You could call Pacific Sailing & Yacht Club a business, as that is in fact what it is.
However, for most of the central people running the show, it’s not about money and it’s not their bread and butter day job.
“I work from 40 to 60 hours a week and then I come down here and do this,” said Jeff Shanholtzer, who oversees the new scuba division of the club and whose son operates the jet ski ramp—a sister company to Pacific Sailing.
“I love it,” Shanholtzer said.
Pacific Sailing is a passion for the people in charge.
Those who become involved with the various activities offered at the school, yacht club and other activities that take place through its facilities, discover the leaders of the enterprise are best described as evangelists of a lifestyle—one that includes lots of water—all that is in Mother Ocean.
It’s also about camaraderie, common goals and a general attitude toward having positive fun that harkens back to Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland’s Andy Hardy movies where they would put on a show in her dad’s barn.
Yes, the “Ah shucks,” principal is alive and well at Pacific Sailing and they aim to share it with all willing to take the plunge.
It can all be found in Long Beach’s Shoreline Village, at 419 Shoreline Village Dr.
That is where it all began, when Mike Nelson, a successful construction contractor, said he got a slip for a boat he received in gratitude from a customer for a job well done.
Having fun
“I got the boat for free,” he said during an interview at the facilities on Saturday.
“About $30,000 later, it and I were ready to sail,” he said.
Then Nelson was told that that he would need to find a new place to put his boat because the former owners were selling the business.
“So I bought it,” he said, with sheepish grin and a hint of a sailor’s chuckle.
With the help of his friend David Lyon, Nelson has been steadily increasing what Pacific Sailing offers and growing the membership and wide circle of friends who call the facilities their second home.
The upstairs yacht club is simple but lends itself to providing beverages and live music.
“We have done everything from formal dinners to regular beer nights and parties,” Nelson said. “We like a variety of things and we have a lot of fun doing them and we’ve made a lot of friends.”
If “having fun” is one of Pacific Sailing’s mantras, the operation also has a serious side. Nowhere in the business is it more embodied than in the spirit of John Gogel— the enterprises’ main sailing instructor.
Sailing for life
The Seal Beach resident is known to his students as “Captain John” and he can be a hard taskmaster or an encouraging sage, depending on what he thinks the sailing student needs … needs to survive on the water.
Gogel has been sailing for much of his life.
He eschewed a regular 9-to-5 lifestyle in favor of a life upon the water.
He learned to sail during sailing expeditions with his mom and dad. He recalled telling his mom Bea that he was leaving school because he thought he could live a good life sailing.
“I don’t think my mom ever liked it, but my dad supported my decision completely,” he said.
Gogel grew in Battle Creek, Michigan—a land of many lakes. His aspirations as a sailor really took off once he felt the thrill of sailing on the ocean.
Many years have passed since those early days skimming across calm waters.
By now, Gogel has seen all the dangers the sublime ocean can present. He knows it can rage with no remorse.
His view of the ocean might not be what one would expect from someone who has breathed so much clean salt air into his or her lungs.
But he has his reasons.
“I have no sense of romance with the sea,” he said. “I fear it.”
Sailing and operating a modern sailboat are not things the ocean will suffer fools to do, Gogel said. It is, at its heart, very serious business. From learning to move a sailboat from its dock to the open ocean to understanding the challenging aspects of weather and wind, Gogel said he makes sure his students become equipped with the skills to prevent disaster for themselves and others, who may be non-sailors and have placed their safety in their hands.
Gogel spends a lot of time teaching sailing.
What he likes best though is being upon the water using his skills.
“Sailing is my valium,” he said. “I’m most comfortable on the water.”
For more information about the activities, classes and other recreation opportunities offered by Pacific Sailing, visit their Web site at www.pacificsailing.net.
