We’ve been heavy hearted the past few days hearing the news from home: the fire that has been devastating Ventura & Ojai.  It seems like each day we hear of a different friend’s house that burned down — it is terrible and terrifying. Read about recent details on LA Times. 

@nasa photo

Although Santa Barbara is our home port, where we lived and sailed Aldebaran before our trip to the South Seas, Ventura felt like our boat’s “birthplace”. It is no coincidence that we were deep in “labor” at the Ventura Boatyard, struggling with sweat blood and tears to deliver the boat into new life.

Ryan, Sabrina, Ventura foreman Tom Bowman, and Kristian. Tom had built multi-hulls in the past and kept us in line with our boat reinforcements, to put it mildly!

The Ventura Boatyard staff was always supremely nice and took us under their wing, setting us greenhorns straight more than once when it comes to vessel integrity and sea worthiness. We spent 4 months there in preparation for the trip alone, and 8 months over the course of 4 years for haul-outs. If it wasn’t for this yard, Aldebaran wouldn’t be where she is now! We thank all the firefighters for their hard efforts in protecting the City, and  send many prayers to people back home struggling with the fires and hope that from the ashes new life may be born…

Jewels was in Ventura with us and recently sailed for a month on Aldebaran in the Tuamotos.

Tory came after work to Ventura; he recently came to the Society Islands to join Aldebaran with a crew of friends from Jackson Hole.