Paul's Perspective

An Experience of a Lifetime….

By Paul “Bendarod” Lapinski

Most people would say that either someone or something had an influence on their life, and I am no different. Sure, my life was influenced by my parents, family and friends. Add schooling, work experience, marriage and everything else in between it all adds up to be a pretty normal life. But for me a certain experience and how it changed my life may just be a little different than most other peoples’. That experience was working on the fishing boat Starstream II…an experience of a lifetime.

My Dad took me fishing for the first time when I was 8 years old. I clearly remember catching a very large Fluke right near the family bay house on Ned’s Creek in Merrick Bay. Instantly, I was hooked on fishing and my Dad & Uncle bought me my own rod & reel the very next day. My Dad took me fishing as often as he could. When I was old enough, probably 12 or 13 years old, my Dad took me night blue fishing out of Point Lookout. Over several years we went out often and sometimes caught bluefish as big as your leg.

My Dad’s life was cut short by lung cancer and he died in 1975. I was 18 at the time and by then he had me totally hooked on fishing. While I continued to do all sorts of fishing, I really liked going blue fishing, especially at night. I often went night blue fishing out of Point Lookout & Captree until I got a phone call from a family friend that had often fished with my Dad & I. He told me that he went fishing on this boat out of Freeport. Not only did he catch a lot of fish but he raved about how beautiful and fast this boat was. I can remember him telling me that you “get more fishing time” because the boat was much faster than any other boat around. That boat was the Starstream II.

Needless to say, my next night blue fishing trip was going to be on the Starstream II. I have to say that I was impressed as soon as I walked onto the boat. It was like no other party boat that I had ever seen. One trip led to another, another, and soon I started to know some people on the boat. The one person who became very friendly was one of the mates, Bobby Spataro. He was my age and drove a Brown Buick Skylark. Capt. Chris was the night captain and the other mates working on the boat were Stevie, Jeff, and this kid they called “Little Chris”. I assumed that “Little Chris” was Capt. Chris’s son as they always drove up together in this small powder blue colored Ford Maverick. Later to be known, the characters besides Bobby were Stevie Kessinger, Jeff Kassan, Chris Yeates and Capt. Chris Specht.

I was very fortunate to have a full time job that required me to only work 3 days a week. That left me 4 days a week to go fishing. I soon became a “regular” on the Starstream II. Spending that much time fishing on the boat I got to know Bobby and the crew pretty well. Winning a couple of pools and “doing the right thing” for the crew also helped in building a little bit of a bond. Besides fishing with the crew, we would hoist a cold beer or two together and have a few laughs at the local watering hole across from the boat on nights the boat didn’t sail. On one of those nights, I got an invitation to come “dig in” for the crew. What that meant was that I was going to be a “guest” on the boat and all the fish I would catch would be given to the crew. In party boat terms, I was going to be a “dead head”. That might not sound good to most people, but to me it was like an honor. I jumped on that opportunity the next night, and it opened the door for things to come.

Over the course of the fall & winter I kept in contact with my new found friends and occasionally jumped on the Starstream for a winter cod fishing trip. When the blue fishing season approached the following summer, I got a call from Bobby Spataro asking if I would interested in working as a mate on the boat. He had talked to Capt. Richie and they were looking for someone to work weekends as a fourth crew member. Like a minor league baseball player waiting for his turn in the majors, this was it. A shot in the big leagues, a mate on a fishing boat. Not only on a fishing boat, but the Starstream II, Freeport’s ultimate super cruiser. The answer was an immediate “yes” and I signed up to work Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

Before showing up for my first night of work I made a stop at Mark’s Bait & Tackle to buy a pair of “skins” and a good set of fishing pliers. I didn’t have any of that stuff – I was a true “green horn” with long hair and a beard ready to go work. I didn’t know the owner Capt. Richie and the day crew very well, so upon arrival for work I got a bunch of looks like “who’s this guy?” I was introduced to a fellow crew member that I had never met. He pulled up in a Bauer Oil Co. van and his name was Don. He too gave me the look like “where did you get this guy”. Maybe it was the long hair & beard, after all it was the seventies, man. They sent me off to the corner parking lot toting a large hand painted sign with the boat’s name on it. I was told to “hawk” customers that were coming down Woodcleft Avenue. There was fierce competition for customers amongst the other boats tied up right next to the Starstream. The mission was to get as many people as possible on the boat-- and most importantly, don’t let them get on any of the other boats! So there I was, like a windmill on a windy day, swinging my arms around yelling “Night Blues-Starstream 7 PM!” to every single car that came around the corner.

Suddenly a long, low blast of the boat’s fog horn sounded, and it was time to put away the sign and go fishing. Once underway, I got my assignments. Help customers “rig-up”, cut some bait, get the chum ready, and put out the bait pans. These guys had it down to a science. By the time we were ready to fish, everything was set to go. One on, two on, three on…fish coming over the rails, people tangled, yelling “Mate! Mate!”. An all out war and I was in the thick of it, only this time I was on the other side. While I wasn’t as good as the other guys, I survived. I was given a rather used and tired-looking scrub brush at the end of the night, and we scrubbed and scrubbed every single inch of the boat, being very careful to use only a capful of detergent. Twelve hours after it had started, the night was over, and we all sat in the cabin to “whack up the jack”. Everyone had an equal pile of fishy-smelling cash that we put in our pockets before we called it a night. I was now officially a mate on a fishing boat. For a guy that loved to go fishing as much as I did, this was as good as it could get. I couldn’t wait to come back the next night and do it again.

I worked on the Starstream II for seven consecutive summers. I had a blast. I can tell story upon story of my experiences. I learned things about fishing and the party boat business that I had never imagined. I worked & fished with the best in the business. The laughs at times seemed endless. I have always said “if this boat could talk” we would have quite a story. It wasn’t only about the fishing & the experiences on the boat. It was about meeting great people & making life-long friends that I still communicate with until this day. There were China Town runs, all the crab legs you can eat nights, Halloween & Birthday parties, numerous libations, and even weddings that we all shared together. It was a segment of my life that I treasure very dearly. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

Incredibly, the good old Starstream (now named the Flying Fish) is only a short car drive away from where I currently reside at its new port in Sarasota, Florida. Not long ago, I stepped onto the boat again, and all of the old memories were quickly stirred up and brought an instant smile to my face. The Starstream II still lives in my heart and mind. To everyone who made this all possible for me, I am very thankful; it certainly was an experience of a lifetime.

January 24, 2011

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