This 1931 Matthews Standard Cruiser has been in Santa Barbara Harbor since 1936. Originally owned by J. Jones of Long Beach and named after his daughter, NADA II was brought to Santa Barbara by Charlie Gauss and owned and enjoyed by him in Santa Barbara for 66 years. Although the boat was quite original, it has had a major refit and overhaul since it was purchased in 2006. All you can see looks very similar to when it was new in 1931, but under the hood it has a new Cummins QSB5.9 common rail injected diesel, new electrical wiring and systems, new plumbing (original fixtures), and new electronic instrumentation. With the new power plant the boat easily reaches 16 knots, but cruises very efficiently at 10 knots. Most cocktail cruising happens near 7 knots looking good and having fun!![more]
Tranquility is a fantastic Pacific Seacraft Orion that we have owned for more than 10 years. It is incredibly stout and lets you feel safe in almost all weather. The boat has made many trips to the Channel Islands and goes for a pleasant and tranquil sail on many of Santa Barbara's wonderful days. Ghosting along under jibs only in a few knots of breeze or blasting along at >6 knots in 25 knots of wind all have thier pleasures. The cutter rig with a self tacking cutter-staysail makes the boat very easy to handle even for one person. These are fantastic boats. [more]
Quest was built from a Merry Wherry Kit from Bellingham Boat Works. A few hours of fun between Thanksgiving and Christmas have led to a lot of fun rowing in Santa Barbara Harbor and within a few miles of the harbor entrance. The boat only weighs about 32 lbs without the rowing rig but the outer epoxy-glass covering makes it quite tough and resistant to the occasional nudge of a channel marker that "jumps" into the way when concentrating too much on the stroke. [more]
Allthough Bob was fairly land-locked in St. Louis MO, there was plenty of sailing action on various lakes, reservoirs, and even the damed up Missouri river above Alton Locks. Springtime brought cold water, but good wind (see photo). Laser Fleet 99 was very active with about 20 boats on the line for weekend races and more than 45 boats showing up for regional regattas.The opportunity to wear out two lasers were very much worth their cost at the time. Lots of starts, lots of racing lots of fun. [more]