'Old Fashioned Day' Celebrated at Burton Chace Park

More than 50 vintage yachts and antique cars descended upon Burton W. Chace Park in Marina del Rey on Sunday for Old Fashioned Day in the Park, an event the Classic Yacht Association has been holding for the last 34 years. 

Model A’s, hot rods and classic woodies were all on display, with nostalgia from a bygone era strewn across their seats. Vintage license plates like “Hoover for President” and stickers adorned the cars. 

And nearby, docked in the boat slips bordering the park, were nearly 10 vintage yachts, resplendent in their varnished wooden glory. 

The Classic Yacht Association’s Southern California Fleet has held this event in the park each year for decades to allow classic yacht owners and vintage car enthusiasts a chance to share their passion with the public. People were invited to peer under the hood, gawk at the interior and climb aboard the vessels and look around. 

For a boat to be displayed in the event, its owner and captain must be a member of the Classic Yacht Association, and among other things, the yacht must have been built before 1959. 

Gracie, a 36-foot yacht built in 1950, won Old Fashioned Day awards in two categories, People’s Choice and Best Interior.

The cozy interior space featured all kinds of vintage finds, such as old clocks, radio, lamps and original wooden fixtures. 

The maintenance on an all-wood boat is much more costly and more demanding than that of a fiberglass-constructed boat, which owners say contributes to the allure. Upkeep on their vessels is a labor of love and a full-time job. 

“We like antiques,” said Gracie’s owner, Larry Walker, about why he and his wife, Terri, bought the vintage wooden boat four years ago after owning a modern fiberglass boat for many years. 

Walker, a retiree, does most of the maintenance and upkeep himself.  He varnishes sections of the boat every six months. 

“We’ve reupholstered and added a new ceiling, but the wood is pretty much like it was originally,” Walker said. 

The Enchantress, docked a couple of slips away, was 12 feet longer and a much bigger vessel with an upper and lower deck. It was built in 1947, commissioned by brothers who were cotton and cattle farmers near Bakersfield. 

They purchased the yacht for $36,000 when the average new home price was around $6,000. It is the equivalent of a modern-day, million-dollar mega yacht.

Drew Miser has owned the Enchantress for 20 years, and lovingly maintained the boat’s original fixtures and woodwork, including original stained glass and wood cabinetry in the galley, or kitchen. 

“The boat energizes me,” Miser said.  “It’s a great lifestyle.”

Miser described himself as a third-generation wanderlust, always looking for his next adventure, and he spent a good portion of his 20s living full-time aboard his first watercraft, also a vintage boat, built in 1937.    

“If every day I spend on the water adds a day to my life, wouldn’t that be cool,” Miser said.  “It does relax you.”

“Even if it doesn’t extend your life, it certainly helps you celebrate your life,” added Rick Olson, fleet captain of the CYA. 

Miser and Olson talked about these vintage yachts as more than just simple watercraft or an assembly of wood and machine. 

They spoke of these vessels as having souls and transferring energy to the present owners from past generations, from the original craftsmen who constructed the boat through all of the owners who have spent many man-hours refurbishing these boats to their present state.

Miser describes himself as a steward of his watercraft for future generations to enjoy rather than an owner.

“People want their boat that they’ve cared for, if they’re going to sell it ... they want it to go to somebody that’s going to take care of it,” added Olson. “A lot of times the sale is contingent upon the new owners joining the CYA. ... They know if they join the CYA, they will get good guidance from other people and the boat will live on.”

In the neighboring slip, the Sparkle was docked for the day. It is similar in size to the Enchantress, also a 48-footer, built in 1950 and was voted “best party yacht” at the event.

Live-aboard captain Christine Rohde, also commodore in the CYA’s Southern California fleet, said she had no idea what buying a vintage yacht would entail in terms of restoration and upkeep, but she added, “I wouldn’t change it.”

Rohde, who has worked in architecture design for many years, describes her boat in such terms. 

“It’s beautiful. It’s a piece of historic architecture,” said Rohde. “That’s how I look at all of these boats: They’re a piece of American history and we need to do all we can to preserve them.”

Rohde, who organized Old Fashioned Day, tears up as she explained the magic of an event like today’s.

“I think people really enjoy seeing a part of society that they don’t have a chance to see,” Rohde said. “It’s neat to step back into that little niche in history. To have a chance to come onboard and see older classic yachts as they were 50 to 100 years ago. And same with the cars, to see the way they used to be that some of us remember when we were young.”

“They’re beautiful treasures,” Rohde said.

That's exactly the sentiment that makes Old Fashioned Day more than just a venue that allows owners to display their old cars and yachts. Owners get to share their passion, hard work, dedication and the love they have for their vessels.