dinner. Ofelia, working with Maggie in fairing, had invited the three of us to try her family's signature tamales. We went to her brother's house in Aberdeen, with a gorgeous view atop a hill.

The dinner was wonderful, and Ofelia's family was very pleasant and fun to spend time with. Later in the evening, Ofelia invited us to her niece's quinceanera, which was the next day. Having no major plans for the weekend, we eagerly accepted the invitation. However, none of us had anything festive to wear. We spent all of Saturday morning shopping for dresses, shoes, and jewelry. Once we came home, we changed into our party outfits and headed out.

The quinceanera was the dance party we didn't know we needed. Having come to Westport solely to work at the yard, we hadn't had the chance to doll ourselves up and let it all out on the dance floor- up until that night. The DJ, the birthday girl's uncle, played a mix of pop hits and traditional Mexican songs, and we danced to everything. Ofelia and her super cool friends danced with us the entire time, up until we left at an incredibly late 9 p.m.

Ioana liked the under-the-sea theme- and all of the balloons

The venue was a re-purposed barn, but the atmosphere was of a swanky nightclub- if you didn't notice all the children

Mexican candies were served- one was sweet, sour, and spicy, and the other was strawberry

Thank you Ofelia!!!

Once we came home, we realized we didn't have nearly enough pictures of our outfits, so we posed for a couple. Maggie had the brilliant idea of us taking jumping shots in our heels, and the results, revealed here exclusively, were better than expected.