Acania
Dave Olson and his family invited a few hundred of their close friends and classic yacht enthusiasts to the third annual luncheon and open house for the work in progress restoration of his beautiful yacht Acania.
The fun event was held at the Stone Boatyard in Alameda. Stone Boatyard was originally called Stone’s Boatyard and dates to 1853. It was originally located in Tiburon about where Sam’s Anchor Cafe is now. After a couple of moves it ended up at its current location of 2517 Blanding Ave. on the Alameda waterfront.
When we arrived, the barbecue was going full blast and the folks that were not aboard Acania were enjoying food and drink or admiring Dave’s 1934 Packard that once belonged to the Capone mob. The car is in beautiful condition and looks like she is right off the showroom floor. It is a perfect period dockside compliment to Acania.
Acania is truly one of the most beautiful boats on the West Coast. Boat is not a good description of her as she is definitely a small ship at 136 feet long with a beam of 23 feet and a draft of eight feet, nine inches. She is made of steel and displaces 300 tons.
Dave greeted us as we came aboard and introduced us to his dad, who was celebrating his birthday. Dave is in the structural steel business, so owning a steel yacht is right in line with his skills.
The boat was designed by John H. Wells for Arthur E. Wheeler, a New York banker. She was built at Consolidated Shipbuilding in New York. This is the second Acania commissioned by Wheeler and was launched in 1930. The first Acania was built in 1929.
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There are persistent rumors that she was actually built for Al Capone with Wheeler as a straw buyer. That Wheeler could or would commission a second luxury yacht after the stock market crash of 1929 on his own is remarkable. The yacht has a secret bar and several hidden and disguised storage areas as well as curious piping and storage tanks throughout.
Ross MacTaggart in his excellent book “The Golden Century Classic Motor Yachts 1830 – 1930” says, “The second Acania was quite similar (to the first) and just ten feet longer, while her interior was almost an exact match with the first Acania, even down to identical furnishings. It is unknown why Wheeler commissioned this near replica.” This statement certainly implies there could be a mysterious unknown sponsor.
In 1935, Wheeler sold Acania to the Walgreen family who renamed her Dixonia. They cruised her extensively until she was seized for use by the Navy at the beginning of World War II. In 1931, Capone was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison for income tax evasion. Some of his time was spent at Alcatraz.
After the war, Acania was returned to the Walgreen family and was sold shortly thereafter to Clifford Mooers, a powerful Texas oil man and horse breeder who was a personal friend of the Texas governor.
Mooers sold her in 1957 and from then until 1985 her owners and whereabouts are shrouded in mystery. At various times she was named Southern Seas, Liberty, Americana and Wild Catter in addition to Acania and Star Fjord. In 1987, she returned to the United States and was used as a charter vessel for several years in the Caribbean.
Eventually she was semi derelict in Miami when Miles Davis came along and purchased her in 1995. Miles recited several adventures including working with organized crime figures while completing the purchase. Miles immediately discovered that the motors had a foot or two of water in the crankcases. He had to have them rebuilt prior to leaving the yard in Miami.
He eventually got underway with a considerably lighter wallet and set a course across the Caribbean to the Panama Canal. Miles is a graduate of the California Maritime Academy and is an experienced ships officer and navigator.
He said his crew was less experienced and they were somewhat nervous throughout the trip. While crossing the Caribbean, Miles said they were rolling 30 degrees for days on end in rough seas. Due to some previously unknown problems with air vents, she was taking on water whenever she rolled. Miles said there was three or more feet of water in the bilge for the entire trip across the Caribbean.
They made it through the Panama Canal and up the West Coast eventually arriving in San Francisco Bay. Miles renamed the vessel Star Fjord and you may have seen her moored near Bethel Island several years back. At the time, Miles had a house on the island and kept the vessel nearby. Hal Schell saw her at Bethel Island and contacted me at the time to ask if I had any information on her. I think at the time I had just met Miles, so I told Hal what I knew and told him of the Al Capone connection. He mentioned it in his Yachtsman column at the time.
Dave has restored her original name to Acania. The yacht and her sister ship are well documented with photographs including some by the famous marine photographer Morris Rosenfeld. You can purchase copies of many of his photos from the Mystic Seaport Museum.
Dave is in the process of completely upgrading and restoring the boat. He is no stranger to this type of project. His last boat was the 78-foot Linmar that had been built for Howard Marlin of the Marlin firearms family in 1933. Linmar was beautiful and even sported a period jukebox. He sold her a few years back and now she is a charter boat in the Pacific Northwest.
Acania is being completely rewired and replumbed. Prior to Dave purchasing her, she had to have a crewman in the engine room as commands were transmitted from the helm via telegraph. These are being upgraded so you can control the motors from the helm (!) but the original telegraphs are being kept for display.
In the interior of the boat, all of the modern upgrades are hidden so when you are aboard she still retains the period look of the roaring ’20s. Acania has a unique canoe stern that adds to the beauty of the yacht and I am sure is an advantage in a following sea.
Dave has enclosed the entire stern cockpit area with paneling and windows. It looks like the yacht was built that way and will be a distinct advantage in the sometimes-chilly Bay area weather.
The day of the open house a who’s who of Northern California yachting was in attendance. We talked to Dewey Hines of Perry’s Boat Harbor, who is an expert preserver and restorer in his own right and owns several classic boats. Patrick Welch, Tom Clothier, Mont McMillan, Alan Almquist, as well as former owner, Miles Davis, were all there admiring Dave’s work.
Mel and Gig Owen, whose family boat Pat Pending was seized by the Navy and outfitted with a deck gun and depth charges for use as an anti-submarine net tender during World War II, were there. Jim and Kathy Hackworth, classic boat owners whose insurance agency insures many classic yachts in the area, attended to enjoy the day with the rest of us.
This vessel is so big you can get lost on her. I had intended to do a stern to stem review, but there are so many passageways and different levels I lost track of everything and just enjoyed the experience of being aboard. The joiner work in each cabin is stunning; you can just picture the craftsmen building these beautiful pieces in their shop back when everything was hand made.
The head and shower off of the owner’s cabin is bigger than many home bathrooms today. The guest cabins and even the crew cabins are all comfortable. As we made our way forward curiosity made me climb down a ladder into the chain locker, which I discovered is immaculate. The crew quarters is just astern of the chain locker and I can just imagine the noise when the anchor was raised.
Bay Delta Canal Plan (BDCP) Update
The Natural Resource agency and the Department of Water Resources seem to be moving ahead with their plans to divert the Sacramento River around the Delta, so perhaps as we enter the year 2012 a little review is in order.
It was 2007 when then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his intention to build a peripheral canal to divert the Sacramento River around the Delta. Now that Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown Jr. is governor again, he is supporting the canal or tunnel which he advocated during his first term in office and which was rejected by California voters in 1982.
Originally, the canal was estimated to cost around $12 billion, but according to recent report by a consultant, Strategic Economic Application Company, the current cost would be $23 billion to $54 billion.
I have attended many of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) meetings and likewise Delta Stewardship Council (DSC) meetings. These two entities are involved in efforts to divert the river. At one BDCP meeting we asked for a few examples of where a river diversion like the proposed peripheral canal or tunnel has not ruined the existing waterway. One of the consultants answered, “There are no examples.”
At another meeting we were advised to submit questions via e-mail to the Department of Water Resources. On July 20, 2009, I asked their Staff Environmental Scientist if she could give me “a few examples where a water diversion of this type has actually helped a waterway and or improved a fish habitat.”
Also we asked if then Natural Resource Secretary Mike Chrisman received any Delta water for his farming operation in Bakersfield and also if then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger received any Delta water at his recently purchased ranch in Southern California. I got a reply back saying my “comment will be responded to fully in the final Initial Study following the public review period that ends July 26, 2009.”
I didn’t receive any other response, so on Oct. 24, 2009, I again asked for some examples where this type of diversion has not damaged or destroyed the existing waterway. This time I got a message back saying the Staff Environmental Scientist was on vacation and would answer me as soon as she returned. Since then I have not heard a thing.
Chrisman resigned from his post in February of 2010 and Schwarzenegger termed out of office in 2010. You would think that if there were examples of a peripheral diversion working and not destroying the existing waterway they would supply numerous examples. I can supply plenty of examples where they have not worked and have wiped out entire eco-systems. The simple answer is that if the canal or tunnel is ever built it will destroy the Delta and most of the area’s farming, fishing and recreation.
We were reviewing the December 2011 edition of the Delta Stewardship Council newsletter and they had a profile of their Independent Science Board member Dr. Brian Atwater. The newsletter alleges that Atwater “was doing field research from a trailer on subsided peatland of Jersey Island, six miles east of Antioch. Freighters passing ‘overhead’ in the adjacent San Joaquin River would rattle cups on (sic) the trailer kitchen.”
Your writer has been at many locations throughout the Delta when ships of all sizes have passed and I have never experienced “cups” or anything else “rattling.” Not trusting my own experience I asked everyone I know who lives along the river and none of them have ever experienced “cup rattling” when a freighter went by. According to documents I found, it takes a 4.0 to 4.9 seismic event on the Richter scale to cause “noticeable shaking of indoor items, rattling noises.”
This is typical of the lies and misinformation put out by those that would destroy the Delta. Here the implication is that a ship passing by could potentially cause damage to a “subsided” island. I guess it is possible, but I think it would be highly unlikely.
Last month we told you about retired Judge Oliver Wanger, who has ruled in many lawsuits involving Delta water, going to work for Westlands Water District. Now we learn he has resigned from the position.
Dreissenid Mussels
The Governor recently took action to sign legislation that will allow the California Department of Fish and Game to continue with an aggressive strategy they put into place to combat the spread of dreissenid mussels (think zebra and quagga mussels) in state waterways. This measure is aimed specifically at the invasion threat posed by quagga and zebra mussels and is a serious situation.
Bill Bird, Communications Director for Senator Bob Huff, reported to us that Senator Huff authored B 215 “because California needs an aggressive program that has shown success with eradicating the mussel threat before they can become uncontrollable and destructive. If we didn’t allow the Department of Fish and Game to continue with this aggressive control strategy, dreissenid mussels will colonize with alarming speed and cause major harm to our state waterways.
“Prevention, early detection and rapid response are the most cost effective solutions to combat the spread of an invasive species like the dreissenid mussel. SB 215 gives the Department of Fish and Game continued authority to conduct inspections of recreational boats and order disinfecting closures and quarantines if necessary. It also requires water supply operators to implement plans to prevent and control infestations.
“SB 215 was sponsored by the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) and also had the support of the California Municipal Utilities Association. Without SB 215 and the continued vigilance it brings, they contend that their (dreissenid mussel) establishment in California waters, including the California Delta and San Francisco Bay, could result in an environmental disaster.”
Senator Huff serves as the Senate Republican Caucus Chair and represents the 29th senate district, which covers portions of Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties.
Antioch Marina
Word is that the Antioch Marina’s new four-lane launch ramp will be opening in the near future. This will be a great addition to this area.
We tried to contact the marina management for details, but the office was closed for the holidays as we put the finishing touches on this column.
We will have an update in the next issue.
Dutra Museum
We attended the Three Chamber Mixer at the Dutra Museum in Rio Vista a few days before Christmas. There were about 100 Delta residents there to enjoy local wines and some outstanding hors d’oeuvres from The Point Waterfront Restaurant in Rio Vista.
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Jim Baumann from The Point was on hand with several of his staff. They were serving some great food: rum cake with whipped cream, crispy won ton with shrimp, stuffed endives, bruschetta, and other goodies. We had a couple of glasses of a great Bogle Cabernet to go with the food.
I have told you before about the Dutra Museum of Dredging. It contains the history of the Delta and is absolutely fascinating. If you have never been there before, you owe it to yourself to pay a visit.
Their photo archives alone are amazing and docents Janet Bennett and Patti Dutra Bruce are Dutra family members, so they have a personal insight into the family and their history.
You can arrange a tour for your group or have an event there for your club or organization. Give them a call at 650/207-6489 or 415/258-6876 or check out their website at www.dutramuseum.com for more information. Be sure to contact Jim Baumann at 707/374-5400 to cater your refreshments.
Discovery Bay Update
My ace reporter Erlyn Lucas-Payne checks in with this dispatch from Discovery Bay.
“Hey Bill, I have been trying to sit down and write about all the amazing things that have been happening in Discovery Bay, but every time I turn around, I’m out doing yet another fun thing! I really live where I play. First we had the Change of Watch at the Discovery Bay Yacht Club where I became the Port Captain. I’ve already booked my first cruise in for August with the Bridge Marina Yacht Club. I’m anxiously awaiting more calls from clubs that want to come spend some time with us.
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“Dec. 3 was the Parade of Lights street parade. This was the first year Don and I were able to attend it. Amanda Dove did an outstanding job of putting the whole thing together as she does every year. The kids and parents put a lot of effort into their floats; I’ll never miss it again!
“Discovery Bay Yacht Club had two boats in the parade and won a prize for Audience Appreciation. My personal favorite was the entry by the Corvette club. Each Corvette had a reindeer in the passenger seat with Santa in the last Corvette. A little girl on one float was throwing little marshmallows at the crowd and one hit my foot. I absentmindedly tossed it back and got her right on the nose. Luckily she and her dad thought it was funny and I didn’t put any eyes out.
“Dec. 10 was our Discovery Bay Lighted Boat Parade with 17 boats. It was by far our best parade in years. Don and I were aboard Rosemarie, along with 28 other guests including my parents. It was chilly but gorgeous out. We could not have had better weather or company for that matter. Chet and Linda Loveland coordinated the parade this year along with the huge after-parade party at the yacht club.
“There were so many amazing entries, but the Commodore’s Cup went to Amazing Grace owners Mike and Grace Milne for their over-the-top pirate ship. The detail and time they put into the transformation was mind-blowing. They had a full crew all dressed as pirates dancing and carrying on through the entire four-hour cruise. Bill, I thought you would have been right at home on that ship!
“My other favorite was Sun Goddess transformed into a fire truck complete with sirens and lights owned by Everett and Nancy Watrous. There was another smaller boat dressed as a medic tagging behind. It was so cute.
“I’ve been very busy this December, even moonlighting for Frank Morgan, aka Captain Morgan, aboard Rosemarie helping him with his evening Discovery Bay light cruises. He was awarded the ‘Best Delta Cruise Ship’ prize for 2011 and he deserves it. Being the humble man he is, it’s safe to say he was delighted.
“Rosemarie, named for Frank’s mother, is lovely. She currently has 8,500 lights on her as she was all dressed up for the parade. The evening cruises last four hours with tasty treats, great music and a generally fun time. Captain Morgan is currently working on his 2012 calendar of cruise events. Rosemarie can be privately chartered for hourly cruises as well as overnight stays.”
Winter Boating
I stopped in at New Hope Landing for a chiliburger and while I was there Bob Segerdell and Marty Hazeltine came cruising down the Mokelumne River in their kayaks and stopped at the marina where they had stashed their cars earlier in the day. They said they had paddled up the river for two hours and made it almost to where I-5 crosses the river.
It was a beautiful day, not a breath of wind and sunny with no fog anywhere that I saw. They said they encountered many birds and absolutely flat water during their excursion. They said they frequently kayak around the Delta and agree that this is one of the best times of the year for boating.
Bob and Marty say they are also members of the Straits of Mare Island Rowing Association. This is a club that travels about in human-powered whaleboats. They generally cruise around the Bay and have visited Alcatraz and poked out through the Golden Gate.
Captain Marv, skipper of the houseboat Marv’s Dream and “the man with the golden anchor,” is a friend of mine. He spent several days near the end of the year at his secret “Marv’s Anchorage” on Georgiana Slough.
He bought a houseboat several years back that needed some work. He has made it look brand new with a lot of elbow grease and polish. Nowadays he has it equipped with flat screen TVs and every electronic convenience you can imagine. We managed to sneak up on him and grab a photo when he wasn’t looking.
Those of us that go boating in the winter know this is one of the best and most beautiful times to spend on the river. December has been a dry month and there has not been too much fog. Unfortunately, Ranger is undergoing some delayed projects like a new waterpump in the port engine. It has been leaking at the bearing for a few months and while I think it would last quite a bit longer it is located near the ignition distributor, so it would not be good if the leak got worse and started spraying water on the distributor.
On my straight six-cylinder motors, a shaft coming from the rear of the generator drives the water pump, so it is reasonably easy to get to for service. I am changing the water hoses at the same time for an added measure of security.
Transition
Nick Catanio, who is a Delta area farmer, celebrated his 91st birthday with a party at the Discover The Delta Foundation in December.
Eight Bells
When I was in San Diego with my Navy friends we decided to try to locate our other pals that we had not seen for many years. Terry Curley remembered that Dave Gainer was from Gainesville, Florida. He managed to locate Dave’s wife Cheryl and sadly found out that Dave had passed away in 2007.
After being discharged from the Navy and leaving San Diego, he moved back to Florida and had a 30-year career as a lieutenant with the Florida Department of Fish and Game. Besides his wife, he was survived by two daughters, siblings and several nieces and nephews.
I remember Dave as nice guy and a good pool player who drove a 1957 Chevy two-door Bel Air.
Also sad to inform you that the marine industry of Northern California has lost one of its longtime leaders. Bob Gorman passed away on Dec. 22, 2011. Bob served the Northern California Marine Association on many levels as a board member and for a number of years as the Executive Director. He served as the California Yacht Brokers Executive Director and was an active member in the Spinnaker and St. Francis yacht clubs. Bob will be missed by many, including the Yachtsman family. One of Bob’s closest friends, Mik Maguire, has written a piece on Bob Gorman, which can be found on page 14.
Irish Pennants
River View Yacht Club is holding a membership drive. We reported to you previously about them selling their clubhouse (the former Elkhorn Ferry boat) to the Holland Riverside Marina and moving their club operations to the resort. The generous owners of the marina let them use the clubhouse at no charge, so the dues have been reduced to $20 per month or for associate members only $75 per year.
There is no initiation fee and you have all PICYA privileges. Learn more at www.riverviewyc.com or call Gary Dalleske at 916/425-0242. This is a fun group of boaters who has a lot of good cooks in the club.
Don’t forget the California Carver Club will be celebrating the Club’s 25th anniversary at their change of watch set for Saturday evening Feb. 25, 2012, at The Point Waterfront Restaurant in Rio Vista. They are striving to have all former California Carver Club Commodores and members as well as all current Carver boat owners attend the event. If you want to make a reservation or find out more about the event, please contact Dave Breninger at dbreninger@surewest.net or phone 916/771-5685.
Did you read about the 77-year-old man in Goldhanger, England, who spent 11 hours pinned to his bed after his ceiling collapsed under the weight of 7,000 yachting magazines? He was discovered trapped under chunks of his ceiling and 150 boxes filled with the magazines.
Officers believe the ceiling collapsed under the weight of the boxes of magazines that he had stored in his attic for 10 years. It took rescuers 45 minutes to remove the boxes and rubble at the man’s home. He escaped unhurt.
He was discovered by his next-door neighbor who said: “He was almost crushed to death. He was lucky. If one of the ceiling beams landed on his head he could have died.”
Now I know it is important to keep your file of Yachtsman magazines so you will have my entire body of work as a reference for future generations, but please be careful where you store them. One of my friends is building a library annex to their home so they will be able to keep them in a temperature-controlled environment. You might try something like that.
I just learned that Samuel Clemens was not the first writer on the Mississippi River to call himself Mark Twain. Twain himself says he appropriated the nickname from an older writer and Mississippi River steamboat captain, Isaiah Sellers. I am sure you are all aware that mark twain refers to a two fathom depth meaning safe passage for a riverboat. To be fair, others claim that mark twain refers to a running bar tab that Clemens maintained while drinking at a saloon in Virginia City, NV.
Howard Ellis has opened his “No Problem Auto Paint & Marine Fiberglass Repair” business at 628 Airport Road, Suite C, in Rio Vista. Howard lives aboard his boat and has been doing quality painting and fiberglass repairs around the Delta for years. I think he will do well with his own shop. When you go there make sure you take a treat for his dog.
My friends Randy and Ramona Garrett recently were on a local television news program. They were featured because they have been unable to find a worker for their canvas repair business at Oxbow Marina. Randy says that after the show they had a few hundred calls and hired a skilled person to help them.
They have also recently purchased a quilting machine. Ramona gave me a demonstration. It looks like a sewing machine attached to a drafting machine and is used to sew the fancy edges on quilts. Now area hobbyists can make their quilts and bring them to Ramona to have the edges professionally finished. She can also teach you how to make a quilt.
Santa popped up at various places around the Delta during the Christmas season. He made an appearance at Hannah Nicole Vineyards at a party there and also at Discover the Delta for their “very Delta Christmas” party.
My spies in the Pacific Inter-Club Yacht Association advise me that the Opening Day on the Bay Parade will be on Sunday, April 29. The theme will be “American Spirit” because 2012 is the 75th anniversary of the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge and also the America’s Cup trials will be held this year.
Connie Pustizzi e-mailed me that Oxbow Marina has started its 2012 season Friday Night Friends & Family get togethers at the clubhouse. I will see you there.
Some knucklehead in a car or truck took the turn on West Brannan Island Road at Korth’s Pirate’s Lair too wide in the early morning of Jan. 2. He or she wrecked several of the Adirondack lawn chairs and other furniture and clipped the beloved Tiki Tom statue from the back. It looks like the vehicle possibly could have received the worst of it from the statue. At least the lawn people were not occupying the chairs at the time.
I hope you had a great holiday season and a fun New Year’s Eve and Day. We did! I am still trying to find out how the Sacramento city bus ended up in my driveway on New Year’s day morning (thanks to Alan Almquist for letting me steal the punchline from one of his jokes).
Stay in touch. It is going to be a great year. You can reach me at 916/869-9141 or bill@yachtsmanmagazine.com.
