Episode #204: John Hamilton on the Resilience of California Yacht Club

In this week’s episode, we chat with California Yacht Club (Cal.YC) Vice Commodore John Hamilton about the club’s resilience and revival following the devastating fire in December 2023. The fire destroyed Cal.YC’s historic clubhouse, along with decades of sailing trophies and memorabilia.

Tune in as John chats with Good Jibes host Ryan Foland about the unique nature and offerings of CYC, the things John wishes he knew before the fire, and how to move your yacht club forward. John also shares the story of almost being stranded as a teenage windsurfer, and talks about why it’s okay to love both racing AND cruising.

Here’s a sample of what you’ll hear in this episode:

• The first rule of sailing
• Lessons out of devastation
• How the fire changed California Yacht Club
• John’s plans for when he’s commodore
• How Cal.YC plans to rebuild

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and your other favorite podcast spots — follow and leave a 5-star review if you’re feeling the Good Jibes!

Learn more about John at CalYachtClub.com and Ryan at Ryan.Online

Check out the episode and show notes below for much more detail.

Show Notes

• John Hamilton on the Resilience of California Yacht Club, with Host Ryan Foland
  • [0:22] Welcome to Good Jibes with Latitude 38
  • [0:36] Welcome aboard, John Hamilton!
  • [1:05] A sailing story that shaped John
  • [6:02] Racing vs. Cruising
  • [8:47] The California Yacht Club (Cal.YC)
  • [13:57] Check out our Classy Classifieds at Latitude38.com 
  • The Fire
  • [14:42] What really happened?
  • [20:42] Lessons from the devastation
  • [26:08] How they plan to rebuild
  • [33:30] Cal.YC is looking for new members!
  • [34:15] If you’d like to sponsor Good Jibes, email [email protected] 
  • Plans for the Future
  • [34:53] Navigating uncertainty as they plan
  • [35:57] How you can become a new member
  • [37:19] John’s plans for when he’s commodore
  • [40:28] The first rule of racing sailing
  • Make sure to follow Good Jibes with Latitude 38 on your favorite podcast spot and leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts
  • Check out the August 2025 issue of Latitude 38 Sailing Magazine
  • Theme Song: “Pineapple Dream” by Solxis
  •  

Transcript

Please note: this transcript is not 100% accurate.

00:03

Alright, Ryan, you might want to grab a beer. This is going to take a second.

00:14

Hi everyone and welcome to another episode of the good … jibes podcast brought to you by Latitude 38 today we have a very special guest somebody who’s going to share his … stories of sailing and the story of a legacy building … yacht Club and all including community that had a tragic … accident and we’re going to get an update on where they are.

00:36

John Hamilton welcome to the show and I believe I was … doing a little research in your vice Commodore at this … point correct. correct thanks right all right well welcome I’m excited because Brendan Huffman had referred you to … John and I and so here we are the way we love to start off the show is to learn about a sailing story that might have shaped you I know you’ve been out on the water quite a bit … probably have quite a bit of stories you have one that comes to mind that.

01:05

Really you look back you’re like wow that was a moment that was … I learned or something that changed me as a … person maybe the first time I got scared. I was 1617 went over with my buddies too young to have a … boat on our own for sure where were you guys going where … you we say we’re leaving Marina del Rey and … sailing over to two harbors staying in the is this.

01:33

It’s for the weekend or what have you. One of my friends got this newfangled windsurfer.  Barely anybody had seen one before. So we took it with us to the island. decided… You weren’t sailing that over. You were bringing that over on the sailboat. We brought it over with us as  some of the equipment to have fun with.

01:55

I decided at 16 in my infinite wisdom that four o’clock in the afternoon at the isthmus would be a perfect time to learn how to sail a windsurfer. My friends decided to stay home and drink beers.  So isthmus whistle kicks up and I was a few miles out  before I really grasped the fact that if I didn’t learn how to sail a windsurfer and soon…

02:18

I was never going to get back to the isthmus. You’re just going to go back home, whether you like it or not. Yeah,  I end up bobbing around in the shipping channel. So  I don’t think I got back to the boat until dark, at which point  my friends noticed that I was gone  once I got back to the boat.  Anyway, so that was a super fun time. A reminder of being sort of resilient in a boat and better learn what you’re doing. That’s for sure.

02:46

Did you take the windsurf route more or less after that?  More with more respect, right?  For those people who aren’t familiar with the island, I’ve known it as the isthmus fan. I love you calling it the isthmus whistle. Explain to people the dynamics of that situation if they haven’t been there before because it is a bit  unique in its wind direction pretty consistently. Yeah, I mean if you think about  there’s a few different places in California that.

03:15

always stack up with breeze. Hurricane Gulch down in San Pedro very often has good pressure running through it.  What? San Francisco Bay in the middle of summer, right?  What do they say? Take the temperature at the Bay minus the temperature in Fresno or the other way around and that’s the breeze.  The isthmus whistles like that. It just cooks up every afternoon with pretty good regularity and it’s

03:42

easy 20 knots 25 knots blowing through the isthmus for just a short period of time for maybe. 4 o’clock in the afternoon until the sits down about 7 or what have you just the sunset just the right time to get … caught on a on a windsurfer going the wrong way exactly … learning how to sail windsurfer upwind at that moment was a challenge but challenge accepted nice and so I’m sure that was a lifelong.

04:09

set sail of different challenges that you’ve had on the sailboats and like you’re still pretty involved now what kind of boat do you have now and you still often visit the island as much as you’d like to. don’t think I could ever go to Catalina as much as I like to but  I was there  last weekend but the weekend before.  CYC and LA club have  an  agreement where we’re in we also get use of their Collins Landing  facility  just towards the west of.

04:39

the isthmus super beautiful spot.  And so I’m over there quite a bit. I love it. Well, I’m very familiar with that. So I belong to Blue Water Cruising Club, which is in Big Geiger Cove, which is just the east of Howlands Landing. It’s an anchorage there and  it shares that same type of beauty on the island. It’s amazing. Yeah, we actually took the dinghy in and checked out Big Geiger and  in awe of the real real

05:05

Real yachtsmen that know how to anchor their boat properly and  that’s a great spot over there. Yeah, it is and  definitely it creates another exciting element when you are just throwing a few anchors with the right  type of gear and the right type of road and the right type of chain and you get nice and snubbed up and we fit in 20 sometimes 30 boats in there and it’s a pretty amazing feat for us to get all tangled in that web. Yeah, that’s for sure.

05:33

How are you first exposed to Catalina was this … something that was part of your family how did how did you get access to a boat so early. come from a boating family I can’t really remember not going to the island so going to Catalina sorry but I don’t remember not going to Catalina went there for … summer camp and I went there with the family and then other friends family and what have you and Cal … Yacht Club’s always had a facility over there most of the time it’s had a facility over there so it’s been … you know part of my life but sailing and.

06:02

and certainly my favorite cruising spot. Now, are you also a racer as well as cruising? What would you say your mix is? With that stuff, definitely more of a racer than a cruiser. And I was cursing my boat just that a couple of weekends ago because the conversion from raceboat to cruise boat seems like a a bigger hustle every every time. But yeah, I race a Tartan 101 and that’s also my cruise boat. It’s super fun boat. I love it.

06:32

Rates about even look like a 109 and a shock 35 right  in there. Talk to me about the conversion from your racing to cruising because I’m interested in that. I’ve got a 1977 cow 34 and there’s nothing to race about her. She’s got 160 feet at know thick ass chain  everything that I need.  Sends the windsurfer but  what is that process you just break basically just bring everything off to race and then like what is it that the essentials that you’re putting back on. I mean.

06:59

You know, when we’re racing, it’s got no water, no diesel, no. Not that everything is emptied. So you just you just open up the faucets and empty it out and then just like a reset with the diesel, though. How does that work? You have to do you actually pull it out and put it back in? No, but we just just timing. Yeah, not definitely no more than five gallons like trying to get right at that five gallon limit.

07:27

All the time and then just the racing sales versus maybe some more beat up sales and you know that whole process to just. A lot of times it makes you think maybe you should just have … more boats one for the island and one for racing well it’s interesting because I’m always interested in those who race so much yet a lot of those people never get to the island and I don’t know if it’s because of that transition of … that’s really the hold up or if it’s just like you you’re into racing or you’re just.

07:55

cruising or kind of the combo. Well, I think that applies to power boats and sailboats, right? And yeah, I like both. There’s nothing wrong with a nice power boat. There’s nothing wrong with a fast sailboat. I don’t have that conflict that other people do. Yeah, no, I hear you. grew up in a family that started with a sailboat and ended up with Grand Banks and trawlers and whalers and all kinds of stuff. And I’m still the one clinging onto it, but I have access to both. mean, any time you’re out on the water, I think it’s a good day.

08:21

real power boat friends said that all sailors … transition through a Grand Banks period … we like going eight knots we don’t really know any different so that’s that’s anything more is that has to be our first power boat. Yeah no I agree I mean I think they’re they’re great and if you’re used to going six or seven if you end up going eight or nine like you’re just you’re you’re fire on the … water right there.

08:47

So when did you first get involved with the California … Yacht Club and for those that maybe are not familiar with it I know it’s got a legacy history 1922 it started it’s moved a couple times what would the elevator pitch be for those who haven’t heard of it or those that have I want to hear from their vice-commander California … Yacht Club first of all unusual structure one of the … only Yacht Clubs that has a ownership and management that is outside of membership so there is a company that owns … California Yacht Club.

09:16

And that sounds very ominous to those of us who like to be in our control of our own vessels. But  really the ownership is responsible for  the maintenance and rental and management of the slips.  They take care of all the food and beverage aspects that are taken care of all the yard maintenance, et cetera. So we’ve sort of  offloaded the whole, the kind of yucky back of house stuff that.

09:44

clubs don’t like to deal with very much. They’re responsible for our  fiscal solvency, right? That’s really not our problem. And then the volunteer side of the Yacht Club, which  I’m the vice-commandor of, is responsible for putting on,  you know, the regattas and the cruises and all the normal yacht club activities that you’re used to. And we do that out of a mutually agreed sort of, for lack of a better phrase, allowance.

10:12

So we come up with the amount that the fleet is going to spend on all our fun activities during the year, mutually agreed with ownership. And then it’s up to the fleet how we spend that money.  For instance, right now we’re hosting the Opti National Championships, 300 kids from all over the country. It’s a complete zoo at the Yacht Club right now.  And we’re doing it out of a tent in the parking lot and  a lot of guile and gumption.

10:42

I think the elevator pitch too is,  we have great facilities other than the clubhouse, the pickleball courts,  super popular these days, pool, that facility over  Catalina that we share with LA Yacht Club. We also recently bought a hundred foot boat that’s serving as our temporary 130 foot  boat from the, that’s about a hundred years old, that’s serving as the temporary clubhouse. It’s called the North Wind.

11:09

Churchill used to park it in the Thames and use it as a painting studio.  The Queen was aboard.  Jackie Onassis,  allegedly it was one of the early times she met Aristotle was on that boat.  It helped with the Exit Valdez cleanup. So,  big yacht, other land facilities.  We have a really strong junior program, an amazing rowing program where we just hired the former  UCLA head coach for rowing as our rowing coach.

11:39

And we have an Olympian as one of our junior sailing coaches. So we have robust cruising, racing juniors  and rowing programs. And then  some of those people are pretty fun too. So we had a good time  and  yeah, that would be my elevator pitch. That’s great. How many members do you guys have just to give an idea of the size? As you can imagine,  post fire and we had,  you know, there was, we did have, we did dip from the high.

12:09

I pre fire we’re right around 1100  members  and we’re at like 950 960 and holding that that number is not changing anymore. And we’re we feel like that’s reasonable, right? There are some people that were only members for the restaurant and that you know it doesn’t make that much sense for them, but we’re gaining members all the time that want to be involved in our junior program and and pickleball and that pickleball is popular.

12:38

How many courts you got? was, think there’s a five or six. So, yeah, so it’s, uh, it’s a good time. I’m yet to play. Have you played yet? would assume. Cripple ball. I, uh, I think sailing’s a lot safer. I have, uh, I have taken a lesson. I know what a kitchen is, but I just got one of my knees replaced and I’m on the other. So for now I’m staying away from the cripple ball court.

13:06

I like it and do you have slips? You mentioned slips, so is part of the membership able to help you get a slip? Is that part of it too? Oh absolutely, so our GWS. I don’t know how many slips that we have. I want to say like 250-300 something like that. That’s still a massive amount. Yeah, obviously the North winds taking up our biggest slip, the 130 foot slip, but other than that we have a bunch of 60 and 70 foot slips and all the way down to, you know, 25 foot and.

13:35

Those being a member also gives you access to depending … on the slip size either being in line or getting a slip. Right. don’t think there’s a vacancy in every size there’s a … there’s always seems to be a supply and demand issue with that but it’s exciting that you guys have some slips for that.

13:57

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14:27

Pick up a magazine at a local marine business or visit our classy classified pages at Latitude38.com to find boats, gear, job opportunities and more.  Then tell us your next sailing story.

14:42

So let’s talk about this fire.  What is the scoop with it? Do we ever really find out  what happened  and how are you guys recovering from that? From the ashes always rises the phoenix, so I’m sure it’s going to be bigger and better than ever.  maybe you can share a little bit of what happened and what went down, where we’re at right now. All right, Ryan, you might want to grab a beer. This is going to take a second. All right. Does a Bloody Mary count? Because I’m about to get on a golf course, so that’s what I got. There you go. Bloody Mary.

15:11

Chilada will split the difference. year ago last December, just after the Christmas boat parade Marina Del Rey,  unrelated,  just timing wise,  the club was about 10 o’clock at night or so, the club was getting closed up. At some point around them, the current belief is  a wall transformer for  a rechargeable table light.

15:40

The wall transformer somehow blew, created a fire that was outside the kitchen at the Yacht Club. despite the fact that the fire department is nearby and had very quick response time, the clubhouse was either… Well, it’s a little bit undetermined right now, but I would say as an architect, I’m an architect, I would say that the clubhouse is a total loss.

16:06

Certainly the whole second floor of the clubhouse was  pretty gutted, pretty rough. lost the  majority of our trophies, all of our, you know, Commodore. All the memorabilia, pictures, photos, everything. Damn. Yeah, I just did for Southern California Yachting Association. I just did a talk about this, about what you need to do prior to.

16:30

But disaster right document everything that’s in your club. Alright, if I have something to tell everybody, I’m gonna write this down. This is this good. This just turned into a safety brief training, especially from an architect. So let’s hear it. What do we need to do? I mean,  first of all,  it’s important that you document all the things that are in  your clubhouse trophy case. Some of those trophies are valuable. Some of them are very valuable and no one really  even notices their 60 years old. Nobody’s been paying attention.

16:59

I can give you an example. One of our trophies was a Greek amphora. It’s a vase that’s about 20 inches tall. Somebody, you know, in the fifties,  I guess you could do this, bought one in Greece, like an ancient 2000 year old vase, threw it their brief in their suitcase, it home, turned it into a trophy and it was sitting in our trophy case. It got vaporized in a fire, right? So, and there’s a

17:26

we had a trophy that the King of Spain had given us that … a prominent starboat regatta trophy you so all that stuff. That you can document would be amazing and then document all … the photographs and history and timeline and all those those … pieces of Yakla memorabilia that would be first and foremost and when you say document is one of us here for a minute it’s not just take inventory or is it take inventory and like take photos and scan documents like when you say.

17:56

When you say document is it just like an inventory list or … actually trying to get copies of photos and things that you can and I mean we’re in a day now where you can probably take three photos of that trophy and have it read digitally … created with AI and then reprinted or something so how far does that documentation go would you say well I I think you start at the beginning right first of all a list of everything you have and for me the hardest to replicate believe it or not is the Commodore’s photos.

18:23

You just don’t have a 1957 copy of the photo of the Commodore that year. So just digitizing all those photos and that is a big part of it. And then you can go as far down the rabbit hole as you want, right? It starts with just a list of everything you have and then finishes with a full photographic and written description. I bet you a lot of yacht clubs don’t have any. Yeah. We didn’t have a lot.

18:53

And even the to the extent of your digital right like even if your computers get fried up just making sure things are on the cloud and not not in the disks or the hard copies there. I mean really treat it like the database of your business … and so however you look at the database for your … business baby think about it like that now would you go so … far as to say do the same thing about your boat probably that’s a great idea right as I said I’m an architect we’re dealing with all the.

19:19

We’re dealing with the number of people lost homes in the … Palisades fire and we’re seeing how that documentation … place an important part of what people are able to … recover from their insurance companies and what have you so … yes sure that would apply to your boat as well I’m going to with the clipboard with bingo just double check all my stuff may that actually just be a good exercise in general and even like you know some of the photos and something knickknacks because she’s not a racer I’m sure … you you don’t have that issue in your race boat.

19:46

All the well we still got all the sales right? I got my code zero and all the sheets and lines and what have you. Even if you’re just doing a quick video. But that’s a good idea. Just a walk through for even insurance purposes. That’s great idea 100 % and. You know going back to the club stuff so like the first big lesson was document everything and then if you work club and I know not everybody’s member in club.

20:12

You should be though. They’re fine. Yeah, not yet. Not yet. And there’s still some openings here if you want to join this club and it’s waters look like are there any clubs not actively looking for members right now? Let’s be real. don’t think so. Supply and demand is definitely in the favor of somebody who’s looking for a yacht club 100 % and there’s I think a lot about clubs are sort of like in college. If you get involved and you have more friends, college becomes infinitely more fun, right? If you’re have a boat, it’s fun.

20:42

But if you get involved in a yacht club and you have opportunities to go cruising with the places with people, what have you, it becomes way more fun. So I’m big.  Uh, you asked me how I got involved with CYC. Frankly, my parents were members there before the current clubhouse was built. Before I was born, I just walked into the thing. I don’t remember it ever not being there. So particularly difficult loss for me when the club burned down. Uh, my parents are long gone. My third date, I told my wife.

21:10

Who I did not know I was getting married to at that … point that’s where I’m getting married front line … California. Okay. So that continuum at a yacht club can really make your … boating experience a lot more enjoyable a lot more memorable a lot more meaningful.

21:40

Number two,  I mean, I don’t know  if preparing is the right word.  The way I  framed it was  things I wish I knew before the fire.  I wish I knew how much I loved that damn clubhouse. Right. So next time, if you’re a member of club, next time you walk into a clubhouse, look around and  note how much you enjoy walking through those doors. That’s a

22:02

It’s a big thing and then just have a mindful moment just like as we take things for granted and until they’re gone and just having that deep breath and being like looking at the trophies, maybe a little more and. Remember those memories. I remember that kid I grew up with. Look at I forgot he won that trophy. I would say things things that we did afterwards or lessons we took away afterwards. The Commodore the club shortly she became Commodore shortly after the club burned down. Sue service grew up in a.

22:30

in a military  background household, right? And she was some people are just at the right place at the right time. Her  attitude was the perfect attitude for that moment. She was like, we are going to deliver everything that we can. In spite of these setbacks, we’re going to roll out every program, so we didn’t. I remember I had a Thursday night lecture series that I was hosting as the rear Commodore.

22:59

I called the lecture person and I said, just so you know, we’re still doing this thing. I, Brendan helped me advertise and I said, we’re still doing this thing. And all we had was a tent on asphalt in a parking lot, right? We didn’t have a bar. We had a bathroom, but it was really the pickleball bathroom, right? And we just went to the liquor store, bought a bunch of beer and we had a lecture. And I think that was one of the earliest events that we, you know, continued on with that we just.

23:29

kept that momentum going. Don’t stop. Don’t turn around. Don’t give up any of your … regardless. Don’t cry for yourself. Keep the thing moving and just try to be agile about how you do it. So we didn’t plan on throwing the Optimus National Championships this year. I’m not going to say who but another Yacht Club backed out and the Opti’s called us and sort of you know and said can you do this thing? Opti’s looking for another option. Option that’s right.

23:58

And we said, of course we can. Just because we’re in a tent in the parking lot, doesn’t mean we can’t throw the octopus national championship. The water’s still there. The wind’s still there, right? We’ve done it before. We’ll do it again. So  just don’t back down from your programming so that you have that continuation. And then encourage people not to panic.  of  the people that

24:22

decided to no longer be with the odd club or no longer continue on. I understand that decision, but it was, I really appreciate the people who stayed, right? The dues they’re paying, obviously you’re not getting the same exact experience. But the fact of the matter is we needed the dues more than ever to keep the whole thing rolling. And I really appreciate them staying on.

24:46

It literally makes me think of you guys out in the middle of some crazy offshore race on some 70-foot boat with a whole bunch of people on it and some shit breaks and you’re just like, what do we do? Let’s turn the boom into the mass. Let’s turn this into that. Like, let’s figure it out. Like it just it’s that type of like  you have no other option. Well, you do. You you can jump over and call it quits or you just keep sailing. It just seems very yachtsman of you guys. I think I think you’re exactly right.

25:14

If it was only a pickleball club, what I’m saying is you guys might’ve just, you just might’ve just given it all up.  Yeah, a hundred percent. And,  uh, you know, I think that,  uh, sometimes we’re kind of goof on the, on the pickleball, on the pickleball cause  you know, that’s not yawning. But the fact of the matter is it’s a family oriented, oriented yacht club and  having things, different things for different people is not a bad thing. That’s a good thing.

25:41

Yeah, and wind dynamics with a little whiffle ball, right? I mean, it’s all about physics and training your wind to mind ratio.  I mean, what I tell people is all those people that join because we have pickleball courts. Great. I have an opportunity to convert all of those people into, you know, boaters. Yeah. Rail meat, crew, extra ballast. Let’s go.  % race committee. mean,  and that is happening quite a bit. So.

26:08

We love the opportunity to introduce more people to boating and yachting and racing. All right, so we got documented. We got a can-do attitude. What’s number three on the list? I think that it’s good to take a second to talk about some of the challenges that we are personally having that are maybe unique to our situation. So Cal Yacht Club sits on  a  leased piece of land from  the county and the lease was already  at its last days.

26:36

About the time the fire happened. Oh wow. The county,  rightfully so, is evaluating what’s the highest and best use for the parcel that the occlub sits on. They were doing that before the fire  and they continue to do that. The problem is they don’t have a  system in place yet for us to say we are the highest and best use. Let us continue. So  people ask me all the time. Why isn’t the occlub, when are you rebuilding? Well.

27:05

The county has decided to put out a request for proposal  open to the public that will  answer what will be on our parcel and the adjacent parcels.  And there’s no timeline for when that RFP is going to happen. And there’s no criteria. So  right now, we’re in a bit of a status quo  trying to…

27:33

convince the county that we are the highest and best use for the property and  that  we should be the ones to go forward. Now, before everybody picks up their phone and calls my county supervisor, do that.  There will come a time when we’ll probably call you back, say,  now’s the time. Please have your listeners.

27:54

support us with the county supervisor. But as of right now, we’re having a fruitful dialogue with the county and we’re hoping the process is going to continue to move forward.  And the county has taken measures to make sure that California Yacht Club will continue to be on the property,  regardless of who the ownership is, which is unusual. As a condition of their two-year lease extension, most recently, the ownership

28:21

The yacht club had to give up the name image and likeness of California yacht club. To whoever wins the lease for that parcel wow okay and just real quick whenever you need 200 to 300,000 phone calls we’re going to bring you back on and we can make that happen. So the yacht club lives on but to the one who has the most of … what is it efficient is it highest best use I mean you’re an architect.

28:48

What could that mean? The criteria has not been  described yet, right? So  it’s  unsaid what the criteria will be.  we’re in a pickle. We’re in a pickle ball.  That’s right. But the county has agreed that the California Yacht Club has been a great  asset to the marina and an asset to sailing and that California Yacht Club should be there. What else should be there and how California Yacht Club fits into that? That’s still a question.  so they made their

29:18

they’re having this discussion so Disney comes in and wants to be … the California Yacht adventure it still be the … California Yacht Club adventure or something like that so it’s matter of when not if. it’s definitely a question of when not if and I don’t think that remember that from my perspective the members of … California Club are going to get to select. The proposal that they would like to support.

29:45

Oh so you guys are throwing your own proposal everybody else is throwing their proposal in an ideal situation you guys show a kick-ass proposal that works and they’re like we love it you get to still use the name likeness and now this new. Whatever amphitheater facility whatever it may be … whatever it is right  if somebody else had a better proposal for the members of California Yacht Club then the current ownership of California we would have the opportunity to support that proposal. Okay so John you’re an architect.

30:14

What crazy lettuce and what are going build like can you build like some big crazy ship or  something that’s like. Are you thinking now let’s let’s be fair I am not the ownership of California Yacht Club okay they’re not taking my advice and I’m not giving my advice got it this labor making a proposal for that property it’s very big it’s on the water and it has an opportunity to it’s about the total parcels that are.

30:40

talking about being put under lease or about maybe four or five times the size of California Yacht Club is now. So I can imagine a world in which there is  a housing  that would have, you know, water views and what have you. And then I can imagine a world in which if you lived in one of the condos or apartments, you’d have an opportunity to join California Yacht Club. That would be sort of the front door to the water, right?  Got it.

31:07

I think that actually might be a good model for Yacht Club, for the Yacht Club anyway, because you have a built-in audience for the restaurant and the facilities.  I think all of our Yacht Clubs are underutilized. Yeah, can’t beat the power of proximity. Man, if we put an apartment building in Big Eiger Cove, we for sure have more members.  Well, every Yacht Club  has the  problem of making full use of its facilities, right?

31:35

How many times can you not get a table at Big Geiger Cove? Well, there are no tables and we just have a bench. There’s a hut and a bench and wherever you can fit in, you can anchor.  And we don’t have any facilities here on the mainland. It’s just basically we’ve been leasing that Cove since 47 or something. But your point’s taken. Yeah. Maybe I was looking at Little Geiger. It looked like there was maybe a picnic table up there. Yeah, well, we have picnic tables, but you’re right. They’re always full.

32:03

We just don’t have any like structures for people to live … in the little guy who has a. cool little shack kind of style as well and all of our … club houses could be more fully utilized right there’s … plenty of days when I know I wait I could go into on a … there’s five people having lunch you know so … there’s an opportunity to make some more use out of the … yeah and we got to reinvent the way we look at a lot of these things now with just the upcoming generations it’s not.

32:31

they’re not born into the same stuff that you were or even … was for this example and rather than worrying about a … cruising boat or a sailing or a racing boat there like not even necessarily on the water or they’re doing something else so I think it could be you know we’re going to look back and be like this could be a really good thing. it’s always hard to. good thing. mean we’re making efforts in that regard to we have for Martin 242 is that we lease out.

33:00

teach people how to sail on of a Duffy for booze cruising the … harbor and inflatable so you got to meet him where they’re at … right there you go alright so we got we got document we got a … can-do attitude and almost just like I don’t know if it’s the … the Grand Banks approach just slow and steady you’re going to get there eventually you just can’t worry about don’t panic keep going yeah right that’s really it.

33:29

And appreciate your fellow members. Yeah a good time for reflection and. Yeah loving the ones you’re with because all of sudden in a blink of an eye … thanks and change very question. Absolutely and I also really thankful to the people that have joined the Yacht Club since the fire and as a result of this podcast you’re going to get back up plus 1100 I think 1200 is really a bare minimum. Yeah that’s what we’re selling ourselves short where … yes keep adding zeros to it.

33:57

I’m not sure we take 12,000, but all right, we’ll try. That would be a good proposal because they can also live there as well. We’re just economic development at the end of the day. We’ll see. That’s my idea, not necessarily ownership’s idea. So let them roll out their idea at their time.

34:17

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34:47

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34:50

Alright so it’s all in the future making I mean is there I would assume there’s a murmuring that there’s some … sort of excitement around this but with no telling how … long it’s going to be just going where the wind blows and figured out right. think there’s some trepidation I think being agile and being able to add the 130 foot boat the North wind and … focus on the core programs that don’t involve necessarily … clubhouse.

35:15

That’s the way we’ve been able to stabilize, move forward and get people  still excited about being  at the club during the summer. Yeah, diversify, get them down there,  get them close enough and get them on a boat. 100%. I mean,  it’s a whole different topic about how to move your club forward, but we’re certainly focused on  making sure our new  members are  vested in the

35:44

water activities as well right  we’re doing all sorts of things on that regard. Yeah you guys are definitely on the move any other exciting things coming up on the horizon to get more people down there  summer still here and then I’m not sure if you have any cornerstone events during  the year as well or you know can somebody just roll down and knock on the door because sometimes yeah clubs are a little intimidating not gonna lie right sometimes the pomp and circumstance people don’t want to roll by so.

36:09

Can somebody just roll in or do they go to the website, make an appointment? What is the practical steps for the 1,200 people who are going to line up after this? Well, certainly if you contact the club and ask to go on a tour or what have you, that’s available most days of the week. And I think that that’s a great opportunity to see what’s going on at the Yacht Club. I don’t think we could have more programming. I we just absolutely.

36:36

I think we’re doing 12 cruises this year. We’re doing a bunch of day sales where we take people that don’t have boats and take them sailing  on other boats. The junior rowing and sailing is open to the public. Anybody’s kids can participate in that. And as I say, we have the former UCLA rowing coaches, the coach for  rowing, and  we have an Olympian on the sailing  coaching end. So I’m very proud of what’s happening there.

37:03

So we have a lot of opportunities for people to come in and experience the … OUK club and also different open events so yeah. Nice and then you’re going be Commodore next. Any big plans or changes or just tried and true tell us what’s happening under your leadership next and I’m super excited that Commodore each year gets to plan a cruise in our in our … tradition the Commodore can take their cruise anywhere they want. You want to go Big Eiger Cove?

37:32

You’re not that far off. Okay. Okay. Next. Last year we went to  a key West the year before we went down  the Mississippi.  Next year when I’m,  when I’m the Commodore, we’re going to this place called Catalina Island. We’re going to start.

37:48

We’re going to start in Howlands and we’re going to work our way around the island.  We’ll come over and look for you over there. is so yeah, we for sure connect. You guys can come by. We’ll make sure we’re there for like with water bottles and we’ll hand them out like you know, like as you’re going by, we’ll throw them in the boat or something.  I think we’re going to have a competition to see if anybody  in our club is smart enough to anchor it to know how to anchor your club.  That’s that’d be  that’d be quite a challenge.

38:14

Now, so I’m super excited about that. We’re going to go  and we’re doing that in a big effort to make sure that as many people as possible can participate.  Sometimes if we I think we did a cruise down the, you know, one of the rivers in Europe on  one of the smaller cruise ships, that sounds awesome. That’s not everybody at the Oclo cannot drop everything and go go do that for the weekend. So for my year, we’re going to.

38:42

Kind of take it back to grassroots a little bit and go … around the once around the rock. That’s great I always tell people’s closest furthest place you can get and speaking of anchoring Brendan is actually … Brendan Huffman he’s organizing an anchoring clinic at Big Geiger Cove on August 16th so if we can coordinate on that but again I think anchoring is one of the more empowering … things around sailing because. Really just gives you the confidence to go wherever not get stuck on the summer morning or.

39:11

whether or not they’re full, you just have that. So on August 16th, that could be another way to connect. And I’d love for just yacht clubs. I think we could all connect and collaborate a little bit more. Sometimes we get on our own island, rightly so, but happy to be an ambassador. You guys especially are on your own island. We definitely are. That’s one of the biggest best surprises for me of being on the bridge is interacting with other yacht clubs and really feeling the camaraderie.

39:40

from other clubs. You after the club burn,  we’ve received  hundreds of letters  of sympathy and condolence and what have you. And  the one I always have to mention specifically Los Angeles Yacht Club wrote me and said, you know, it’s not the first time the California Yacht Club burned down. And the last time California Yacht Club burned down in the thirties, you guys moved in with us.  You were welcome to move in with us again.

40:10

Which I thought was a very kind thing to say to a bunch of … people who had just lost their house you know so well the seamanship and the rule what’s the first rule of … racing sailing take care of other people if it no matter what if somebody needs help there’s no more race it’s just a race to help them out and I always love I don’t know any of the other rules but I know that one and that’s very true to those on the water you’re always help people … need and that’s awesome see that.

40:36

I mean, I’d say you’d come hang out with us, but we don’t have a land facility, but you can always come hang out  in Big Geiger.  And ABYC too, you know, I’m part of Alameda’s Big Yacht Club. I’m a newer member there. Yeah. Anything we can all do to circle the wagon.  100%. Like I said, we, we, we had  a great outpouring of support  after the loss of the club and, and  frankly,  not to go game of Thrones, but when the time comes, we’re going to call the banners and ask, you know,

41:05

all of our fellow clubs to come  and write in  and help us with the letter writing campaign or whatever we need to apply political pressure to make this progress  go forward, make this process go forward. Well, you can officially count on the good jibes and the Latitude Nation to rally behind you. Whenever you’re ready, you just let me know. We’ll hop back on again. But this has been a pleasure, John. I’m glad to meet you. I am going to look for you in Howlands every time I’m there.

41:34

Come by and say hi to me and big Geiger Cove. We’re always friendly. We love to meet new sailors. We are a sailing club. So if you got a big powerboat, we still want to be friends with you. But we’re going to convince you to get a sailboat and become a member. That’s all. I saw a big Grant Banks anchored over  there. That’s my mom. Yeah. So after you’re a member for five years, you can apply to get something. And so  as you get older as a sailor, you end up transitioning.

42:00

She’s an icon. She’s been there since June 28th and she’s there all summer and my parents have been, you know, legendary. They’re just living the dream.  They were a little suspicious that somebody was coming around to check things out, but just mama bear actually gave us a wave.  Anyway, Ryan,  nice to talk to you. Thanks so much for having me on. I super appreciate  the time  and  you know, huge left left 38th  the mag, right? Yeah, it is. They were still alive. We can’t burn that down.

42:29

mean individual magazine might catch on fire, you can’t burn us down been around for 40 years and plus.  Oh man. It’s the best right?  Probably one of the biggest unifying factors of boating on the West Coast really nice Well, let’s make sure that we get a stack of them for you outside of your tent and put them on the boat the big boat There we go. I love it. Of course. All right. Well, hey John. Thanks so much and

42:54

to all of our listeners, if this is your first podcast, make sure it’s not your last. You can always follow us on every platform where you’re at. Give the California Yacht Club some love and show up, whether you’re playing pickleball, whether you want to tour, whether you want to get your kids involved.  As John was saying, sailing, pickleball, rowing, it’s all more fun with friends. And so at the end of the day, we’re a bunch of friendly people on the water and we can always have more friends.  thanks so much. speaking of friends, we should all connect on social media.

43:22

You can find Latitude 38. I’m sure you can find all of these yacht clubs that we’ve talked about. And if you ever want to contact me, you can email me at [email protected]. If you are a Vice Commodore or Commodore and want to get on the show or John, if you have somebody who’d be awesome, doesn’t have to be somebody fancy. We love everybody. Just the ordinary sailor to, you know, somebody who’s an Olympian so we can share and swap stories. Let us know.

43:46

We’re always looking for articles. So you can always submit an article at [email protected] and you never know, it just might show up there. So John, we’re going to set sail here. I should come up, make some time to come visit you sometime. We’ll see you on the island soon!