Tag archives: Santa Barbara Yacht Club

By Lisa Duncan With the soft morning sun casting golden ribbons across the sea, family, friends, and fellow servicemen gathered on the sand beside the Santa Barbara Yacht Club this week to honor retiring U.S. Coast Guard officer Julian Bell – and what unfolded was far more than a military ceremony. It became a moving […]

By Lisa Duncan If ever there were a day to remind one why life in this Eden by the beach is simply jolly good fun, it was the Santa Barbara Yacht Club’s 154th opening day – a sun-splashed, sea-swept celebration of sailing and society. As the second oldest yacht club on the West Coast of […]

Santa Barbara Yacht Club shone with sun-soaked sophistication and sparkling spirits, staging a springtime soirée that was stylish yet relaxed, silly yet serene. Guests arrived in casual, cheerful ensembles – breezy pastel dresses, Hawaiian shirts, and lightly adorned hats – perfectly suited to the sunlit scene. Bright linens draped the tables, tulips tumbled temptingly in […]

Life in the American Riviera – along the alluring Santa Barbara south coast, and enclaves like Montecito – strikes a special balance: it’s not far from the urban sprawl of L.A., yet a world away. And the appeal of living here goes beyond gorgeous views, perfect weather, and an uncanny ability for property values to […]

Navy blue blazers, gold buttons and Nantucket red pants reigned supreme when the Santa Barbara Yacht Club marked its 153rd opening day as the second oldest sailing Mecca on the West Coast. Club chef Owen Hanavan laid out a heaping display of food – plank halibut, Eggs Florentine and Benedict, sizzling sausages and more – […]

The Labor Day holiday, now in the history books, allegedly ended our summer and its many activities. Other than a couple of notations in our 2024 calendar, it appears that no one else in Santa Barbara has gotten the memo! Activities and events continue unabated all over town, especially at the harbor! The Santa Barbara […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]