Sea Stock III, with Leo and Barbara Stock, and my mother and father aboard, on the mooring immediately southeast of Almitra in Catalina Harbor. You can see my father and his nephew Leo Stock on the port stern.
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Sea Stock III, with Leo and Barbara Stock, and my mother and father aboard, on the mooring immediately southeast of Almitra in Catalina Harbor. You can see my father and his nephew Leo Stock on the port stern. |
Moving in slowly under sail, we began to notice there were moorings in the shallower part of the huge natural harbor, and most were unused. We decided to grab one, and doused the sails. It took a few minutes to figure out there was a hauser dangling below the bouy, and an attached stern mooring line. We made them fast to the forward sampson post and the stern cleat, cleaned up on deck, and launched the dinghy to bring the longsuffering dog ashore. We followed the trail across the isthmus in the darkness, only a quarter mile, and saw the sleeping town and the Santa Catalina Channel on the north side. We returned home and went below for some sleep.
The next morning we awoke to a beautiful sunny day, and made some breakfast. Noticing "A7" painted on the mooring bouy, Donald quipped it went well with Almitra's name of seven characters. The Harbor patrolman came by later in a company boat to explain the mooring fees, and Don invited him aboard for coffee and a smoke. The patrolman's name was Dave. His coworker Curt also came by later and we made friends. Curt worked the Harbor Patrol year round, and did mooring maintenance in the off seasons. Curt's role in the Natalie Wood incident later that year was widely documented in print.
Dave and Curt explained that mooring A7 was spoken for. We were permitted to rent it, though, just as long as the owner did not wish to use it at the time, but we would be "bumped" when they did. They said A7 belonged to "Sea Stock." That rang a bell. I recalled that my second cousin Leo Stock, who lived in Huntington Beach with his family, owned a motor yacht. I called him. Sure enough, A7 in "Cat Harbor" was theirs. They called the harbor patrol and told them Almitra was to be their guest until later in the summer when they would make their annual trip to the island. Free rent!
When they did decide to come over later in the year, my mother and father drove from their home in Santa Monica to Huntington Becah and joined the Stocks for the trip. We put Almitra on an unused mooring nearby, and enjoyed a good visit together with Leo and Barbara and the parents. I had the opportunity to catch up with relatives I hadn't been much in touch with before, and Donald enjoyed the extended family. Cardiologist Leo died suddenly the following year of a totally unexpected myocardial infarction.