He had other stops to make on his friendly rounds. “I got to go,” he’d say, if the air seemed pregnant with a possible request from the mom to look after baby while she made a short trip to the store. He’d hold the baby, but he drew the line at babysitting. In his seagoing days, Bernie dropped by for coffee break. There never was a more devoted partnership.
A confirmed and devoted bachelor, he held out until Simeon (Simi) Denhart, a schoolteacher, tamed him after his oceangoing days ended and while he was working on the ferries. When Bernie dropped in on the new mothers in his circle, he was cautious. But they were orderly, dependable, and delightful, every one – genuine pick-me-ups for the visited, genuine gifts each time. His attentions to his friends were not scheduled, because who knew when he’d get paid off an oceangoing ship or when he’d go looking for the next one. His record of achievement, besides seeing the world from the decks of freighters and tankers, includes painting precise, faithfully rendered pictures of seagoing vessels – most of them historic Vineyard and Nantucket ferries – and gracing his wide circle of friends with his visits. Bernie is an able seaman, retired from the sea and Vineyard and Nantucket Sounds. Of course, he’s been many, many times to Vineyard Haven, Woods Hole, Hyannis and Nantucket, as purser on the Steamship Authority ferries. He has sailed over oceans on these ships and many more over more than 60 years. The ships: S/S Austral Patriot, S/S Gibbes Lykes, S/S African Dawn, S/S Flying Clipper, S/S Gulf Queen, S/S American Leader, S/S American Reliance, S/S African Sun, S/S Mormactrade, S/S Export Buyer.īernie Holzer of West Tisbury has sailed into and out of all these seaports, and many more, many times.
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