Month: May 2019

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FIRST LOOK AT THE BOAT AND HARBOR

 

S curved seawall that protects harbor
The SB Yacht Club

PREVIEW…. two old jokes from the boating world. BOAT stand for Bring Out Another Thousand, or Ten Thousand…. And the two  happiest days in a boaters life. First happy day is the day you buy your boat,  and second happiest day is the day you sell her. Depending on story teller those days can be reversed. I will know in three years if this story is true….

So you know I heard about the boat and slip for $100,000.00.  I knew nothing about the boat, only that the previous owner had lived on her part time for four years, and in my mind living on a boat sounded cool. A sweet, lazy Cannes inspired romantic picture. Why Cannes? Santa Barbara, with its weirdly wonderful orientation to the sun, is the considered the “California Rivera.” The mountain ranges around SB run east to west rather than the usual north south (like the AlleghenyMountains on the  east coast ). Due to some quirky geography the city actually faces south. Sunny south. And for someone from the Minnesota tundra the orientation sounded amazing.

I pictured drinks on back of the boat-all California wines for sure. Vineyards are movie producer and actor second careers.  Locally sourced truffle goat cheese and artisan crackers every night. Sun. Lots of sun. Plus I could  imagine Minnesota friends lining up to escape minus 65 degrees weather. Desperate February calls at midnight asking to come to California for even just a weekend. I am a dreamer and swallowed the kool aid. Whole pitcher. Willingly.

A bit of orientation. The Santa Barbara Harbor, 132 Harbor Way, was actually constructed in the 1920’s-with a $200,000.00 gift-matched by city funds- from wealthy philanthropist, Max Fleishman, who wanted a place to park his 250 foot wood yacht, The “Haida.”

That was the 1920’s. The  location morphed.  From fishing harbor and yacht home to bustling mini city. The location is jammed.  With buckets of variety. Official businesses: The Harbor Patrol and The Coast Guard.  Museum: The MARITIME MUSEUM.  Home Depot of the boat world: WEST MARINE. Buy or sell your dreamboat: THE CHANDLERY and SUNSET KIDD.   Hungry: try BROPHY’S clam chowder and watch the sunset overlooking boatland; starving and slim wallet- head to quick and affordable ON THE ALLEY where meals are served on picnic tables, and you can toss leftovers to pesky  pigeons eager to table hop for fries. ENDLESS SUMMER has a great second floor view of harbor, music and drinks. BREAKWATER RESTAURANT serves all meals inside and out -plus monster size ice cream cones. Sushi lovers find SUSHI GOGO-an always packed tiny corner joint overrun with starving locals, tourists and sleepy dogs, Fresh fish: at the end of a tatty white 1920’s style wood building is THE SANTA BARBARA FISH SHOP. Open the screen door to the past. Glass cases crammed with local, farmed, frozen, fresh and imported fish, shellfish, hot off the press Ahi or salmon poke, made to order umi, shucked on demand oysters, and lots of other goodies. This man made peninsula is also home boating safety classes, a surfboard rental shop, the SANTA BARBARA YACHT CLUB and  so much more….

The owner.  Our first meeting was in front of West Marine-a small-but efficient boat owner heaven store that carries everything from pink boat soap served up in gallon containers to Danforth anchors, wet weather and sun and sea gear for men and women.  From West Marine we walked toward the breakwater- a lazy C curve of concrete dotted with flags that protects the harbor. Over 1,100 boats rest behind that protective wall. Sail boats of all dimensions -from training wheel size lift and carry small boats used to teach sailing to mini sailors-to an 1835 sailing vessel-THE SPIRIT OF DANA POINT, used by the Maritime Museum in the Tall Ship Program to teach fourth graders about life “on board” for a night each year. The harbor is home to seriously neglected floating wrecks-already broken down by time, relentless UV and salt  to multi million dollar exclusive floating cities with serious staff. Fat old fishing boats with cool story book names  like The Spaniard and Nana occupy multiple rows closest to the harbor. One assumes this makes for easy unloading of catch. Or it maybe because they have been here far longer than the newbie boat owners.

ACTUAL, REAL TOTAL COST OF THE BOAT.

 

 

Continue reading “FIRST LOOK AT THE BOAT AND HARBOR”

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Looking for affordable housing in California, consider a boat!

The original plan when I moved to California was to design and build a tiny house. A modest structure on affordable land.  I knew I could live comfortably in small spaces. I had practice. My ex-boyfriend and I shared a 530 sq feet one bedroom apartment twelve years ago and did amazingly well. It helped that Callys wonderful weather meant we could easily escape each others company when annoyed or feeling crowded. So I knew a small space would not present an issue.

Big surprise. The high cost of land, coupled with strict code and even stricter enforcement, made building a tiny house in Santa Barbara, California an impossible dream. But here’s the deal. I am a creative woman. Hardwired into my genetics is a big fat creative problem solving gene. Thinking outside the box is the norm. If one idea doesn’t work, can’t work, I quickly access the situation and move on to  a second, a third or a fourth option. That evolving option list  keeps me hopeful, mentally active and focused on the end goal. Here the end goal was to find an affordable place to live in Santa Barbara. One with enough room for a friend or two to stay overnight- which meant-ideally-two bedrooms. Once  the tiny house idea was nixed, I started to look at two bedroom apartments. One and two bedrooms are scarce. And expensive. I pulled this chart from a website on SB apartments to give an idea of cost. To live in a moderately safe area meant I would probably expect to spend-at least-$3, 000.00 per month. Yowzer. That is 60% of my total monthly income. Which meant renting an apartment was out. Of my range. Completely and totally.

How much does it cost to rent an apartment in Santa Barbara?
Bedrooms Average Rent Cheapest Rent Highest Rent
Studio Apartments $1,896 $1,150 $2,681
1 Bedroom Apartments $1,937 $1,225 $3,115
2 Bedroom Apartments
 $3,447 $1,050 $11,000
3 Bedroom Apartments $5,071 $850 $9,000
4+ Bedroom Apartments $3,037

The third option was senior housing. I am 74 and qualify for senior housing. Certainly affordable financially,  but I knew from personal experience when searching for housing for my elderly parents, those places had long waiting lists. Years long. Plus I knew I did not want to live in a single age community because of the age isolation factor. My friends range from young to old, and I wanted to live in a place where they would be welcome. And most of all I wanted to find a place where  the residents still looked for adventure. Excitement. Were open to change. Some members might be inspiring personalities, or seeking Inspiration. Were still curious. Believed in possibility. And…loved a challenge.  In my mind I had yet to see a senior community that had any of those desires on the menu. Grab bars, yes. Curiosity and challenge. No.

Okay, three big fat no’s. Tiny house:  impossible. Apartment: unaffordable.  Senior housing, affordable, but not me. What was left? A trailer? Another location-perhaps inland- like Los Olivas or Los Alamos? Plus, I was distracted. Getting ready to leave for six weeks in Costa Rica to see an old neighborhood friend, Lura Shopteau, owner of Bienestar Yoga Studio in Uvita. (For information on Lura’s studio go to https://www.bienestarlife.com/. )Distracted by trip stuff-nasty medical shots, brushing up on what little Spanish I remembered from one semester of language class circa 1964, finding the right out of the country call plan for my iPhone5s, and selecting a good travel  insurance plan-kept me from focusing too much on the looming housing question. 

I had scheduled a good-by lunch with a friend. We ate a wonderful spot right on the ocean- The Boathouse at Arroyo Burro. Day views of the Pacific are 20  feet from your table, and nighttime is total magic. Decommissioned oil rigs look like thousand karat diamonds sparkling on a black mirror. A chance comment “I would even consider living on a boat.”  made at lunch, led  to “I have a friend selling her boat” response.  I asked how much and heard $100,000.00. For just the boat.  I immediately brushed off that option thinking it was for just the boat, but quickly reconsidered, called the boat owner, and saw her-both owner and boat-the next day. The cost was for BOTH boat and slip. And one needs both boat and slip to reside in the harbor. The previous owner had lived on the boat on and off for four years, and described a somewhat romantic life on board. I fell for the idea-hook, line and sinker. An expression that totally matches event….

NEXT: HOOK, LINE AND SINKER

AFTER THAT POST: BUYING A BOAT IN SANTA BARBARA. COST. TOTAL COST.