Talk about having a Gatsby moment.
Chris Craft designed The Commuter in the late 1920s as a water-taxi to transport wealthy tycoons and businessmen from their mansions on Long Island to their skyscraper offices in Manhattan.
But demand vanished almost overnight as the stock market crash of October 28-29 1929 ushered in The Great Depression, and precious few Commuters remain today in original like-new condition.
Imagine we're in the rear cockpit crossing the Gulf Stream at sunset. Just you and me onboard: there's nothing but moonlight and glowing green waves till we get to Miami just before dawn.
I stand up to wind the Victrola and notice the hint of jasmine wafting from the cabin and see your purse half open on the table inside. You grin with your hand at your cheek without letting me see it as the wind tugs and whips the tails of my tuxedo.
Sitting beside you again the reflection of emeralds from the Gulfstream catches fire in your eyes and I ask myself Can she possibly know she's the most stunning woman I've ever seen?Maybe you glance away then because you can read my mind ... but in another second you look back, push your hair to one side and tilt your head into the breeze as the Victrola whispers "When My Baby Smiles At Me" between the waves and the moonlit carpet glistening to the horizon.
The Commuter represented Chris-Craft's crowning achievement for the decade of the roaring twenties.
Color photos from Carolina-Classic-Boats.
Vintage ad from adclassix.com
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