Floating Through Life

Through blistering sun, pounding surf and record rainfall,the small group of Orange County residents who have chosen to live on the water are certain of one thing: They would never trade lives aboard their vessels for more comfortable abodes on shore.

Even the recent downpours didn’t faze most “live-aboards,” as they are known, who seemed to fare better than a lot of folks on land.

“It was very scary out here, but I think all of the live-aboards stuck around,” said Jim Dane, dock master at Dana West Marina in Dana Point Harbor. “The water is like a magnet. Most people can’t imagine being anywhere else.”

During the Jan. 4 storm, Lois Needham looked out of her 42-foot motor yacht and saw that a dock had snapped and was floating away with two boats attached to it. After the dock drifted toward a nearby bridge, four fire boats were able to corral the broken dock and bring it back to the marina.

“We were surprised to see this in our back yard, but it was also kind of exciting,” said Needham, who lives on her three-level wooden craft in Newport Beach Harbor with her husband, Jack. “It’s just part of boat life. I could be in a house that’s sliding off a cliff, and that’s much worse. Here, the water rises and the boat just rises too.”

Needham, 56, who has lived on the water for more than six years, said most live-aboards tend to be drawn to the same things--fresh air, nice scenery and a love for the water. During stormy weather, Needham said, her vessel is particularly cozy, comparing it to being in a cabin in the mountains during a blizzard.

“It’s a nice place to go after a stressful day at the office,” said Needham, a property manager for a Newport Beach company. “It’s like being on vacation every day.”

No weather-related injuries were reported at Huntington, Dana Point and Newport harbors during the past two weeks, but the downpour caused some structural damage at some Orange County marinas.

“With all the water draining down, the force of the water destroyed part of the (Huntington Beach) marina, which had about 30 boats attached to it,” said Frank Sheets, station commander of the Huntington Beach Harbor Patrol.

At Huntington Beach Harbor, seven uninhabited boats sank or were destroyed during the storms. One of them--a 34-foot sailboat--was last seen crashing against the surf and is still missing.

About a dozen uninhabited boats also sank in Newport Harbor, and docks broke away from various marinas, said Andy Decker, watch commander of the Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol.

But for the most part, Orange County’s live-aboards survived the storms unscathed.

“Live-aboard boats usually don’t sink because people are living on them,” said Tim Quinn, general manager of Newport Dunes Resort on Newport Beach Harbor. “And they tend to take care of their boats.”

Seven years ago, Phyllis and Ken Carter traded in their Chino ranch house and moved into their 30-foot cabin cruiser, “Dreamer,” docked at Dana Point Harbor.

“I’ve always wanted to live aboard ever since I was in the Navy, 50 years ago,” Ken Carter said. “At first, my wife wasn’t too crazy about it. But once I got her down here, she began to like it.”

During the recent storms, the Carters stayed in their boat while winds whipped across the marina and heavy rains flooded boats around them.

“This is an ideal place to be in a storm,” Ken Carter said. “You get some movement in the water, but I love hearing the waves crashing on the seawall. I feel more comfortable in water than land.”

Ken Carter said living on a boat has given him a sense of peace and tranquillity.

“People get a boat and it becomes a disease,” he said. “Being on the water gets in your blood, and you can’t live anywhere else.”