Capt. Philip DeCamp Fleischman of Vineyard Haven died peacefully in his home on Oct. 3, 2023.
He was born in the Bronx, N.Y., on June 18, 1931, to Frank and Lenore Fleischman.
A resident of Martha’s Vineyard for 50-plus years, Philip will be remembered by many as an avid sailor, boat captain, and boatbuilder. He was also a well-known housebuilder on the Island. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War. He was a gifted singer and storyteller. In later years he became a memoir writer with his book, “Scuttlebutt: Memoirs of Captain Philip DeCamp Fleischman.”
In 2015, Phil advertised his catboat, Mother Courage (which had a cameo in the movie “Jaws”) for sale in The Martha’s Vineyard Times. Reporter Lynn Christoffers was so intrigued by the boat and the boat owner that she interviewed him, and wrote a story titled, “Phil Fleischman: More than just a guy with a boat to sell.” His life story, as told by Phil to the reporter, is a joy to read, and truly captures the creativity and joyful spirit of our unique uncle, friend, and neighbor.
At the time, Phil told the reporter, “I’m 84 … and not hopping around on boats anymore, though I still own a 37-foot Downeaster motorboat that I keep at the old dock. I’ve taken it to Florida twice through the Intracoastal Waterway, and up to Lake Ontario, up the Hudson River through the Erie Canal and Oswego Canal into Lake Ontario …”
He went on, “I was a boatbuilder in my youth, while studying geology at Columbia in New York City. It took me 10 years to finish my own 26-foot wooden boat, since I was a student at the time. I worked from 6 am till 10 am, then did various jobs to make a living while attending night classes. I got most of my details from the boatbuilders’ bible — Howard Chapelle’s book on traditional boatbuilding. The boat was seaworthy, but without an engine after six years, so I sailed it while finishing it, and finally got it an engine. I worked in local boatyards in the Eastchester Bay area of the Bronx, next to Pelham Bay Park, where I was born and grew up — I’m fourth generation from the same Bronx neighborhood; my great-grandfather had a farm there.
“After college, I entered the Marine Corps in the 1950s, and they sent me to radio school, where I turned out first in my class. I could choose where to be stationed, and I chose a duty aboard a Navy ship in the Mediterranean. I stood guard duty for Admiral Carney when we were in Naples; I was a corporal at the time.
“I forgot to mention that I’ve had my 100-ton license with the Coast Guard for many years, having captained large sailboats on regular runs in the 1960s. I sailed a 71-foot yawl, Anitra, built in Germany in 1928, on weekly runs from Fort Lauderdale to Grand Bahama Island, crossing the rough Gulf Stream in winter. We’d leave at 9 pm and arrive in daytime, navigating with only a compass. Today we have all kinds of navigation tools — in those days, the only thing available was a compass.
“After I got married, my wife convinced me to get a teaching job (she was from Germany, and teachers were highly respected). I taught shop classes and drafting, woodworking, sheet metal, and printing in a print shop to junior high students in the New York area.
“I came to the Vineyard,” he continued, “on invitation from artist and friend Dale Pelow, who had just bought the Colonial Inn in Edgartown. He asked me to come up and sing in his bar. He had heard me singing sea songs on my guitar with a friend who played a concertina, when we were working in an art studio in Manhattan.
“My wife and I arrived on a 27-foot ketch. It was a terrible sail — the boat leaked. We got into Cuttyhunk in the dark with no engine; the next day we arrived in Edgartown. The inn needed a lot of work, so I pitched in, using my boat carpentry skills. I ended up repairing everything. We dragged loads of driftwood from Chappaquiddick to panel the walls of the inn, and made tables out of hatch covers from the boards that hold up the nets on fishing boats (I collected them from the beach). My wife became the housekeeper for the 43-room inn. They finally got the inn opened, but I never did sing in the bar.
“I sang here in the Community Chorus for many years, before and after Peter Boak took over as director, but I had to quit since my hearing is so bad. I used to sing the bass solos in Handel’s ‘Messiah’ for many years at Christmastime. I actually sang professionally for the St. James Episcopal Church in Manhattan for 11 years, then the Church of the Heavenly Rest for six years after that. I was a boy soprano, starting singing when I was 8 years old — I used to ride the hourlong subway by myself to get there from the Bronx; it was very safe in those days.
“Then I used to sing sea songs on large boats in New York City in the summer months with a group of musicians. We made a record called ‘A Treasury of Spicy Sea Songs.’”
After the Colonial Inn closed, “I continued using my house carpentry skills, and started building houses for people. I’ve designed and built my own, as well as eight houses on the Island. I never advertised and never had a truck — I simply got jobs from word of mouth. Someone who knew my work would ask me to build a house for them.”
And the travel agency — “My wife and I joined in partnership with the McConnells, who owned the Martha’s Vineyard Travel Bureau, and we took it over after they moved off-Island. My wife really ran that — we had it for 19 years. It was located where the Little House Cafe is now, in Vineyard Haven. We always hired one extra person so someone could travel — it was a good system. Everybody liked working there because they could travel.”
Back to boats – “I’m now part of a group (eight or 10 people) that sails one-meter-long model boats at Owen Park on Sundays and Wednesdays. We’ve named it the Martha’s Vineyard Model Yacht Club. It’s lots of fun. Little kids are fascinated — we give them the transmitter, and they manage to sail them.”
Phil ended the interview this way: “I’ve had a wonderful life. I’ve been very lucky. I have no way to complain.” All who knew Phil will miss his joyful, friendly, fun-loving spirit.
Philip will be greatly missed by his longtime companion, Eleanor (“Ellie”) Tuck, and his nephews and nieces, Robert Buhler, Christopher Buhler, William Buhler, Carla Remp, Adelaide Fleischman, April Bruchbacher, and Nancy Brubacher. He was predeceased by his beloved wife, Ilse; his brother, Ralph Fleischman; and his sisters, Helena Buhler and Lenore Bruchbacher.
There will be a celebration of his life for family and friends at a future date.
Contributions in honor of Phil’s joyful spirit and voice may be made to the Island Community Chorus, online at islandcommunitychorus.com.
Arrangements are under the care of Chapman Funeral Home. Please visit chapmanfuneral.com for online condolences.
The post Philip DeCamp Fleischman appeared first on The Martha's Vineyard Times.