FLAWLESS

Boat Type: Fairline Squadron
Owner: Kurt Wood
Home Port: Huntington Harbor, CA
Built: 1997

Favorite Cruising Destination
Our favorite boating destination is the West End of Catalina Island. We have have a mooring in Two Harbors, but often do a ‘reciprocal’ in another location near-by (depending on wind and currents). We were active at Fourth of July Yacht Club for many years, but now most enjoy the simple ambiance and beauty with friends and family. Catalina is both challenging and gorgeous in the Spring through the Fall, and for over 35 years it has been our destination of choice.

Favorite Boating Experience
Our favorite boating experience was immediately after buying our boat in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
We took our two daughters and explored the Bahama Islands. Our daughters were in their teens and we felt brave enough to explore new and exotic harbors and marinas. The biggest challenge for us was getting familiar with the extremely shallow water in places, and coral reefs. We learned new mooring techniques and loved the unique experience and people of the Bahamas.

About the Crew
Kurt Wood — Captain Kurt became licensed about 8 years ago, and has been a boater all of his life. We previously owned a Bertram 35′, and went fishing and exploring for years around Southern California, and most especially Catalina Island. Kurt is the President and owner of Belmont Brokerage & Mgmt. in Long Beach. He started the business 40 years ago, and is a CPA and Real Estate Broker. They specialize in buying and managing apartment complexes for investment purposes.
Dee Wood – Worked in Education for 30 years in various roles and school districts. She became an administrator and consultant for the California Department of Education.
Dee and Kurt have two beautiful daughters who both recently married young men from Chicago. The family has enjoyed many boating trips together over the years.

What’s in a Name
We bought our boat in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. after visiting the Boat Show there. The name of our boat is ‘Flawless.’ It was owned by a Russian diamond trader, who was selling it to upgrade to a brand new Johnson. The Russian loved our boat, and had a full-time crew and Captain to manage it. We decided to keep the name, as the whole experience was unique and fun. We’ve been looking for hidden diamonds aboard Flawless ever since!

Reason to Buy This Boat
The Channel Islands area, is where we do most of our boating. It can get windy and treacherous. Our British-made Fairline Squadron is designed to withstand the North Sea. It’s fast, low and sleek. We need to have a boat that could easily pass under Pacific Coast Highway in high tide, and the design of this boat qualified. It has been stable and predictable in the fifteen years we’ve owned it.

Previous Boats Owned
Before this boat we had a 35′ Bertram. It had an open cockpit area for fishing gear and such – so we were previously much more inclined to grab equipment to go fishing. Now, our boat is more for social entertaining and family BBQ’s on Catalina Island. We’ve also enjoyed moving from a 35′ to a 60′ yacht.

Interest in CUBAR
We’ve always loved going to Mexico, interacting with the Mexican people and challenging ourselves to learn more Spanish. Last year we put on a beautiful wedding at the St. Regis in Punta Mita, near Puerto Vallarta. With boating though, we’ve only gone to Ensenada. We love that with CUBAR we’ll have the opportunity to challenge ourselves, but with the safety and security of the group. We look forward to seeing more of Baja, and most especially exploring the Sea of Cortez. We enjoyed Chuck Dahill’s presentation to our Long Beach Yacht Club, and decided, this is the year to join-up!

Boating Story
We were moored in Cherry Cove on the West End of Catalina and Kurt was experimenting with one of his new toys … a sabre light wand for attracting fish…much like Obewankanobe! We laughed, drank wine and went to bed. During the night, thousands of anchovies found that light and swarmed. It was spectacular to watch those bait fish being chased by huge tuna. The noise and motion awakened us. We all went to the stern to see the light reflecting off thousands of gills and fins … fascinating and beautiful with the moonlight and shimmer of the sea.