YourHub.com \\ Santa Clarita Valley \\ Blogs \\ Baby Boomers

Blog Entry 1 of 9 Still Rockin'

Being born in 1954 makes me a charter member of a pretty explosive group - the Baby Boomers. We survived the British invasion, clackers, disco and parachute pants and lived to tell about it. With a background cocktail of Depression logic and It's All About Me entitlement, we are a mixed bag and hopefully, a vocal one. I'll be turning the spotlight on some of the folks who remember when gas was a quarter a gallon and had little space men riding on their utensils when they ate Spoon-Sized Shredded Wheat.

Blog Url: http://valleynews.com/~StillRockin

High hopes on the high seas

e-mail to a friend | print this | link to this

NEXT › ‹ PREVIOUS

Contributed by: Carol Rock on 7/3/2007

When somebody says the phrase "a three-hour tour," most people think about a crew of goofy tourists shipwrecked after a storm at sea. But for some locals, that phrase conjures up the memory of gourmet goodies, smooth wines and a day on the ocean with the world's most generous and jovial skipper.

Mike Lebecki, 42, a positive force of nature who makes his living selling real estate, pilots "The Echo," a 52-foot boat ("yacht sounds terribly presumptuous, like saying you live in Valencia instead of Santa Clarita" he chided) anchored in Ventura that he's used to help local charities raise $215,000 over the last three years.

Most of his guests are those with disposable incomes - baby boomers - who appreciate the diversion of a day out on the ocean. That it comes with a tax write-off makes the voyage even sweeter.

"I grew up a latchkey kid in Venice where there was no sense of community and you literally ran home after school past the Hells Angels and the druggies," he said. "When I moved to Santa Clarita in 1988, I thought I landed in the Andy Griffith Show, where everybody knew everybody else. Everybody was so warm and welcoming, and we were a real 'doing' town."

He found real estate to be his calling and got involved to get his name out there. But his involvement grew exponentially, as he genuinely enjoyed the time spent with nonprofit organizations in the community. Soon he stepped up to serve on boards and contributed from his own profits to help area charities.

Several of the fundraisers he attended were auctions, so he set about to find something unique that would help open the bidders' checkbooks a little wider.

"I wanted to find a house where I could entertain and raise some money," he said. "When I saw the floor plan of this boat, I thought it was just fantastic. The whole idea with the floor plan was that I would fix it up, pile lots of people from home on it when it was 950 degrees outside and let them have a good time."

He quickly points out that the thousands of dollars he spent on renovations are more than justified by the price he paid for the boat and the amount of enjoyment he and his guests derive from the weekend cruises.

"I didn't pay a lot for the boat, but I get a lot out of it," he said.

Lebecki teamed with RSVP Catering and Loose Goose Wines, which donate food and drink for the voyage, which typically takes guests from Ventura Harbor to Channel Islands and back on a sunny afternoon. People buy the package at charity events throughout the year, but redeem them when the weather is sunny and warm, which puts him at sea from March through October.

Local philanthropist and car dealer Don Fleming thought the package was a good idea at first, but warned that people might quickly tire of the novelty. Lebecki said that the problem now is that it is such a hot item and raises such high bids, he has to restrict where he donates the cruise.

"We are the most extraordinary town," he said, noting that the typical going price for a day on The Echo is $5,000. "I had no idea how good we really were at fundraising."

"This town is the family I never had and it's just my nature to give back. To be able to have folks come out and enjoy this is wonderful. I feel if you've got something nice, share it with others."

Lebecki says that the charity cruises keep him anchored in reality.

"One woman told me that this was the trip of a lifetime," he said. "What a great wake-up call to remind myself of my fortunate existence and something I get to enjoy every day."

To see pictures of the Echo and enjoy some of Captain Mike's seaside recipes, visit www.tracy-mike.com

If you enjoyed this story, check out a few more of my favorites -

An environmentalist's view on open spaces and why they're important to our community

Palmdale is the place to be for summer fun on Thursday nights

Lancaster has a great movie and ice cream social coming up soon

A mom's hip new idea to keeping her kids and their playmates safe

Be waterwise this summer and your garden will reward you

Previous | Next: 'Life's a beach for Laz...' >

[Report this as objectionable content.]

SUBMIT COMMENT

Rate the above blog