No injuries, no property damage.

Regulatory and insurance hurdles cleared, Mon Tiki has been up and running for about six weeks now, and with about 200 paying customers across her decks, I am pleased (and relieved!) to report, Mon Tiki seems more than capable of doing the job we built her to do.

The dominant thought I have as we head into the height of our summer season is that most of what makes our business work is completely beyond our control, and the lion’s share of what is within our control is the result of decissions made two or five or fifteen years ago or more. Which is to say, a fine summer day in Montauk is as nice a thing to experience as anything I’ve ever experienced, and scooning on Mon Tiki is as nice a way to experience it as as I know of.

And so the mantra has become: to finish each trip with no injuries and no property damage. To put all our effort into gentle, attentive caution, and let Montauk and Mon Tiki do the heavy lifting where the enjoyment is concerned. What is funny about this to me is that is what I always wanted from the artwork I made, for it to simply speak for itself, to need little or no contextualization, no artist’s statement or director’s Q&A. On Mon Tiki we motor out to open water, then set enough sail to make the boat move well, and then sit back while the experience speaks for itself. People seem to dig it, and that makes me feel good.

It feels like there are threads connecting this back to my various musings on privilege and agency, choosing leisure and prestige over money and whatnot, but I find I lack the wit for argument, case-making, or even mere observation. Maybe it’s that the physicality of the work is tiring, or maybe it’s something deeper…

In any case, should you find yourself on the east end of Long Island this summer, come out for a sail. It’s nice, and I’ll make sure you don’t get hurt.

The above photo is show my wife Amelia at the helm on the last of four outings we did with Google during their corporate retreat in Montauk. No, the irony is not lost on me.