Boat Type: Cape Horn 58 Trawler
Owners: Dave Abrams
Club: San Diego Yacht Club
Built: 2000

OWNER BIO
I am a serial entrepreneur, having owned/operated businesses in 7 different industries, mostly manufacturing. I always wanted a business in the marine industry, and recently acquired Training Resources Limited and The Maritime Institute, the two maritime training schools in San Diego, and merged them together. I’m a former Navy Surface Warfare officer, and have been spending time on boats/ships my entire adult life. I love the sea. Lahaina Sailor is my 4th boat and my 3rd trawler. She is a Cape Horn 58, launched in 1999 and commissioned in 2000. She was built in Eastern Canada in Kanter Shipyards to commercial standards, and is ice-rated, double hulled steel. She carries 4300 gallons of fuel and has a range of about 5000 NM at 8 knots. I saw her at the Seattle Boats Afloat show in 2016, and it was love at first sight! I always wanted my own ship, and Lahaina Sailor is more like a mini ship than a yacht. Her only shortcoming is that she is not stabilized and has a rather flat stern section, so she will roll like a pig in quartering seas. But she will take us anywhere in safety and can handle a lot more than the crew can!

FAVORITE BOATING DESTINATION & WHY
Desolation Sound in British Columbia. Lots of places to explore, calm waters, beautiful scenery with the snow capped peaks of the Canadian Rockies as a back drop. You can always find a quiet cove to drop the hook, and in the summertime, the weather is ideal.

FAVORITE BOATING EXPERIENCE
We spent 2 months exploring British Columbia, the San Juan Islands and Canadian Gulf Islands from mid June – Mid August 2017. Princess Louisa Inlet, Desolation Sound, Vancouver, Ganges (Sal Spring Island) and our “home” territory of the San Juan Islands were some of our favorite spots. We had friends fly up to meet us on float planes, where we would pick them up in our tender. Best vacation ever.

BOATING STORY
So I was on our little 22′ C-Dory, on a quick trip from our home on Orcas Island to Bellingham. The day was a little snotty, and the passage across Rosario straight was pretty bumpy in both directions, so we had to go pretty slow to keep it comfortable. On the way back, it was starting to get late and our kids were hungry, so as soon as we got in the lee of the islands I was able to “punch it” and make up some time. Going through a pass between two islands, I saw a group of boats on my left and right, assumed they were fishing, and thought I would go straight through the middle so not to disturb them. As I get even with the boats, a pod of Orcas surfaced not more than a few feet from our boat. Those were whale watching boats! I was so embarrassed! I am sure I was called a bunch of names as I sped off to get out of there!

ABOUT YOUR CREW
Amanda Abrams – my wife and Admiral. We will celebrate our 27th anniversary during the CUBAR on November 7th!
Dr. Stephen Busky – my uncle. He took me boating as a little kid and has always been my sailing inspiration.
Mr. Jim Swartwout – my former boss when I was President of an irrigation components company, and he was the CEO of the public company that owned us. Jim has joined me on many cruising adventures!
Mr. H.G. “Rags” Laragione – the former owner of The Maritime Institute, and my sponsor to join the San Diego Yacht Club. Rags has been very helpful as part of the CUBAR committee, and has a long cruising resume of his own.

WHAT’S IN A NAME
One of my other investments is the iconic resort apparel company “Reyn Spooner”, known for their long lasting Hawaiian shirts. The company has been running a classic pattern called “Lahaina Sailor” since the 1960’s, and I thought it would be a great name. Our boat is decorated with Lahaina Sailor pillows, coffee mugs and shirts! Some day we might make it to Lahaina!

REASON TO BUY THIS BOAT
I was originally looking for a Fleming 55, but could not find one in decent condition in a price range I could afford. When I saw the Cape Horn 58 (then named “Discover”) at the Seattle Boat’s Afloat show, I was struck instantly by her ship like construction. The founder of Cape Horn Yachts, Peter Sever, had written a mini book about his design philosophy for the boats, and a lot of what he said resonated with me especially about safety, redundant systems, etc. Amanda liked the 4 stateroom layout, the large salon with two settees, and plenty of room for our kids and their friends to visit. I was initially intimidated by the single screw propulsion and complexity of all the systems, but after the sea trial and maneuvering with bow & stern thrusters, I was sold.

PREVIOUS BOATS OWNED
Pacific Seacraft Flicka sailboat
Californian 34 LRC
Fisher 38 Trawler
22′ C-Dory
and several small boats!

INTEREST IN CUBAR
Cruising with a group of like minded boaters, getting to make new cruising buddies, and experiencing Mexico with “safety in numbers”.