June 20, 2023
Rear Commodore’s 2023 Bulletin #3
“If a man is to be obsessed by something, I suppose a boat is as good as anything, perhaps a bit better than most”
- E.B. White
Summer days are upon us, but unfortunately Mother Nature hasn’t cooperated with our typical warm sunny days. But those should be coming in the near future, and we will welcome the weather that makes living in Southern California so great. Last Thursday, we had almost 50 members and guests attend our luncheon at the Orange Coast College School of Sailing and Seamanship on Coast Highway in Newport Beach. It was an excellent program, organized by Dennis Durgan, about the beautiful yacht, “Odyssey”. Dennis arranged to have “Odyssey” and her owner, Robert Burnand, present to discuss this beautiful 58’ yawl that was launched in 1937, and has been continuously owned by the same family. Besides Dennis, others that assisted with this program included Tom Jorgensen, David Grant, Brad Avery, and John Fuller. Our lunches continue to attract excellent attendance, not only due to the thoughtful programs, but for the opportunity to rub shoulders with fellow members to discuss voyaging and boats.
One particular note on the June 15th luncheon. Everyone was quite moved and pleased to see Park Eddy and his wife Linda in attendance. As most or all of you know, Park suffered a stroke in June 2022, and has been working diligently to make a full recovery. He continues to make excellent progress and is committed to getting back to his full strength and activities. He is blessed to have such a wonderful wife, as well as his family and many, many friends. We are all part of the crew in Park’s recovery.
On April 25th, Gary Davidson and his wife Nancy, and I flew to La Paz to join Al and Jolinda Garnier on their beautiful 51’ ketch, Chez Nous. We then cruised the Sea of Cortez as far North as Loreto, completing a shake down cruise for the CCA International Cruise in the Sea of Cortez in the Spring, 2024. Everything came off without a hitch, and we returned to Southern California more excited than ever about this cruise scheduled for May 3 – May 12, 2024. We have reserved approximately 15 charter sailboats (monohulls and catamarans) through August 1, 2024 where they are available exclusively for CCA members. After that date, they will be available for the general public to charter. This represents a great opportunity to immediately reserve your charter boat for this cruise. Additionally, we hope to get members in their own private yachts to join us, as we anticipate having a total of 20-25 yachts (charter & private) and their crews for this cruise. To make that happen, we need our membership to commit to charter a boat or attend in their own private yacht. Below is a link to a cruise update that answers various questions as well as links to the cruise website and the yacht charter company. Please review at your earliest convenience. This should be a great cruise in a beautiful part of Mexico.
The 2023 Transpac is around the corner, with 3 starts scheduled for June 27, 29, and July 1. We have a good contingent of station members participating, as well as key station members that are directly involved in running the race for the Transpacific Yacht Club. Just like our own CCA Southern California Station, Transpacific Yacht Club relies on volunteers to ensure that this race continues to be a tradition in West Coast sailboat racing. It doesn’t happen without the effort of many volunteers. Also, station member Brendan Huffman will be participating in the single handed Transpac from San Francisco to Kauai, HI with his start on Sunday June 25. Good Luck Brendan! Sail fast and safe!
Our next station activity will be the end of summer barbecue on August 27th at Newport Harbor Yacht Club. This is always a fun event with perfect weather and it usually generates a great turnout. Mark your calendars and more information will be forthcoming in early August.
Enjoy the summer, wherever your travels take you.
Smooth Sailing,
Steve Calhoun, CCA Southern California Rear Commodore