Waterfront Pickers Play for Call of the Sea’s Annual Celebration

On Saturday, April 26, Call of the Sea (COTS) celebrated their fifth annual Tall Ship Celebration and fundraiser at Sausalito’s Bay Model. The day attracted visitors from far and wide who enjoyed browsing the hands-on and static displays, while tapping their toes to the sounds of the Waterfront Pickers. The Waterfront Pickers is a group of local sailors who come together on a regular basis and play their own brand of salty bluegrass.

The original band has been playing together over 20 years, Woody tells us. “We used to have jam sessions at List Marine in Sausalito. The core band at that time was Tom, myself, Diver Dave, a local named Tom Funkhauser, and Jody Boyle, who worked at North Bay Boatworks as a shipwright and lived at Galilee Harbor.” Sometimes other local musicians would drop by to join them, or more often, just to hang out and listen. Being surrounded by List’s engines and tools, the Pickers were “literally a garage band.”

The Waterfront Pickers are “instrumental” in celebrating waterfront events and have played for COTS’ events since the Matthew Turner’s keel-laying ceremony in 2013. “The crew built us a stage in about 30 minutes,” Woody says. And in 2017, the band billowed to nine musicians who played to more than 3000 people who had gathered for the Matthew Turner‘s launch.

Call of the Sea’s director of Community and Business Development, Sylvia Stewart Stompe, said 305 people took advantage of the ship tours.

“Lots of folks who came had never heard of Call of the Sea or the tall ship [Matthew Turner],” Sylvia said. “Paella was a big hit again. Weather was perfect, people had fun, lots of activities for kids — craft table, rope making. The wave exhibit was a kids’ favorite, along with other cool interactive science exhibits.”