Life of a Sailor

City of San Diego skyline from the bay

J and L happened to bump into their old friend (figuratively speaking of course) Johnny Nevada from the Talk of San Diego on a beautiful 36 foot classic sailing yacht by the name of Lei Lani. She (that's how we sailors refer to yachts) was built in 1967 in Costa Mesa (a true California girl) by hand. That means every inch of this boat was lovingly caressed into the finely shaped vehicle she became.

Wow, sounds like the start of a romance novel.

The Lei Lani ready to sail

Lora Lei under sail

Seriously, the Lei Lani is a beautiful boat from stem to stern with the rich mahogany interior and the teak wood exterior which is kept up by the boat owners, Kyle and Ashley Corbett . Perhaps their more favored monikers would be the Big Kahuna (Kyle), and the Mermaid (Ashley) and both seem appropriate as both are excellent and professional sailors who spend most of the year in and around the San Diego Bay making a sailing tour into a memory of a lifetime.

Enjoying the bay



Owners - Ashley and Kyle Corbett

J of J and L had lived in San Diego eons ago and had always believed, and still does, that San Diego has one of the most stunning sky lines in the world (and he's traveled much of it and knows a thing or two about sky lines). But to see it from the waters edge is a special treat that not many can experience unless they are proud owners of their own boat or has had the ability and pleasure of sailing around it quietly aboard one of the two yachts owned by the Corbett's - the other being an almost retro thirty foot sailing yacht built in 1991 in San Francisco but looks like the sixties to this old salty dog (J and not L). The Lora Lei is just as handsome (can you say that about a woman) as the Lei Lani and as impeccably cared for. The Lei Lani and the Lora Lei are in the fleet owned by San Diego Sailing Tours (i.e. - the Corbett's) and either boat is a thrill to sail on especially with the knowledgeable and friendly crew.




Captain Kyle Corbett and the back of J's head

We had been invited by Johnny to go on a private tour of the magnificent San Diego Bay while he interviewed the co-owners of San Diego Sailing Tours (Kyle and Ashley) and if time permitted would chat us up a bit about J and L's recent three week trip to Ireland. It was our third time in front of the camera with the Talk of San Diego and made us feel like regulars and that was good. How many times has so and so been on Jay Leno and we're sure it's as exciting the hundredth time as it was the first but the difference being a person tends to get a little more relaxed each of those times and it was for us. Besides the fact Johnny and his wonderful interviewer, Ivonne Ferrero, made us feel right at home. And yes, Daniel Bentz, the sound man was very attentive but rather quiet (strange for a 'sound man') except when the microphone wasn't held to his liking - he's touchy like that.

Big Kahuna - Kyle Corbett

The cruise included many of the famous sites around the bay - San Diego is truly a city built around a bay, that including the Coronado Bridge, the famous floating Maritime Museum, the United States Naval station on Coronado, and one really interesting and new site which is the building of the replica sailing ship of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo who discovered San Diego Bay on September 28th of 1542 (excepting it had already been discovered by the natives who resided there but let's not dither about the details shall we?). The flagship of Cabrillo's fleet, the San Salvador, is being rebuilt to exact measurements by the Maritime Museum right off of North Harbor Drive just west of the Spanish landing site (the only non-rocky stretch of waterfront) and the 200 ton galleon should be water-ready very soon which could mean a year or two but since it's been hundreds of years in the making a few more doesn't seem that important.

Mermaid - Ashley Corbett

As the cruise continued Johnny and Ivonne talked to the owners of the charter company and J and L, along with L's sister Beth Baker, just relaxed on the bow of the Lei Lani taking in the sun, wind and perfect weather which is a pretty steady stream in San Diego.


Laureen relaxing on the bow

John talking with Skipper Dave

Finally, Johnny stated we had a few minutes to interview J and as the yacht sailed noiselessly back to its slip on Harbor Island J and Johnny traded barbs on air about John's novel, 'Hunted', his next upcoming book 'Soft Target' and of course they both did their best to imitate the Irish accent which turned out to be a mix of somewhere between London and Dublin. It was rather amusing but not if they were both sitting in a pub in downtown Blarney. They may have been asked to leave after finishing their pints and not to come back to soon.



Johnny Nevada and Ivonne Ferrero kicking it on the Lei Lani

 Beth Baker enjoyed the sail

Of course, that could be just blarney but that is sometimes how blogs go.

http://youtu.be/U5fDBwlI-oQ

For more information just look below the ducks:

http://sandiegosailingtours.com/

http://www.thetalkofsandiego.com/



A Day at the Races

Normally, J and L are not gamblers - not the type to lay down hard earned money on a game of chance but when the opportunity to watch the 'ponies' run at Betfair Hollywood Park we put away our hesitancy and took up the call. An hour from home and a fortune awaiting - one would shudder to think of turning down this dream come true.


Two of our daughters, Erica and Jessica (along with our son-in-law Justin and Erica's boyfriend Brandon), invited us to the horse racing track in Inglewood, California for a Saturday afternoon of placing two dollar bets on various horses in the nine races scheduled for that particular day we couldn't resist. Mint juleps, million dollar horses, celebrities - okay - a beer, homemade sandwiches and sunscreen was the fare of the day.

The Crew - Laureen was the photographer

Oh, what a day it turned out to be watching the real betters pouring over horse racing newspapers all the while jotting down notes after not examining every written stat or word on the horse and rider.

We watched, studied, learned and discussed. We were in the midst of a multi-million dollar industry and would benefit from it.



With names like Salt Tequila Lime, Bugsky, U R My Candy Girl, Include the Cat, and Apostle Paul, who wouldn't want to slap down a couple of dollars and watch these four-legged wonders sprint around the mile and a quarter track? We did and did.

The weather was perfect for such an event - warm but not roasting, little if any wind, a few clouds to make the skyline look like a painting and by mid-afternoon comfortable enough to sit in a booth built for six. Overlooking the grass infield with water fountains, a large man-made lake, and towering trees made the event ever more spectacular.

As once mentioned in an earlier article about a first rodeo, this too was a first for the team from J and L - a horse race. Something we had wanted to do for years but never gotten around to.

It was a great treat.




 Again, being folks who don't throw money away, we were choosy with the horses we bet on. Studying the statistics, looking over the weight differences, if the horse ran better on dry or wet ground, seeing who the jockey was, watching the pros around us - okay - we chose the horse to bet on by their names.

Not exactly scientific but a fun way to bet when you don't have a clue on being a handicapping guru.

Two dollar bets were slapped down on Beautiful Strike, Sensational Niki, Sizzling Gold, Citizen Jane, Scatman Blues, and others with such alluring names.

John R. Beyer with the winning ticket - doubt it!

Laureen Beyer ready to spend the winnings

When the gates opened and the hooves thundered we could imagine the payoffs for some of these 'ponies' with high odds. 15 to 1, 12 to 1 - we were going to make a fortune.

We suddenly learned as the horses sprinted across the finish line why some of them have such high odds.

They can't or won't win.



J felt as though he had been betting on cows. "Stupid cows," was his favorite expression as the horse he bet on labored in lengths behind the lead horses and torn betting chips fluttered to the ground along with the image of winnings.


Overall though, it was an exciting day and J and L would highly recommend that any explorer or traveler take a day out of their lives to spend it at a horse racing track. Friendship, excitement, being outdoors is what life is about - throw a couple of bucks down and enjoy.

And don't forget the hats

Of course, common sense dictates: bet sensibly, wisely and stay away from cows.

Gone, but not Forgotten

Over a year has passed since Ray Douglas Bradbury passed away in Los Angeles at the age of 91 years after fighting a longtime illness. J of J and L has had a lot of time to reflect the loss of one of America's, if not the world's, greatest science fiction.

J is a novelist with a new novel coming out entitled, Soft Target, later (hopefully) in 2013 but he is not a science fiction writer. Ray was and created such masterpieces as Fahrenheit 451, The Sound of Thunder, The Illustrated Man, and of course The Martian Chronicles. Upon learning of his death, another famous author by the name of Stephen King (thought you might know him) wrote this: "Ray Bradbury wrote three great novels and three hundred great stories. One of the latter was called 'A Sound of Thunder.' The sound I hear today is the thunder of giant's footsteps fading away. But the novels and stories remain, in all their resonance and strange beauty."

What a wonderful epitaph for a fellow writer.

Perhaps it's summer or just thinking back through the decades when J knew Ray Bradbury as an acquaintance, or dare I say, friend. Looking upon a few letters, framed now, from Ray hanging in my study, it suddenly brought back those moments when J and Ray sat and talked in the nineties as one writer to another. Granted, at the time J was a struggling free-lancer talking to one of the greatest writers in America, but the man instantly put me at ease.

It was like talking to an old friend.

The typical interviewer questions were asked and answered but when the pieces were written and submitted to the various magazines for whom J worked part-time, the conversations continued for many years.

One unforgettable moment was when my mother, Anne, was visiting and the house phone rang. She being the closest naturally picked it up and immediately her face went blank as her hand clamped over the mouthpiece.

"Joh - -John ---Johnny," she stuttered, "It's Ray Bradbury!"

I took the phone and talked a few minutes with a man I admired so well.

It went on like that for a few years and then the talking stopped. It was not due to not sharing the same love of writing but years don't stretch out but simply shrink and soon Ray was dead.

Our daughter, Jessica, texted: "I'm sorry, Daddy, I just heard Ray Bradbury has passed away."

It was true on June 6th of 2012 that one of America's greatest Sci Fi writers had left this planet and ventured far away into the cosmos.

And isn't that the way it should be?

Perhaps it was just a summer day or recollections of a time gone by that made me think of my old friend, but whatever the case may be those memories are always cherished.