Longterm agreement
is for Two Harbors
Cove. Facilities will
also be available for
rental by general
-public
The Fourth of July Yacht Club
and the Santa Catalina Island
Company signed a new.long,term
agreement for the Fourth of July
Cove:on Sunday~ Dec. 9.~The cove
is located immediately adjacent to
Two Harbors on the West End of
Santa Catalina Island.
The new agreement has an ini-
tial term of 7 years plus an option
for an additional fivd years, mak-
ing it potentially effective through
Dec. 31, 2024.
"This was" a win-win agree-
ment," said Bill Davidson who
spearheaded the FJYC team tasked
with negotiating a new lease with
the Island Company. "We were
seeking a long-term commitment
for the cove to help attract and
retain club members as welt as to
justify additional investment in
the facilities.
"Thb Island Company Was will'-
DESCANSO
Enjoy Sunday Branch at Descar o
Beach Club in one of(mr cabanas.
Enjoy complimentary bottomless
$35 per
ing to give us that security, asking,
in return, for our cooperation in al-
lowing them to make the facilities
available for other groups during
the period of the year little used by
our members, The new agreement
maintains our member's ability to
use t.he cove as they have in the
past, provides FJYC a.partner in-
vested in helping us upgrade and
maintain the cove facilities, and
creates an opportunity for others
to enjoy a very special place."
The agreement grants the yacht
club with year-round use of the
premises with unchanged priority
access in the prime summer sea-
son from April 15 through Oct.
15 and shared usage during the
underutilized winter and spring
months.
In an effort to generate busi-
ness for Two Harbors and provide
greater opportunities for small
groups wishing to visit Catalina
during the off-season, the Island
Company will begin marketing
the Fourth of July Cove and its fa-
cilities during those months as an
"idyllic destination" for large fam-
ily reunions, corporate retreats,
yoga groups, hiking clubs, scuba
diving clubs and other similar
market segments.
Facilities at the cove include
a large dining room, deck and a
commercial kitchen that can serve
meals for up to 125 people. The
cove can also accommodate up to
55 guests overnight in cabins and
tents with cots. The facilities in-
clude separate men's and women's
shower and bathroom buildings,
a children's pavilion equipped for
games and movies at night, and
paddle tennis, volleyball, bocce
Two Harbors remains popular with boaters of all kinds. Courtesy photo
ball courts and a pier.
Island Company officials re-
portedly plan to help upgrade
some of the cove facilities and has
committed to unspecified capital
improvements over the next 18
months. Previously, the on-site
club manager and yacht club vol-
unteers were performing almost
all of the work necessary to main-
tain the expansive facility.
"As we have learned in Ava-
lon, the off-season on Santa Cata-
lina Island--previously known as
the 'un-discovered' season--rep-
resents an undeveloped business
opportunity for our creative mar-
keting and operations staff. This
agreement with FJYC ensures a
well-maintained facility for yacht
club members during, their sum-
mer ~eason, while allowing other
groups and organizations access
BlueSea Care Services
"Our Care Is As Unique as you Are/"
949-554-5411
Established 1993
Visit Our website:
www.blueseacare.com
~i ~ ~'~ ExpedenceAging Safe~, with
~ R " " R dignily & with one of our
Lo no rresaooeas
BlueSea
taea~ in Seal Beach
Care Services ~1~ i~
to this beautiful cove the rest of
the year," said J. Paul DeMyer,
senior vice president of real estate
for the Island Company.
The Fourth of July Yacht Club
was founded in the late 1950s
when several yachtsmen signed an
agreement with the Island Com-
pany to lease the cove and its fa-
cilities after the Girl Scouts relin-
quished it. By the mid-1970s, the
group had accumulated enough
members to become a non-profit
corporation.
The Banning Family, who
owned the Island from 1894 to
1919 and built a home in Two Har-
bors that now serves as the Ban-
ning House Lodge, gave Fourth of
July Cove its name after picnick-
ing at the cove. Visiting the idyl-
lic beach and cove was one of the
family's favorite traditions.
For information about book-
ing the Fourth of July Cove. visit
www. visitcatalinalsland.com.
From page 1
,i
state New York, enlisted in the
U.S.-Navy during World.War II
when he was 16, although he was
tmderage, his strapping physique
convinced recruiters he was older
than he was.
He was chosen for a "strong
swimmer" unit and there he began
his lifelong love of exploring the
ocean through scuba diving.
Perkins started in scuba using
experimental equipment before
being issued the scuba gear that
Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gag-
nan developed. He eventually be-
came part of the Navy's Underwa-
ter Demolition Team. In time, he
became an expert scuba diver.
After the war, Perkins, then 19,
returned to Southern California.
While in San Pedro, he pure
chased the salvage rights to a
schooner that had sunk.
After he reclaimed the boat,
the novice sailor took the boat out
beyond the harbor area and got
"lost" at seas with only a canteen
of water.
The legend is that he bumped
into Catalina and decided to make
it his home. ,
Perkins lived in Avalon for 65
years as a confirmed bachelor.
SINGING WATERS
SERVING THE CHURCH,
REACHING THE ISLAND
346 CATAUNA AVE
THURSDAY GATHERING 7Pbl
6 1 Friday, December 14, 2012 THE CATAUNA ISLANDER
