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The Joys of Marine Swap Meets

In the good old days, marine swap meets were the best way for sailors to pick up good used gear on the cheap. People would travel hundreds of miles to attend some of the bigger ones, arriving at oh-dark-thirty for the privilege of being the first to paw through the offerings. Get there too late and all the ‘good stuff’ would be gone.

Then boaters discovered the joys of eBay and Craigslist. No longer did they have to wake up before the roosters to find the gear they needed, and when the time came to sell, they could demand (slightly) higher prices. But at what cost?

Make a few extra bucks at your local swap meet, and maybe even make new friends.

latitude/LaDonna
©Latitude 38 Media, LLC

Marine swap meets have always been about more than just buying and selling. They offer a unique opportunity to catch up with old friends and make new ones. Take a stroll through a local swap meet and you’re likely to see a couple of old salts reminiscing about their sailing adventures over a box of ratty, well-used charts, or wanna-be cruisers picking the brains of those who’ve been there, done that. Need some advice on a refit? There’s no shortage of experts (some real ones, too!) who are more than willing to offer their advice. And you just never who you will find prowling the displays. Once we ran into Commodore Tompkins at the old Anderson’s swap meet in Sausalito — his first ever — and Lin and Larry Pardey at Marina Village’s Gate 11 swap meet in Alameda. None of this is possible through an eBay listing.

We were once lucky enough to meet the Pardeys, Jessies and Liggetts at a swap meet in Alameda (from left, Larry Pardey, Diana Jessie, Al Liggett, Beth Liggett, Jim Jessie, and Lin Pardey).

latitude/LaDonna
©2015Latitude 38 Media, LLC

So this year, when you’re cleaning out your lazarettes and dock boxes, consider signing up for your local yacht club or marina’s swap meet. We guarantee you’ll get the ‘good stuff’ — even if you don’t buy or sell a single thing.

Upcoming Swap Meets:

March 21 — Santa Cruz Harbor Boatyard, (831) 475-3002
March 21 — Peninsula Yacht Marina, Oxnard, (805) 985-6400
April 11 — Emeryville Marina, (510) 654-3716 
April 19 — Berkeley YC, www.berkeleyyc.org
April 25 — Ballena Bay, Alameda, (510) 523-5528
May 2 — Chula Vista Marina, San Diego, (619) 862-2835
May 2 — Owl Harbor Marina, Isleton, (916) 777-6055
May 16 — Marina Bay Yacht Harbor, Richmond, www.mbyh.com
May 17 — Monterey Peninsula YC, www.mpyc.org
TBD (traditionally 1st Sunday in June) — Minney’s Yacht Surplus, Costa Mesa, www.minneysyachtsurplus.com
August 1 — Galilee Harbor, Sausalito, www.galileeharbor.org
 
If you would like your swap meet listed in Latitude‘s Calendar, email the details HERE by the 10th of the month prior to publication.

1 Comment

  1. Mark H Dove 1 year ago

    I would like to give a big shout out to Beth & Al Liggett, best people ever in my opinion from South Florida,
    Met then years ago and hope all is well, reply if you can, thx

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