School's Ship Has Come In : Yacht--Captain Too--Donated to OCC

By RENEE TAWA

April 15, 1997 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

NEWPORT BEACH —

Philanthropist Richard Steele didn’t just leave his custom-made, $1-million dream yacht called Wide Waters to Orange Coast College--he bequeathed funds so his ship’s full-time captain could go with it.

The captain, Todd Lee, didn’t know what to expect after Steele died in March 1996 at age 77. No longer would Lee sail the 70-foot luxury boat from Mexico to Alaska for Steele, who enjoyed domino games and family nights in front of the on-board fireplace. Instead, a bunch of college kids might want to cut the yacht up, put 50 bunks in the three teak-detailed staterooms and make him haul the whole lot to Santa Catalina Island.

But Lee, 32, has eased into his new job as OCC’s power yacht instructor and captain. He thinks nothing of throwing a blanket over Wide Waters’ windshield so adult education students can learn to pilot around freighters and underneath bridges in one of the world’s busiest ports using the yacht’s top-of-the-line navigational equipment.

On a recent afternoon, Lee’s three students sailed the yacht through Newport Harbor and past Lido Isle, home of Steele’s widow, Betty.

“It’s really kind of scary at first because it’s such a big boat,” said record producer Ed Cherney, 47, on his first day at the helm. “Unfortunately, once you’re on this boat, you’re spoiled. . . . This is one of the finest boats you’ll ever be on.”

Wide Waters is the college’s biggest donation.

The 4-year-old yacht is propelled by twin 730-horsepower Detroit diesel engines that give it a top speed of 22 knots (25.3 mph). Wide Waters was donated to the college in January and is the latest coup for OCC’s sailing center.

Since 1987, the college has received 24 donated boats at an estimated total value of $4.7 million. The 65-foot Alaska Eagle, donated by an Alaska businessman 15 years ago, was named among the “100 Greatest Sailing Yachts in North America” by Sailing magazine in 1993.

OCC officials aggressively pursue owners of big, luxury boats nationwide, hoping to plant the idea of a possible donation or bequeathal to their Newport Harbor center, said Doug Bennett, executive director of the OCC Foundation, the campus’ fund-raising arm. They advertise in sailing magazines, show up at trade shows and court East Coast yacht brokers. They have edged out heavyweights such as the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., in competition for donated boats.

No organization tracks the number of donated boats to marine programs nationwide. But experts said OCC’s program is one of a handful that attracts the priciest of yachts.

“As far as the upper echelon of luxury boats, the more expensive yachts donated, Orange Coast College takes the lead,” said Peter Nunes, associate boating administrator for the state Department of Boating and Waterways. “I don’t think [other schools] get into the million-dollar yacht range.”

OCC’s marine programs department, which began in 1955, runs the country’s largest public boating education program. The department offers 200 courses a year, including a New Zealand-to-Tahiti sailing expedition and a class on medical issues for women who sail. All of the center’s 30 boats were donated or paid for with donated funds, Bennett said.

College officials work hard to clear the way for donors on issues such as appraisals and tax deductions, he said. And donors like OCC’s oceanfront center and its programs, which include free sailing classes for disadvantaged children.

Steele, founder of the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum, was a big fan of OCC’s marine program, Lee said. Steele headed his family charity, the Harry and Grace Steele Foundation, which has contributed more than $70 million to arts and education. He died of heart failure aboard Wide Waters in Puerto Vallarta, a few months after hiring Lee as his first full-time captain.

Lee, who had sailed around the world on other yachts, knew about Steele’s bequeathal plans but did not expect to be thrown into teaching so soon. Steele’s estate will pay his salary at OCC for two years.

“I was scared to death [of teaching] for the first 15 minutes, and then fell right into it,” said Lee, of Huntington Beach.

So far, OCC uses Wide Waters only for Lee’s five-day $1,500 course, during which adult education students--no more than six at a time--stay overnight on the yacht and learn how to sail to Catalina. Eventually, Wide Waters also will used by college students for whale-watching expeditions and internships for those who want to be captains or deckhands, Bennett said.

On a recent afternoon, Lee and his assistant, retired U.S. Coast Guard Commander Scott Smith, helped their three students pilot the yacht up to a yellow buoy.

Rick Stevens, 48, saw an ad for the class in a boating magazine. Stevens, an entertainment company executive, could not believe his luck.

“I was anticipating we would be standing in a crummy cabin,” he said. “This boat is just a dream. It’s a joy.”

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Gifts of the Sea

Here are some of the major vessels donated to the Orange Coast College marine program:

Boat: Wide Waters

Description: 70-foot motorcruiser

Donor: Richard Steele; Newport Beach

Donated: 1996

Boat: Bobo

Description: 53-foot sloop

Donor: Anonymous; Northern California