Having a private charter boat in San Diego, much of our business derives from conventions that are in town, local businesses, as well as weddings. However, summer in San Diego is filled with families, many of who are visiting San Diego and want to get to know the city from a different perspective. It is a special treat to have a family aboard our boat that wants to soak up the San Diego sunshine and enjoy some quality downtime, 30-knot winds and all.
As the sun began to heat up the cement-covered docks, it was beginning to feel as though you could truly fry an egg on the ground beneath your feet. The San Diego sun has sure been shining these past few days, and we have been enjoying every minute. Although we truly have a great time on every sailing charter, yesterday was a pleasure for the Aolani team as we welcomed aboard a family of four whose only requests were great Mexican food and a jump in the water! Four towels and a call in to El Indio’s Mexican Food located on 3695 India Street in San Diego made that happen.
As we left the front dock at the Sheraton Harbor Island Hotel where the Aolani
is located and after having raised the sails, we headed straight to the bait docks where the harbor seals tend to hang out for obvious reasons (bait). They barked at us as we passed, reminding us that this was their dock, naturally.

Taking pictures at the Bait Dock

San Diego Harbor Seals on Bait Dock

Because the bait dock is close to the entrance of San Diego Harbor, we decided to sail out past the tip of Point Loma and the Point Loma Lighthouse, where we were unexpectedly greeted with high winds of around 30 knots and choppy ocean waters. It made for a great background as the family snapped pictures, but not for long as the winds became stronger. As we jibed to starboard tack to head back into the San Diego bay, we noticed a familiar ship entering the harbor right along side of us, the USS Nimitz supercarrier. Commissioned in 1975, the USS Nimitz is the first ship in the NIMITZ class of nuclear powered aircraft carriers.

Family stands in front of USS Nimitz on the Aolani Catamaran

With a length of 1,092 feet (332.85 meters), the carrier was easy to recognize as we began to wave and welcome back the crew from a successful sea trial. Aolani Owner, Bruno Schwarz, even blew the conk shell as we passed. Helicopters covered the skies as the carrier made its way back into homeport, and it was turning out to be quite an exciting day. The best part was, it wasn’t over just yet.

After sailing past downtown’s San Diego skyline, we continued south to Glorietta Bay where we could anchor and swim for a while. The water was refreshing as the family jumped in, as they made their way to the beach area where they could relax in the sand on Coronado Island.

Family sitting on Coronado Island Beach after swimming from Aolani Catamaran

Swimming in Glorietta Bay with the Aolani Crew

It was turning out to be quite an eventful day. We even saw a black jellyfish, one of many who have been making recent news for being in rare abundance in San Diego bay. To learn more about the rare occurrence, you can check out the recent LA Times article on black jellyfish in San Diego bay.

After four hours out in the harbor and under the beating sun, it was time to head back to the dock. As we reflected with the family on the day’s events, we came to the conclusion that it was action packed and yet another beautiful day on the San Diego bay. It made it even better that we could share San Diego and all it has to offer, with a family from out of town who appreciated it as much as we do.

To see more photos from this particular charter, check out our July 16th Family Charter album on Facebook.

It was nearly 9:00AM and the marine layer sat upon the ocean like a thick layer of vanilla frosting. People moved along the Pacific Beach Boardwalk in running shoes, on skateboards, bikes and rollerblades. You would never know it was only nine in the morning in this beach town, as girls and boys dressed up in red white and blue waited in line to get into any pub or bar to watch USA play in the World Cup game. Although the game was a loss for our country, the day itself was rather productive, and it all began with a beach cleanup…
Three times a month, the Surfrider Foundation San Diego County Chapter comes together to cleanup our beaches that become overwhelmed with empty bottles, plastic straws, cigarette butts and more. Aolani has supported the Surfrider Foundation for years now, the non profit organization that is dedicated not only to the protection of our oceans and beaches, but also to the enjoyment of them. Because we have a business on the water doing private sailing charters, it is important to us to keep our ocean playground clean and thriving. At a time when roughly 60,000 barrels of oil are draining into the Gulf of Mexico, it seems like a much more difficult task now then ever, making it that much more important to get involved.
And so.. we did. We started with an empty bag, but soon after scouring the sand, the bushes, the parking lots, we had already collected over 450 cigarette butts, and 3 lbs of miscellaneous trash, most of which was plastic. Although this bag of trash is minor in the scheme of things, every bag of trash that is prevented from ending up in our ocean is accounted for and that is what makes our time at a Surfrider cleanup completely worth every second. As a local San Diego business that works on the water every day, it put things into perspective for us as we prevented plastic cups and six pack rings from entering the underwater world we care about so much. As we walked along the boardwalk we began to get irritated. “Why can’t they just put this in the trash?” Lindsay asked (daughter of Aolani owner, Bruno Schwarz). We noticed all the restaurants lining the boardwalk, plastic straws and lids surrounding their place of business. As we realized how easy it is for many to be careless, it suddenly became crucial for us to become more careful. After all, it would be foolish of us to go on doing the same thing, expecting different results. After two hours we gladly recycled our findings, grabbed a “Hold On To Your Butt” bumper sticker (because “beaches and streets are NOT ashtrays”), and left with a feeling of accomplishment. After leaving Crystal Pier, we had already become more aware of each piece of trash we came across. Every cigarette, every cup, every newspaper amongst the hustle and bustle of surfer and observer alike, was noticed. Our eyes were open, no longer ignorant, and we were watching. And we are still watching today, as a Surfrider Foundation Member and proud local business owner of a sailing catamaran that utilizes the wind instead of diesel at all times possible and a company who recycles the bottles and cans that we go through on a given private charter.

Later this day, we had a sailing charter. We took a family out sailing around San Diego Bay and came across a seal sitting on buoy 19. He winked at us as we passed, and we took it as a Thank You, a thank you for preventing even one marine animal from getting caught in another plastic mess, and that is what makes our time cleaning the beach so worth it.
To get involved in a beach cleanup in San Diego, check out Surfrider’s 2010 Beach Cleanup Schedule.

Aloha,
The Aolani Catamaran Crew

Cindy Schwarz of Aolani Catamaran at Surfrider Beach Cleanup

Buoy 19 Seal, picture taken from Aolani Catamaran

Seal Winks at Aolani Catamaran Crew

After a 3 hour charter out in the San Diego Bay and under the sunshine, we can officially say that our guests had a great time today. The weather did not disappoint and neither did the food. Our guests today came with an appetite and left feeling full, thanks to catering by Terra San Diego. Terra has been a loyal catering partner of ours and has never failed to disappoint. Mike Rossman, owner of Terra Restaurant in Hillcrest, San Diego, has been working with us for the past six years- all of which we are grateful for.
Because this particular client had customers on board, he wanted something that could be easily put together for a large group. We have worked with Terra for a long time, and knew right away that their unique Box Lunch would be perfect for this particular occasion. Terra’s box lunch includes a wrap or sandwich, curried pasta salad, fruit and a cookie. More information can be found on our Catering Page.
Last week, the California Restaurant Association’s San Diego chapter hosted its 26th annual Gold Medallion Awards banquet at the Hilton Hotel here in San Diego. This special banquet recognizes local restaurateurs for their innovative concepts, achievements and applications in over 40 categories. While earlier that day Mike Rossman, owner of Terra Restaurant, had brought his famous box lunches by our boat, it came as no surprise when later that night the most notable award of the evening went to Mike Rossman for Restaurateur of the Year. Over 1,000 people attended the event and over $50,000 was raised for our community, some of which will go to a culinary arts program at Morse, San Diego, Mira Mesa and Garfield high schools.
Congratulations on your award, Mike! Thank you for all your scrumptious sandwiches, beautiful buffets and delectable desserts. We look forward to working with you again soon.

To check out Terra Restaurant, click here.

Aolani Owner Bruno Schwarz with Terra Restaraunt Owner Mike Rossman

Last night our crew heard the news that fellow sailor, Abby Sunderland, was lost at sea somewhere in the Indian Ocean. Our first reaction was to pass on the news and keep Abby in our prayers, but we soon found ourselves in silence and at a loss for words. Although the crew on Aolani Catamaran Cruises has put in their hours, none of us have a story like Abby’s; a story worth writing about.
Abigail Sunderland is a sixteen year old “cleancut, All-American Girl” as her parents describe her. When Abby became a teenager, her goal became her focus. While most teens would be content with their goal of acing an exam, scoring a goal during a soccer match or getting the person of their dreams to ask them to winter formal, Abby was intent on making history as the youngest person, female or male, to circumnavigate the globe…alone.
In January of this year, Abby left Marina del Ray, up the coast from us in California, and embarked on a journey she would never forget. Although there were to be obstacles, Abby had prepared for this trip for months and there was nothing that was going to get in her way…until yesterday.
Rewind to about a week ago and you will find Abby describing her location as “the middle of the Indian ocean”, where 20 foot waves reside and moderate winds of 20-25 knots prevail. It seemed as if Abby knew what was ahead, for she spent most of her day patching up the sail, troubleshooting her Thrane & Thrane Internet system and checking for leaks. Because Abby is set up with the latest equipment, she is constantly monitoring the weather and therefore knew to get ready for stronger winds.
Fast forward to yesterday, June 10, 2010 and you will find a post from Abby’s parents. They had spoken to her that morning while helping troubleshoot her engine so that her systems could be recharged. As the satellite phone went in and out, they lost contact with Abby and were waiting to hear back from her when an unexpected call from Australian Search and Rescue came in, reporting a received signal from Abby’s emergency beacon (EPIRB), a beacon that was first thought to be automatic but with further investigation was found to be manual. Due to this find, Abby’s parents began working with American, French and Australian Search and Rescue authorities to coordinate the use of ships to begin her rescue efforts. As her parents quickly reminded us that Abby has all the equipment she could possibly need to survive, we still cannot even begin to imagine what it must be like to go through such an adventure. Although we are not sure what exactly happened out on the seas yesterday somewhere in the middle of the Indian Ocean , we do know that there were winds of up to 60 knots and seas 20-25 feet. Because Abby wrote in her very first blog post that 8 knots was “nice (and very fun) ”, we can only imagine what she must have felt as gusts reached 60.
1 knot=1.151 mph
Late last night as our thoughts were turned to Abby and her family, we received another update on her blog from her parents that Australian Search and Rescue had arrived on the scene, and that Wild Eyes (her boat) was “upright but her rigging is down”. Abby was able to communicate via radio and reported that she is fine.

As Aolani is about to set sail this morning on yet another great charter, our thoughts will turn to Abby as we comfortably sail through the San Diego Bay and out past the tip of Point Loma, not taking a single moment or gust of wind for granted.

Abby, we wish you all the best. You have seen more and accomplished more than many of us will do in an entire lifetime, that is what makes you worth writing about.

Calm Seas and Warm Winds,
The Aolani Catamaran Crew

Follow Abby and her journey on Wild Eyes (her boat) here.