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This boat only goes out when weather is goodSAN DIEGO U Ph - A little bit of sailing for landlubbers can be a lot of fun but the threshold at which it becomes boring or sickening is quickly reached That s why the 93-foot sailing ship California only puts out inpleasant weather and why her excursions to sea are kept shortCaptain George Falkesgaard ttes year l**gan running four cruises b\ day, cocktail sails at night out of San Diego aboard the barquentme — a rpltca of ailing ships of the 1800s If the ocean appears to be getting too choppy, he quickly refunds hi^ customers* money and returns them to the dockBetter no customers at all. than -ick landlubbers bad mouthing the CaliforniaSo far as the passengers are concerned. Falkesgaard con cedes there is blessed little to do aboard a boat'About V: or 2 hours into it.they begin to get turned off.” said Falkesgaard. who comes from a Danish family which has been involved w ith the sea since 1376So his cruises are short and smooth — usually including a quarter-mile excursion out of Mission Bay into the Pacific Groups can charter the boat and board in Mission Bay, then sail out into the Pacific and back into adjoining San Diego Bay and tie up at a restaurant for dinnerHe will take them onlv if conditions are ideal because, as he puts in, The ladies don’t want to get wet sea water on them or windblown hair Thev■mwant to look as gwd when they arrive as they did when they left the hotel ”The California has a colorful history She was used by the Navy in World War II to move Australian spotters behind Japanese lineFalkesgaard operated in the red only two months after purchasing her in Marina Del Hey near Los Angeles and bringing her here. He broke even grossing $9,000 m the third month Now he is thinking about expanding his one-ship fleet The California is manned bysix community college students and skippered by Murl Smith, a veteran of 36 years at sea, has three masts The forward one has square rigged sails. Crewmen scamper high in the rigging to unfurl them This is the mam attraction Said Falkesgaard of his passengers. “Its the seamanship that excites them, There is in the public mind something good and clean and beautiful about sailing ships You get to see the crew doing their thing — there are no winches, no mechanical rigging of any kind ”
Newspaper Details
Nampa Idaho Free Press
Nampa, Idaho, US
Mon, Oct 04, 1976
Page 10
Full Page
Clipped by
Rutherford B.
OH, USA 15 Feb 2022
Other Publications Near Nampa, Idaho
Idaho Press Tribune
Nampa Idaho Free Press
