The Witness

About the Work

From the Artist

In 1979 I was crewing on a small sailboat, Sea Change, coming from Martha’s Vineyard headed for the eastern tip of Long Island.

I was part of a crew of four. The owner, a New York City attorney, his paralegal, my friend, Guy, and me.

A fog rolled in about 1:00 am. Suddenly, out of the fog — a tug boat pushing a barge appeared. In the darkness this apparition seemed unreal, but as it devoured the sailboat we dove into the water. 

I was in a rolling sea, alone, without a life preserver. The two hours that followed were the most traumatic of my life.

There was a moment when an Osprey gently coasted a few feet over my head, and disappeared into the fog.

 I had long known that The Osprey was a symbol of power, and mastery over the sea. This image gifted me with the strength to survive.

We were eventually found by the tug boat and transferred to a Coast Guard rescue boat. It was then then that my life was forever changed.
_{—From Brandywine Workshop and Archives records}