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Summer Sailstice visited Dave Tomlinson, president of SeaTime in Newport Beach, California, to find out just what his local sailors were up to for Sailstice 2005.
Dave, an Australian native who has spent the past 20 years in California, specifically in San Francisco, two years ago bought the Club Nautique Southern California bases, consolidating the business and in the process changing the name to SeaTime, Inc. The business remains the same however: it’s a US Sailing School, a charter company, a sailing club with membership and benefits, and a yacht sales operation. SeaTime has 17 boats in its charter fleet, ranging from 26 ft to the mid 40’s, power and sailboats including catamarans.
“We’ll have all the boats off the docks during Sailstice, all 300 hundred of our members are signed up to sail, like it or not,” laughs Dave. “Some are going to Catalina which is about 22 miles from Newport Beach, for a flotilla weekend, others are doing an out and back sail to Catalina, finishing back at the dock for a party on Saturday.”
After a lifetime of sailing San Francisco Bay, Dave says Southern Californian sailing has been somewhat of an adjustment. “It’s put relaxation back into the sport,” muses Dave. “It’s just like in the magazines, warm, laid back, light air, and great for families who want to do mini sailing vacations in the summer. We’re always seeing dolphins and whales, plus Catalina always gives that feeling of isolation – no cars, and a decent distance offshore. It’s a great Summer Sailstice destination actually!”
For those of you wanting to know more about sailing in Southern California, Dave says there’s a really strong racing program at many of the clubs. With the typically prevalent light air, there are more women involved which is always a good thing. Dave’s favorite boat to sail in the light So Cal breeze is a Reynolds 33 catamaran.
“It’s the answer to that adrenalin rush all sailors need – 4 knots of breeze, 10 knots of boatspeed…” he laughs.
For more information about celebrating Summer Sailstice 2005 in Newport Beach, California, go to http://www.seatimeinc.com/.
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"Dave Tomlinson on the dock, Newport Beach"
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