Tag archives: Santa Barbara Yacht Club

The Love Boat(s)
By Richard Mineards   |   September 17, 2024

A tidal wave of generosity swept over the 149-year-old Santa Barbara Yacht Club for the 20th anniversary Yachts of Love regatta which was expected to raise $120,000 for 113-year-old VNA Health – formerly known as Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care. More than 400 guests attended, many taking to the cooling waves on members’ yachts. The […]

Cue the Yacht Rock
By Richard Mineards   |   April 23, 2024

It was a sea of navy-blue blazers and Nantucket red pants when the Santa Barbara Yacht Club marked its 152nd opening day as the second oldest sailing mecca on the West Coast. Executive Chef Owen Hanavan laid on a heaping display of food – plank salmon, lamb chops, sausages, shrimp, eggs Benedict, eggs Florentine, and […]

SB Yacht Club’s 19th Annual Regatta for VNA Health
By Joanne A Calitri   |   September 19, 2023

The Santa Barbara Yacht Club’s 19th Annual Regatta Fundraiser for VNA Health took place on Saturday, September 9, from 11 am to 7 pm. The upbeat event was sold out to 350 lucky attendees supporting the cause. Guests were greeted with sunglasses, baseball caps with both organizations’ logos, and a goodie bag with chocolates and […]

Annual Event Brings Crowds, Sun, and Sailing
By Sigrid Toye   |   September 19, 2023

On the first weekend after Labor Day, the Santa Barbara Yacht Club (SBYC) members gathered for the 19th year to raise funds in support of VNA Health’s mission of caring with compassion. The Charity Regatta took place on Saturday, September 9, 2023, celebrating both VNA’s 121st year history of compassionate caring as well as the […]

Charity Regatta: Yacht Club Prepares for Another Race Towards Support
By Sigrid Toye   |   August 29, 2023

The Santa Barbara Yacht Club (SBYC) has a beloved, fun-filled tradition of racing boats and raising funds through its annual Charity Regatta, this year on Saturday, September 9 from 11:30 am until 7 pm. The event is in support of the community care programs and services of VNA Health. The annual Charity Regatta, hosted by […]

Talkin’ Old Spanish Days
By Richard Mineards   |   August 8, 2023

It was not so much a night on the tiles as a day on one when society scribe and local historian Erin Graffy de Garcia talked about her book Old Spanish Days: Santa Barbara History Through Public Art during an entertaining hour-long lecture at the Santa Barbara Yacht Club. The 117-page book was originally published […]

Private Clubs Add to Santa Barbara’s Residential Appeal
By Gabe Saglie   |   July 18, 2023

The pandemic is now solidly in the rear-view mirror. But one of its unexpected silver linings – a surging allure to living along Santa Barbara’s South Coast – roars on. An enclave like Montecito is not all that far from the urban sprawl of Los Angeles, but as so many new residents and visitors now […]

Mystic Pirates Aboard
By Richard Mineards   |   October 18, 2022

Former Santa Barbara Yacht Club commodore Roger Chrisman and his wife, Sarah, who recently bought the 83-foot steel-hulled schooner Mystic Whaler, which boasts 110-foot masts and 3,000 square feet of sail, sailed it up to our tony town’s harbor from its Channel Islands base in Oxnard for a three-week stay, just a tiara’s toss from […]

Yacht Club and VNA Take Sail in 18th Annual Regatta
By Sigrid Toye   |   September 27, 2022

After a week of sizzling hot weather followed by the remains of tropical storm Kay complete with Florida-style humidity, the Santa Barbara Yacht Club (SBYC) community gathered to raise funds in support of VNA Health’s mission of caring with compassion. The 18th Annual Charity Regatta took place on Saturday, September 10, 2022, celebrating both VNA’s […]

Setting Sail with Commodore Andra Escola
By Joanne A Calitri   |   April 19, 2022

As the third female and a second-generation Santa Barbara Yacht Club (SBYC) Commodore, Andra Escola led the club renovations that started last year and were completed this April for its 150th anniversary. Escola held the position in 2021, following Joanne Gordon (2015) and Francie Lufkin (2013), the only females of the 149 commodores in the […]

Welcome to the Family
By Richard Mineards   |   November 2, 2021

Former Santa Barbara Yacht Club commodore Roger Chrisman and his wife, Sarah, have just added to their “fleet.” Four years ago, the dynamic duo and longtime supporters of the Granada Theatre, bought a 78-foot cruiser PolarIIs, which they have moored in the harbor. Now they tell me they have just completed the purchase of a […]

A Sense of Belonging: Private Clubs Add to Santa Barbara’s Residential Appeal
By Gabe Saglie   |   August 12, 2021

Among the unexpected silver linings of the pandemic? The fact that the appeal of living in Santa Barbara’s South Coast has surged, and surged in a big way. An enclave like Montecito is not all that far from the urban sprawl of Los Angeles, where a pandemic-inspired exodus continues. But, as so many residents and […]

A Good Start
By Richard Mineards   |   March 4, 2021

Now that Governor Gavin Newsom has lifted the total ban on eating out, I ventured to the historic Santa Barbara Yacht Club to dine with my trusty shutterbug Priscilla, the Montecito animal activist Gretchen Lieff and her longtime beau Miles Hartfeld. The dining room on the outside terrace overlooking the Pacific was socially gridlocked, with […]

20th Anniversary Fundraiser
By Lynda Millner   |   June 18, 2020

From the olden days fast forward to the current days for the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (SBMM). I remember when it first began and now is the 20th anniversary. With the pandemic, the Hawaiian themed party had to be cancelled. Instead supporters browsed and bid on online auction items to support SBMM children’s education program, […]

SBYC Season Sets Sail
By Richard Mineards   |   March 12, 2020

It was a sea of navy blue blazers and Nantucket red pants when the Santa Barbara Yacht Club marked its 148th opening day as the second oldest sailing mecca on the West Coast. Executive chef Michael Blackwell laid on a culinary display of food, accompanied by gallons of mimosas, that would have made Belshazzar green […]

New Manager at the Helm
By Richard Mineards   |   October 3, 2019

Santa Barbara Yacht Club has a new manager, Richard Nahas, who replaces Layosh Toth, heading the charming harborside nautical venue. Richard, a former UCSB student, is normally used to more landlocked activities having been general manager of the Glen Annie Golf Club for 19 years. “Some of my fondest memories as a child are of […]

Anchors Aweigh!
By Lynda Millner   |   September 19, 2019

For the 15th time the Santa Barbara Yacht Club (SBYC) has sponsored a Regatta for Visiting Nurse and Hospice Care (VNHC). They have both been around for over one hundred years. Scott Deardorff serves as SBYC Commodore and Francie Lufkin as Staff Commodore and Regatta co-chair along with co-chair Nick Sebastian. After mimosas and brunch, […]

Vitamin Sea
By Richard Mineards   |   September 12, 2019

A tidal wave of generosity swept over the 147-year-old Santa Barbara Yacht Club for the 15th annual Yachts of Love regatta, which was expected to raise more than $120,000 for the 111-year-old Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care from the more than 400 guests. The nautical jolly, which since its inception has raised more than $1.4 […]

Charity Regatta Thank You
By Lynda Millner   |   September 12, 2019

Before the Visiting Nurse and Hospice Care (VNHC) Charity Regatta given by the Santa Barbara Yacht Club (SBYC) in early September, they had a special thank you cocktail party for their Regatta sponsors. It’s interesting to note that each organization has been in Santa Barbara for over one hundred years. It was a perfect evening […]

Ship Ahoy
By Lynda Millner   |   March 21, 2019

The Santa Barbara Yacht Club (SBYC) was all decked out in its nautical garb in honor of Opening Day Ceremonies and so were all the members. It was the 147th Opening Day. SBYC is the second oldest club on the west coast of North America. The morning began with mimosas and coffee, followed by a […]