SIGHTINGS nautical books
an active history There is a magnificently salty corner in San Rafael with a mishmash of boats both old and new, of memorabilia, and of all manner of maritime mementos and detritus. Located at the bitter end of the San Rafael Canal, with the droning Highway 101 just a football field away, the Abe Blumenfeld Landing — comprised of a long dock and an adjacent pier — is an unexpected marine museum wedged behind a shopping mall.
SAILING SHIP ACTIVE
Books make great gifts, to the sailor(s) in your life, or to yourself. As well as being informative and entertaining, books are more personal than gift cards, classier than a gallon of bottom paint, and easier to wrap than a new dinghy. We do our best to read all the books that are sent to our office. The first batch got reviews in the November issue. Here's the rest of this season's bunch: The Long Way and A Sea Vagabond's World (Bernard Moitessier, $16.95 each) — These books are reprints. The Long
The main attraction of this salty oasis is the 116-year-old, 105-ft Dutch-built, square-rigged, wishbone ketch Active. With her traditional rigging, the piratey-looking ship catches the eye from the suburban, strip-mall surroundings of San Rafael. We will call Dale Friberg the 'keeper' of Active. He gave us a tour of the ship and adjacent facilities in early November. Active has a sizable brood around her — some five sailboats, as well as a tugboat. Friberg said that several of the sailboats are donations, the sale of which will go into the big ship's kitty for repairs and maintenance. "I would say that this boat belongs to the children of Marin," Friberg told us. The boat is under the umbrella of the nonprofit Sailing Ship Active. In 1967, Friberg was cofounder of the Sea Exploring Group, which has the continuing mission of serving the youth of the North Bay. "This is our 52nd year of operation," Friberg said. "We have moved our operation four times in those years, all in Marin." The vessels used by the group over the years included a 26-ft whaleboat and a 73-ft torpedo retriever. "In 1996, we acquired the 105-ft iron ketch for our main vessel," Friberg said, referring to Active. The ship was briefly associated with Sea Scouts, and her interior is full of characterbuilding plaques with maxims such as: "There are no great men, only great challenges ordinary men must meet," and, "Rank does not confer privilege or give power . . . It imposes responsibility." (People can also serve community service time by working on the boat.) According to literature that Friberg gave us, Active fished in the North Sea, under sail and without an engine, for nearly 30 years with the name Gerald de la Rey VL. In 1929, she was sold to a Swedish sailor and renamed Violett. After a motor was finally installed, she was in service as a freighter until 1969, then converted into a yacht in the early 1970s. She sailed across the Atlantic, spent time in Florida, and finally made it to the West Coast, specifically San Diego, in 1977. It's not entirely clear at what point the boat was named Silver Girl, but she was sold to Darwin Leman and Valery Fields in 1979; she won the '78 and '79 Ancient Mariner races in her class, according to the literature. In 1989, the boat was sold to Ross Alan and moored in Sausalito. "The hull was very sound — it's black iron — and there were several locals who stayed on it from time to time in exchange continued on outside column of next sightings page Page 48 •
Latitude 38
• December, 2019
PHOTOS LATITUDE / TIM UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED
Dale Friberg gives us a tour of the Abe Blumenfeld Landing, which is full of old boats — including a Star that Friberg said won the Worlds — and a wood shop. Note 'Active' at dock on the left, and her unique wishbone gaff.
