Pat Mundus, the grand marshal of the 2015 Greenport Maritime Festival, has had a long and rich love story with the sea.
Her story was captured for posterity by Tony Bettler and Marla Milne, who created a short film, “Captain Pat Mundus,” presented by the East End Seaport & Marine Foundation, organizers of the Maritime Festival.
The film will be shown alongside “A Port of Views,” by artist Andrea Cote, at the Greenport Cineman, Saturday at 7:30 p.m.; $5 admission benefits the Seaport Museum.
A sneak preview of the film about Mundus unveiled an homage to a woman who’s spent her life dedicated to the sea and now embraces Greenport’s working waterfront.
Mundus, 58, was born in Montauk and was imbued from birth with deep maritime roots; her father Frank was a beloved sport fisherman who is believe to have been the inspiration for the character Quint in the movie “Jaws”. In the film, Mundus talks about her father’s long talk with “Jaws” author Peter Benchley.
On boats from the time she was old enough to walk aboard, Mundus has had a career studded with adventure and deep dedication to the seafaring life.
She began charter sailing in the Caribbean in the 70s, also teaching community sailing programs in East Hampton. Later, she attended the NY Maritime College at Fort Schuyler and crewed on Bride of Gastonia from eastern Long Island to Newfoundland and Labrador.
She’s sailed commercially as a ship deck’s officer, cruised a 17-foot sailing kayak throughout the Exuma chain in the Bahamas, and owned and restored a 1951 30-foot lapstrake Verity powerboat.
From 2001 to today, she’s owned and restored a a 57-foot F. Spaudling Dunbar 1967 ketch, taking voyages to New England and Florida, the Bahamas and western Caribbean/Central American waters.
She’s also the owner of East End Charters, LLC, specializing in brokering classic charter yachts.
“Since college I have raced, crewed, and delivered various yachts as an avocation, my primary interest being in classics,” she said.
In addition to the European circuit, she’s participated in New England classic regattas and events such as the annual NYYC Cruise, annual IYRS Cruise, Opera House Cup, Newport Classic, and the Eggemoggin Reach Regatta.
At the Greenport Maritime Festival she’s chaired a classic boat display since 2009.
She currently holds a Chief Mate Any Ocean/Any Tonnage license and a 1,600 ton Master’s license. “As a ships’ officer I have transited both the Suez and Panama Canals over a dozen times each and sailed trans-Atlantic, trans-Pacific and trans-Indian oceans. Finally I am a shellback, having met King Neptune and his court crossing the Equator,” she said.
Reflecting on her life on the sea, Mundus said her father’s life lessons resonate still. “My father taught me that fear simply comes from not understanding something. If one wants to get comfortable with something, diving in and learning about it is the best way to get there. Also, by his example, I saw that what other people think of you is really none of your business.” She smiled. “That makes life easier.”
Mundus spent 17 years at sea. “Mainly because I earned one paid vacation day for each day I was at sea. Ninety days on a ship meant three months of paid vacation. Plus, it allowed me to retire early,” she said.
Although she was a woman in a primarily male-dominated profession, Mundus said the challenges were universal. “I can’t speak for other women because everyone, man or woman, has their own relative point. For me, flipping back-and-forth between shipboard conduct versus shoreside society was demanding. Toughen up aboard and soften up at home? I’m still not sure if I get it right and I’ve been retired from ships for a long time. This is the classical mariners’ challenge; regardless of gender. That’s why it’s been a literature theme for centuries. Read Conrad!”
Motherhood would have been its own unique challenge, she said. “I never did figure out how to have a baby and leave it home for months, although I would have given it a try if American ships accommodated that onboard family structure.”
When asked if she was a pioneer for women, Mundus said, “No. I was just doing my thing. Perhaps that helped normalize things for others who came along after our generation. I’m just happy they don’t have to fight for basic rights anymore. Greenport is filled with eccentric individuals and mariners come and go with ease. I’m among my peeps here. You bet it’s welcoming to women mariners.”
The honor of grand marshal, she said, “is largely a celebratory figurehead, a platform to hang a dialogue from. I was surprised they asked me, but gladly accepted because my story is every woman-sailors’ story, which in turn is Greenport’s story. Hell, women were welding and painting ships at Greenport Basin & Construction Company in WWII, and I’m honored to be able to talk about that.”
After arriving in Greenport, Mundus knew she’d found an authentic maritime experience. “Our maritime traditions are alive and well in today’s everyday life. Our working waterfront is what keeps us the real deal. Greenport is much, much more than gift shops, fried clams, and ice cream cones.”
Mundus said a head count of present-day village waterfront employees was conducted recently. Results indicated that there are 112 year-rounders and 32 more “seasonal folks bringing home the bacon from the village waterfront. That doesn’t include non-salaried subcontractors. By my math, that’s seven percent of the village population.”
Wooden boats hold special meaning for Mundus, due to their “mindfulness,” she said. “Anything made by hand is crafted by a human being and not popped out of a factory by a production process. The art is the humanity.”
The Maritime Festival, she said, celebrates Greenport’s rich history. Visitors, she said, come to celebrate our unique place as a seaport surrounded by clear and clean nature, farms, and vineyards, communicated by our foodies, oyster growers, artists, and craftsmen.”
Mundus said while there is a commercial aspect to the event, it’s meant as a fundraiser for Bug Light and the village’s nautical identity, critical to the village economy.
“I’m aware that some Greenporters avoid the Festival because of their own self-convictions, but Greenport Village is not becoming a destination — we already are one —and we need to channel and support what is, not criticize what is not.”
She added, “A rising tide lifts all boats. Greenport is a more vibrant place than it was in recent past and change brings churning. I encourage anyone who hasn’t been to the Festival in a decade to come and see the difference. This is my sixth year assembling classic boats and iceboats at the Festival, bringing more ‘maritime’ to the Maritime Festival. We show how many local boatbuilders, repair experts, restorationists, and lovers of craftsmanship live and work among us.”
